gwern comments on Don't Think Too Hard. - Less Wrong

9 Post author: hegemonicon 05 October 2009 03:51AM

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Comment author: gwern 05 October 2009 06:00:14PM * 2 points [-]

Possible confounding factors:

old people have higher discount rates ('if I'm going to die next year, why bother?')
less time to benefit from learning period (years, as opposed to many decades like a kid)
old people have less gain (both from #1 & #2 and because they have support structures which speak their native tongue - their relatives and friends)
old people are just stubborn and dislike the new country and its language (did the old people want to leave? Unlikely).