Aging isn’t only a downhill journey. While some of our mental faculties almost always decline over time, other cognitive abilities can stay the same, or even improve, scientists have discovered. The overall balance of these losses and gains means that for most people, the ideal time to tackle leadership roles is in their mid-50s, according to Darlene Howard, a psychologist emerita at Georgetown University.
變老不意味著什麼都在走下坡路。科學家發現，儘管我們的一部分大腦功能隨著年齡增長而衰退，其他認知能力則會保持不變甚至會變強。喬治城大學的心理學家榮譽退休教授達琳·霍華德指出，綜合平衡這些得失的結果顯示，多數人的領導能力在55歲左右達到高峰。
In healthy individuals, some parts of the brain shrink starting in our 20s. This shrinkage, which is not a loss of neurons but rather changes in size and connections among neurons, leads to differences in cognitive functions. In most cases, these changes are so gradual, it’s easy to adapt to them over time. On average, older adults tend to lose capabilities like mental speed, which can affect reaction times or the ability to connect different types of information, compared to younger individuals. Learning new material can become more difficult (but not impossible), and it may become harder to recall specific words or remained focused on a specific task in the presence of distractions.
健康人的大腦會從20多歲開始部分萎縮。這種萎縮不是喪失神經元，而是神經元的大小和聯繫發生改變，導致認知能力的差異。在大多數情況下，這些改變都是逐漸發生的，隨著時間過去人們可以輕鬆地適應這些改變。平均而言，年長的成年人和年輕人相比，大腦反應速度會變慢，將不同類型信息聯繫到一起的能力也會減退。學習新知識會變得更困難(但也不是不可能)，而且更難以回憶起特定詞彙，或在受幹擾的情況下集中注意力處理特定任務。
The brain has some flexibility, though. In 2009, Denise Park, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Dallas, and Patricia Reuter-Lorenz at the University of Michigan gave this flexibility a name: STAC, or the Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition. The theory states that as the brain perceives challenges to cognition, it can find new ways to work around them. An older person may use more regions of her brain to accomplish a task than a younger individual, but both people could do the job equally well.
不過，大腦也會靈活應對這些改變。2009年，美國達拉斯市的德克薩斯大學的心理學家丹尼斯·帕克和密西根大學的帕特麗夏·路透-洛倫茲給這種靈活性起了一個名字：變老與認知的腳手架理論(縮寫為STAC)。這一理論指出，大腦會察覺到認知的挑戰，因此會找到繞過挑戰的新工作方式。年紀更大的人在執行任務時可能會比年輕人運用更多的大腦區域，但兩者都能同樣出色地完成工作。
In some cases this adaptation may actually be beneficial. Older adults can have better vocabularies, because, although recalling words may be harder, they』ve had time to learn more of them, Howard said. They can also be better at solving interpersonal or abstract problems. Temporal discounting, or valuing the future just as much if not more than the present, tends to also get better with age, as does the ability to regulate emotions and cope with negative feelings, Howard explained at a forum at the National Press Foundation earlier this month.
在某些情況下，大腦的這種應變實際上可能是有益的。霍華德說，年長的人詞彙量更大，儘管更難以回憶起詞彙，但他們過去所學的詞彙更多。而且，他們更善於解決人際問題或抽象問題。霍華德在本月初的國家新聞基金會的一個論壇上解釋說，隨著年齡增長，時間貼現或未來時間洞察力也會提高，與此同時，調節情緒和應對負面情緒的能力也會改善。
So at what point are the cognitive gains associated with aging at their maximum, while losses are at a minimum? Probably mid-50s, Howard said, when asked about the ideal age for a US president. However, there’s so much variability in the way that individual’s brains may change over time, it’s not a perfect predictor of ideal leadership skills.
那麼，伴隨年齡而來的認知紅利最大化而認知能力衰退最小化的時候是幾歲呢?很可能是55歲，被問及美國總統最理想年齡時霍華德回答道。但是，個體的大腦隨著時間會發生各種改變，所以不能用55歲來界定最佳領導力。
Still, seven of the CEOs in the top 10 of Fortune’s list of the 10 biggest companies from 2018 fall between the ages of 50 to 60 years old.
儘管如此，《財富》雜誌列出的2018全球十強企業的十位執行長有七位的年齡在50歲到60歲之間。
Of course, cognitive abilities alone do not determine leadership capabilities. If an older leader with ample experience effectively surrounded herself with younger, knowledgable staff, it could be possible for her to be just as effective than younger individuals.
當然，光是認知能力並不能決定領導力。如果一位經驗豐富的年長領導者手下都是知識淵博的年輕員工，她可能會和年輕人一樣高效。
Notably, the mid-50s aren’t necessarily the peak of other aspects of life. Previous work has shown that at this age in the US, people tend to report they are the least happy, and depression rates are highest. People appear to be the happiest and least depressed after the age of 70, when they have likely exited the workforce.
值得注意的是，55歲左右並不一定是人生其他方面的巔峰年齡。先前的研究顯示，據報告這個年齡的美國人往往是最不快樂的，抑鬱症發作率也是最高的。人們最快樂和最不抑鬱的年齡似乎是70歲後，那時候通常都已經退休。
（本文內容來自網際網路公開內容）