Elderhood rising -- the dawn of a new world age | Bill Thomas | TEDxSF
The geriatrician asserts that society incorrectly views aging as a technical problem when it is actually a design problem, advocating that we embrace "elderhood"—a recognition of life beyond the adult stage—because society's obsession with youth is destabilizing. This argument is supported by observing how the Baby Boomer generation magnified the stage of adolescence, leading to a current "malignant enlargement of adulthood." The speaker concludes that the key to a balanced future is redesigning the human life cycle to incorporate elders. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed physician; specializes in the care of older people; described as a "pretty rare breed" of geriatrician. - The speaker is addressing an audience in a setting where the opportunity to hear from a geriatrician is described as infrequent. - The speaker uses humor regarding the rarity of geriatricians in the U.S. (only 6,000 in 300 million people). ## Theses & Positions - Aging is not a technical problem but a *design problem*. - Society forces life into three accepted stages: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, which acts as a powerful filter on thought and feeling. - The current societal focus on youth and "adulthood" is problematic because it diminishes older people, leading to a "malignant enlargement of adulthood." - The core message is that aging itself is beneficial, stating that "aging is going to save us." - The future requires reimagining the human life cycle to incorporate a stage called "elderhood," which is described as "rich, and it's deep, it's meaningful, and is ancient." ## Concepts & Definitions - **Agism** — The term for making jokes or jokes about another person's age. - **Design Problem vs. Technical Problem** — Aging is conceptualized as a design issue rather than a mechanical malfunction. - **Life Cycle Stages** — Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; historically viewed in contrast to Shakespeare’s model of seven acts. - **Adultified Childhood** — A childhood experience heavily influenced by the cultural power and expectations of the parents' generation. - **Elderhood** — The name given to the stage of life beyond adulthood, which the speaker advocates for recognizing. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Cultural Magnification:** The massive demographic force of the Baby Boomer generation acted like a "cultural neutron star," magnifying the cultural significance of the stage it occupied (adolescence). - **Cycle of Over-Emphasis:** The cultural emphasis shifted: adolescence was magnified by the Boomers, and subsequently, adulthood was magnified through the consumption of "efficiency porn." - **Social Measurement:** Older people are diminished and measured by the adjective "still," meaning their value is conditional on performing activities considered typical of "young" people. - **Societal Structure:** America operates a "vast archipelago of old-age institutions," with more nursing homes than Starbucks coffee shops. - **Cycle Rebalancing:** The eventual exit of the post-war generation from adulthood is posited as the mechanism to open a passage toward "life beyond adulthood." ## Timeline & Sequence - **History:** The speaker notes that in the entire history of the world, "not one person has ever grown young." - **Six Decades Ago:** The birth of the massive Baby Boomer generation, described as a "cultural neutron star." - **1950s:** Adolescence was viewed as a "quirky little period." - **15 Years Later:** The Boomer influx into adolescence created a "generational crucible." - **The 1960s:** Books published with titles like "Be Here Now" and "Steal This Book." - **30 Years Later:** Adulthood became associated with "efficiency porn" (e.g., time management books). - **The Present:** The post-war generation is exiting adulthood, moving toward a period requiring re-evaluation. ## Named Entities - **Baby Boom Generation** — The massive generation that had the cultural power to bend society. - **Shakespeare** — Creator who viewed life in seven acts. - **American society** — The cultural context being critiqued. - **K2** — Mountain climbed by the speaker's great-grandfather. - **Florida** — Location where the speaker's great-grandfather currently resides. ## Numbers & Data - U.S. population: **300 million**. - Number of geriatricians in U.S.: **6,000**. - Years the speaker's great-grandfather is: **96**. - Years the speaker's father is: **87**. - People confined to old-age institutions: **1.6 million**. ## Examples & Cases - **Adolescence Example:** One teenager sneaking out to buy a cigarette vs. millions of adolescents surrounding the Pentagon. - **Adulthood Example:** Transitioning from reading "Be Here Now" (1960s) to consuming "efficiency porn" (30 years later) like books stating "there's only 86,740 seconds in a day." - **Personal Anecdotes:** Uncle Max (age 86) driving; Father (age 87) working every day; Great-Grandpa (age 96) water skiing barefoot in the nude. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Developmental disability status:** Used as the medical standard for someone unable to leave childhood, suggesting risk of a widespread pattern as the Boomers advance. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Alternative Life View:** Seven acts (Shakespeare) vs. Three stages (Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood). - **Alternative Care Model:** Recognizing "elderhood" as a full stage vs. limiting care to institutions based on the loss of adult function. - **Anti-Aging Industry Profit:** Potential for billions of dollars, which the speaker dismisses as irrelevant to the core developmental problem. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The audience may be hesitant to accept the message, indicated by the speaker anticipating, *"Wow! Embrace aging? Not sure I can handle that."* - The speaker acknowledges that the difficulty of aging is something she is intimately familiar with. ## Methodology - **Rhetorical Critique:** Employing humor and dramatic exaggeration (e.g., "cultural neutron star," "earthquake on the cultural Richter scale") to challenge prevailing societal norms regarding aging. - **Process of Re-education:** Proposing a deliberate societal effort to "redesign the human life cycle" to balance adultization. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The immediate goal is to "rebalance the human life cycle" through conscious redesign efforts. - The ultimate recommendation is the active acceptance and promotion of "elderhood," suggesting society "needs elders" more than ever. - Individuals must understand that "our aging and our ultimate mortality are cornerstones of our humanity." ## Implications & Consequences - Failure to recognize elderhood will result in a continued "malignant enlargement of adulthood." - The inevitable collision between the post-war generation leaving adulthood and the recognition of elderhood will force a critical reconsideration of youth and adulthood roles. ## Verbatim Moments - *"It's not a technical problem; it's a design problem."* - *"If you joke about somebody's age, that's called situation comedy!"* - *"all the leading voices, all the experts on aging, are all anti-aging gurus."* - *"we are presented with and compelled to accept a life with three stages: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood."* - *"your childhood was worked by the incredible cultural power of your parent's generation. You lived an adultified childhood."* - *"Older people have a standing in the American society only to the degree that older people can do the things that 'young' people do."* - *"We've been told, we've been instructed, that the problem is aging, but that's wrong. Aging is not the problem. It's our obsession with youth..."* - *"Every day we all wake up one day older."* - *"There is life beyond adulthood and it has a name. Its name is elderhood."* - *"We are all elders in the making."*