Summary

An AirBnB host shares a month-long experience with a guest named Michelle, discussing aging, multitasking, and the potential for intergenerational problem-solving.

Abstract

The author, an AirBnB host, recounts a meaningful stay with a guest named Michelle, who was in town due to her sister's health issues. Despite the somber reason for her visit, they found joy in evening dinners and conversations about music, aging, and their shared background in programming. The host reflects on the decline of their multitasking abilities with age but highlights the collective wisdom and problem-solving capabilities that emerge when older individuals collaborate. They also discuss the potential of a smartphone app idea that could fund their respective travel interests. The narrative touches on the value of experience, the evolution of technology, and the anticipation of future advancements in neuroscience.

Opinions

The author expresses dissatisfaction with the privatized healthcare system in the U.S., criticizing its focus on money over patient care.
There is a sense of nostalgia and camaraderie in the discussions about past abilities and shared experiences in programming and attending concerts.
The author suggests that older individuals, despite perceived declines in cognitive abilities, can form a "super-mind" when working together, offering valuable insights and solutions.
The author is optimistic about the future of technology, particularly neuroscience advancements like brain nanobots, and questions the predicted timeline for significant breakthroughs.
There is an appreciation for the power of reminiscence and social interaction in maintaining cognitive function and enhancing quality of life in older age.
The author values the idea of intergenerational collaboration in the workplace, proposing that a mix of youth and experience could lead to better problem-solving outcomes.

HUMOR

Tales of an AirBnB Host

Guest of the Week #6 —Michelle. And It Sucks Getting Old

By the author — from the author’s guest book

One of my AirBnB guests and I recently had a lovely visit even though her circumstance for being here wasn’t the most joyful.

Her sister was in the hospital with COPD, and just recently got released into a rehab facility.

So during the days, she was attending to all the problems associated with the abysmal care her sister was receiving in the Amurican health care system, such as it is. Privatization of health care doesn’t care about health. Or people. Just money.

Despite the circumstances, we managed to have some nice dinners and drink red wine in the evenings.

We talked about aging, in between reminiscing about our love of music growing up, and attending rock concerts.

She shared with me that she still loves a good concert, and though I stopped attending them years ago, she continues to travel around the world. She’s a groupie with a habit. There are apps for that!

We spent nearly a month together — doing what must be done during the days, and then coming together in the evenings and chatting over wine and dinner, which I would cook. Lots of home made pappardelle and fresh pasta sauces.

I also learned that she was a programmer. I had been an APL programmer too, when I worked for IBM. That set off a whole new line of conversation about our abilities to multitask, to stack commands, and tasks, and just how much of that we had once been able to do in our life.

Yes, I admitted, at one time I was the queen of multitasking.

mul·ti·task

/ˈməltēˌtask,ˈməlˌtīˌtask/

verb

gerund or present participle: multitasking

1. (of a person) deal with more than one task at the same time. “parenting skills such as multitasking and concentrating amid distractions are easily transferable to the workplace”

2. (of a computer) execute more than one program or task simultaneously.

Comparing notes with who we used to be, our brain capacities and capabilities, from our peak performance days in our 20's and 30’s was great fun. Then we started to compare the same from today.

If there’s ever a case to be made for why humans evolved to be social creatures, this is it.

I can trigger a thought in another just by reminiscing about what used to be possible for me. And so can they, in me.

And then, together, we become a super-mind, once again able to multitask, even when by my lonesome, I seem to be unable to get out of the house without forgetting where I put the shopping list and having to attempt to recreate it on another piece of paper.

So, from the outside, we independently look like bumbling idiots, when standing next to a 30-something. What I used to be able to stack with ease in my head, now requires two pages on a habit tracker.

And yet — put several of us together, and we become a formidable problem solving machine, coming up with solutions to problems and challenges that the 30-something has no basis in experience to begin to solve.

Imagine what could happen if corporations actually embraced teams of youth and elders. And paid them commensurate to their experience. Imagine the problems that could be solved.

One evening we spoke about apps on our smart phones. I talked about meditation and the cool meditation starter apps these days, like Calm, and Muse. She told me meditation got her through college without binge studying and sleepless nights using sugar and caffeine highs, as was so commonly practiced.

And I shared with her my idea for a revolutionary phone app that could make both of us enough money to fund our travel addictions. So she could travel the world and attend rock concerts. And I could travel the world and meet MuddyUm writers.

Fingers crossed — I think she might be in! She didn’t exactly say Hell Yeah — but she didn’t say no either.

Thank goodness in 2019 I got up to speed about current developments in neuroscience and neurogenesis — just in time for my aging brain to remember that when I ask the question, “what was I forgetting?” before I leave the house, it was that I didn’t yet watch that next episode of “Rewired” on Gaia. I can hardly wait for the brain nanobots to be inserted. Ray Kurzweil, are you sure about that 2045 date for the singularity?

This is a series.