Aging Well KISS

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

~ Edsger Dijkstra

Aging in Place

The problem with getting information on how to age well (and definitions of that vary greatly) is in a word, VOLUME! It’s drinking from a firehose with TED talk experts popping up hourly giving the latest on longevity research and secrets. Then there is the Multi-millionaire Tech guy/s armed with lots of money and time to invest in living forever. Or the new biohackers from prestigious universities with cutting edge research, it’s exhausting just to try and keep up with it all. Why does it have to be so complex to achieve a reasonable shot at functional aging and longevity?

KISS

I would like to suggest a 3-legged stool for aging well and keeping it simple. Leonardo Da Vinci was credited with stating: “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” So, in that spirit let’s look at the KISS model of design thinking and apply it to aging.

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS), or the kinder versions, “Keep it short and simple” and “Keep it simple and straightforward,” is a design principle stating systems should be as simple as possible, and over complexity should be avoided—because simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction.

The term was first used in the US Navy and is thought to have been coined by Kelly Johnson, who was the lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works, and it has been in use for a long time.

KISS, an acronym for “Keep it simple, stupid!”, is a design principle first noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. First seen partly in American English by at least 1938, the KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore, simplicity should be a key goal in design, and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson. The term “KISS principle” was in popular use by 1970. Variations on the phrase (usually as some euphemism for the more churlish “stupid”) include “keep it super simple”, “keep it simple, silly”, “keep it short and simple”, “keep it short and sweet”, “keep it simple and straightforward”, “keep it small and simple”, “keep it simple, soldier”, “keep it simple, sailor”, “keep it simple, sweetie”, “keep it stupidly simple”, or “keep it sweet and simple”.

~ Wikipedia

The KISS model is used in a variety of disciplines, such as interface design, product design, and software development—but here I’m employing it related to a 3-legged stool of functional aging.

3-Legged Stool

• Leg One: Leg Strength and Mortality Rates / The studies vary, but the evidence is clear; individuals with higher levels of leg strength had a lower risk of mortality (michaelockrim.com).

Action Step: Get on a simple leg strengthening program/Consult your doctor or PT prior to starting.

• Leg Two: Daily Novelty and Complexity / Environmental complexity is a longevity factor and strengthens neuropathways (neurogenesis).

Action Step: Build newness into each day. Avoid routines, meet new people, master something different, take a new way home, eat at a new-to-you restaurant next time.

• Leg Three: We are aged by culture (ageism)—but only if we agree to it.

Acton Step: Don’t buy the cultural narrative of ageism; and lead by example, be unstoppable.

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Author note: Yes, I could be accused of over simplifying the aging well process. On the other hand, the problem of too many Choices, or overchoice is a cognitive impairment that occurs during a decision-making process when we are presented with too many options we cannot easily choose between. Our ability to make a good decision is reduced by the overload of choices, as is our satisfaction with the final decision (insidebe.com). So for this reason I am suggesting using KISS so it might just be simple enough to be relevant and adopted.