undefined | Better HN

0 pointscogman103y ago0 comments

The kinds of ways matter. A primary way the majority of brains start to show age is in trust and risk assessment. [1] [2]

I agree, someone with a compromised ability to evaluate risk is probably more than capable at doing most desk jobs. However, the last thing we need is politicians who's aging brains have been compromised in evaluating future risks. Putting someone most likely to send scammers gift cards in charge of foreign policy and assessing climate change risks is simply a recipe for disaster.

It doesn't seem all that crazy to demand that the ~300 people running the US not be at an age where mental decline is common.

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-older-adults-... [2] https://neurosciencenews.com/ventromedial-prefrontal-cortex-...

0 comments

manmal3y ago

High testosterone correlates with aggression, and young people have way higher T than elderly. Should we ban people in the highest T quartile from becoming politicians? Of course not. It's a complex and highly individual problem which can't be solved by filtering via just one variable, like age, gender, level of brain deterioration, or some hormonal level.

Here are some problems that _don't_ prevent people of any age from becoming a congressman or woman:

- Alcohol abuse

- Narcissism and/or sociopathy

- High debt

- Cult membership

- Most importantly: Personal financial interest in specific policy changes

Why not start with these? Banning elderly because they on average tend to be more gullible seems like a weird way of addressing governmental issues.

On a different level, I find the idea of banning people from governmental positions based on a specific trait deeply undemocratic, and a slippery slope. Principiis obsta.

cogman10OP3y ago

> Should we ban people in the highest T quartile from becoming politicians?

We DO!

Testosterone production peaks at 18/19.

The minimum age for Congress is 25, for the Senate 30, and for the president 35.

> Why not start with these?

This is a false dilemma.

I've said we would limit age, I did not say there shouldn't be other limits or that it was the most important limit.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse