> Of course, the last time I saw my great-grandmother (last summer), she was 105 years old and very frustrated when both my uncle and I told her that we worked with computers. In her words, "I don't know computers. They must be very useful devices, since everyone seems to use them so much!" I'm not completely sure that I would want to outlive my ability to comprehend the changes in the world around me...

I wonder. Are elderly people who are frustrated with being unable to keep up with technology really unable to do so? Or have they just tired of trying to keep up? People like your great-grandmother have seen all or most of the 20th century... think about how many technological innovations have been introduced over the course of the last hundred years! That's a lot to assimilate. If human lifespans were longer; if, say, your grandmother could reasonably look forward to another one to two hundred years of living, perhaps she wouldn't feel so daunted by the challenge of learning computers. Could it be that at this point in her life, it just doesn't seem worthwhile to try to keep up anymore?

Just something your post made me wonder about.

Grishny