Opus 2025-411: Ode to Old: Carpal Tunnel Thinking

I have not suffered from this physical handicap.  I have not lost the use of my hands, but my wife has gone through it on both arms.  I’m not aware of the recent research.  I’m not aware of all of the nuances.  In the back of my mind, there is the theory that the condition is brought on by repetitive motion.  The best example would be someone who is a professional typist or secretary, who is moving his arms and hands in a certain way again and again and again and over time things develop problems.

Going with that thought I wonder if some of our thinking is crippled by the same type of actions and habits.  Where our minds work in the same path day after day, with no variation or flexibility, I wonder if we don’t lose the ability to think gracefully and freely.  When my wife was at her worst, she was still able to do the basic tasks that were necessary.  I don’t know how much pain that really involved or whether it was just a stiffness.  It kept her from doing her best.

If the theory is correct that a major problem is repetitive motion, and we apply that to our mental ability, then it would say that we need to find ways to exercise our minds in new ways.  I’m not calling for different values or even different opinions, but I am calling for us to read more widely, to listen more attentively, and work on our reasoning skills as we interact with people from other backgrounds and philosophies.

I’m reaching that age when people start to decline not only physically but mentally.  I see it in friends.  I saw it watching a video when a reputable scholar who has written many books and still can think outside the box was having a hard time completing sentences or finishing a thought.

It happens.

Someone once said that one way to keep your mind active is to develop new skills.  Start learning a new musical instrument.  Learn to type if you never have.  Anything that requires you to stretch can keep your mind flexible according to that theory.

I’m willing to go with that until something better comes along.

homo unius libri