A Hacker's Guide to Getting Old

Probably the best thing to do right now is to do genotyping, for example at 23andme, and determine the nutrition you need to grow old in a healthy way. See e.g. [1].<p>Also probably a good idea is to store mesenchymal stem cells in a bank, which could turn out to be useful later in life [2]<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nutrahacker.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nutrahacker.com&#x2F;</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=11829994" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=11829994</a>

I wonder whether reading a ton helps; I have the suspicion that it does. Alan Kay sounds extremely sharp for his age, as does Don Knuth, and pretty much most intellectuals.<p>But I still would want to know what&#x27;s the best activity to keep the mind sharp. Chess grandmasters show a decline at about 35 if I recall correctly. I suspect that programming ability will also show a steep decline, but I wonder how big.<p>I&#x27;ll keep an eye on Torvalds and Carmack because I don&#x27;t think they&#x27;ll give up programming as they get older.

Relevant Research:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;pss.sagepub.com&#x2F;content&#x2F;early&#x2F;2015&#x2F;03&#x2F;06&#x2F;0956797614567339.abstract" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;pss.sagepub.com&#x2F;content&#x2F;early&#x2F;2015&#x2F;03&#x2F;06&#x2F;095679761456...</a><p>Edit: Free Link: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC4441622&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC4441622&#x2F;</a>

tl;dr version:<p>For seeing tiny electronic parts despite nearsightedness, get a desktop or head-mounted magnifier.<p>For soldering despite hand tremors, support your forearms, work on upper body strength, and get a fume extractor to maintain high oxygen levels.<p>For general cognitive skills, do mental exercise.

This was not a guide. It was more like a bunch of notes.