BBC NEWS | Health | 'Brain decline' begins at age 27
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7945569.stm

'Brain decline' begins at age 27 Concentration Mental abilities decline at a relatively young age, experts suspect Mental powers start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, marking the start of old age, US research suggests. Professor Timothy Salthouse of the University of Virginia found reasoning, spatial visualisation and speed of thought all decline in our late 20s.

Mental powers start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, marking the start of old age, US research suggests.

Thought that your mental prime years were in your thirties? Think again: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7945569.stm [from http://twitter.com/mpondu/statuses/1340264706]

An overview of a study on the shape of our learning. I suppose it is no mistake that tertiary education systems follow the curve. "A seven-year study (published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging) reveals the average age at which the top performance was achieved as 22 in nine out of the 12 tests given. The first age at which there was any marked decline was at 27 in tests of brain speed, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability. Things like memory stayed intact until the age of 37, on average, while abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or general information, increased until the age of 60."

Six more years to go before I get the dumb.