My 20 paise

The following thoughts have been stimulated by the post, Cynic in Wonderland: Minding the Mind, by a friend. 

Dear Cynic, all your hypotheses about the slowdown in one's intellectual growth are just fine. What you have not done, is consider external elements that tend to shake up the equilibrium. Let me illustrate. A perfect example of these external elements would be children. Well, you did briefly mention, in your third hypothesis, "real life, earning one’s livelihood, responsibilities" and children, I would say, become your prime responsibility. Combine this with "earning one's livelihood" and you've got yourself a highly combustible mixture. Suddenly you see yourself sliding back down the left side of the bell curve. 

From devouring one cryptic crossword a day, suddenly you're down to five clues a month. From looking for intellectually challenging reads or New York Times bestsellers and the likes, suddenly you find yourself scanning the horizon for "Bruno learns to share" or "Pepper plays with fire" and other picture books with big letters. And, you know you've hit rock bottom when the only song you can think of to sing at the office picnic is "This old man, he played one...". 

Then when you're slowly climbing back up the curve with the children, you realise that this is not the same route you took when you were growing up. The curve looks a lot different now, a lot steeper than you remember. And you find that your children have no trouble running up it, they've already reached way above you and calling out to you from the top, mocking you, as you struggle to keep up.

So, dear Cynic, think about this, and think hard because there's no turning back, no exit, no escape route, nothing... once you've gone in through this door. 

Although, on the up side, if your inner child is still alive and kicking and wishes to stay that way, then these could end up being the best years of your life. In this case, you will find it just as exciting to plan a toddler-friendly trip to Disney World as you would a snorkeling trip to the Maldives. So the choice, dear friend, is all yours!