We need to toss out all that bad math and use this one equation instead, which incorporates the wisdom of Siddhartha and Thomas and the best modern social science: Satisfaction = What you have ÷ what you want

In other words: work, work, work, croak. No second curve, because there’s no need for one. I call this the “Rage Against the Dying of the Light” strategy to deal with decline in fluid intelligence, named for Dylan Thomas’s well-known 1951 poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” which famously enjoins the reader, “Rage, rage against the dying

The fear of decline involves this same fear of nonexistence. If my existence in relation to others is defined by my professional accomplishment or standing, my decline will effectively erase me. Not surprisingly, the ways people deal with the crisis of nonexistence are the same as how they deal with professional decline.

The idea of moving to instruction later in life is a theme one finds in the great wisdom literatures from East to West. “Just as one uses a burning candle to light others with,” says the elderly archery teacher in Eugen Herrigel’s famous book Zen in the Art of Archery, “so the teacher transfers the spirit of the right art from heart to heart, that

Figure 2. Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence curves

philosopher Immanuel Kant, who wrote, “As soon as a person becomes an Object of appetite for another, all motives of moral relationship cease to function, because as an Object of appetite for another a person becomes a thing and can be treated and used as such by every one.”13

That’s what we social scientists refer to as the “hedonic treadmill.” You run and run but make no real progress toward your goal—you simply avoid being thrown off the back from stopping or slowing down.

Cicero believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does

Ability based on fluid intelligence increases, and then declines, in every profession. Some earlier, and some later; there are some key differences, but it is a misconception that decline can be delayed indefinitely in a profession just because it doesn’t require physical strength. We saw that “idea professions” see decline, too—generally, decades