To understand our ability to know and discover, I think it's valuable to consider foolishness along with wisdom, since "knowledge" consists of both.

[Deleted member 6403]

Scientists have been notorious for opposing new discoveries, but the mental rigidity of old age is so general, and well known, that many people have believed that it was caused by the death of brain cells. Individual cells do tend to become less adaptive with aging, and metabolism generally slows down with aging, but even relatively young and mentally quick people are susceptible to losing their ability to understand new ideas.

 

[BearBoy]

hold on a sec will read theres a bigmac in my pocket