I should have thought of this before, but I can already relate to the vocabulary issue described in the second quote. I often use electronics or computer jargon when talking to my wife, not realizing I’m at home and not in the shop. Her arched eyebrow usually cues me to realize I need to swap my terminology around.
I was always a huge fan of the “Cosmos” series, but it never dawned on me to look for books written by Carl Sagan. Thanks!
I’m sorry if I came across as wanting to be “smart” for some sort of status reason. I just have become remarkably aware of how often I tend to “zone out” how long it takes me to solve problems or make decisions.
I guess the initial intent of the post was to see if anybody has been where I’ve been and found a way out. A slow decline into cognitive stagnation, followed by, hopefully, a renewed passion for learning.
My interests are usually focused on electronics and engineering, but I get distracted by music, fictional literature, movies, and computer games. I bounce around so much that I don’t really gain much expertise in anything not related to work. My father always said that you should shoot for the moon so that you will at least hit something. I guess my “Moon” goal would be to learn enough to become a great inventor.