What happens to our brains as we age is of crucial importance not just to…
2023
What happens to our brains as we age is of crucial importance not just to science but to public policy. By 2030, for example, 72 million people in the US will be over 65, double the figure in 2000 and their average life expectancy will likely have edged above 20 years. However, this demographic time-bomb would be much less threatening if the elderly were looked upon as intelligent contributors to society rather than as dependents in long-term decline.
- A.
The idea that we get dumber as we grow older is just a myth, according to brain research that will encourage anyone old enough to know better.
- B.
It is time we rethink what we mean by the ageing mind before our false assumptions result in decisions and policies that marginalize the old or waste precious public resources to re-mediate problems that do not exist.
- C.
Many of the assumptions scientists currently make about ‘cognitive decline’ are seriously flawed and, for the most part, formally invalid.
- D.
Using computer models to simulate young and old brains, Ramscar and his colleagues found they could account for the decline in test scores simply by factoring in experience
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Correct answer: B
Explanation: The paragraph presents demographic facts about a rapidly ageing population and argues that older people should be seen as contributors rather than dependents. The best completion links those demographic details to the policy and social consequences of common assumptions about ageing.
Best completion — the sentence that calls for rethinking what we mean by the ageing mind to avoid decisions and policies that marginalize older people or waste public resources. This directly continues the paragraph by connecting demographic trends to policy implications and recommending a change in perspective.
Why the sentence asserting that the idea of getting 'dumber' with age is a myth is not best: it restates a general claim and would more naturally appear earlier as background rather than as the paragraph's concluding policy-oriented statement.
Why the sentence claiming that many scientific assumptions about cognitive decline are 'formally invalid' is not best: it is a technical and strong critique that shifts the focus to methodological issues instead of the broader societal and policy concerns emphasized in the paragraph.
Why the sentence about using computer models to explain declines in test scores is not best: it introduces a specific empirical detail and narrow research finding that does not follow naturally from the paragraph's general discussion of demographics and policy.
Therefore, the sentence urging us to rethink the ageing mind to prevent marginalizing policies best completes the paragraph.