When a psychology professor in Michigan looked through his data on interpersonal conflict a decade ago, he discovered something unexpected. The study, which examined differences across cultures and age groups, seemed to show Americans got wiser as they got older. Richard Nisbett was used to research showing poorer mental skills among elderly adults, but his work found they were better at recognizing multiple perspectives, encouraging compromise, and acknowledging the limits of their own knowledge.

Perhaps, he reasoned, navigating conflict got better with age because it was such a specific, experience-based skill. Working memory, which stores short-term facts like newly learned names, may decline but, as people get older, they inevitably accrue more knowledge from having navigated similar situations throughout their lives. Now 82 years old, Nisbett recognizes the improvement in himself. “I’ve noticed situations to avoid, comments not to make, and the importance of apology,” he said.

Presidential age debate obscures a simple fact: Some cognitive skills improve as we get older — https://www.statnews.com/2024/02/22/presidential-election-age-debate-some-cognitive-skills-improve-with-age/

I was going to post this yesterday but I forgot.