Lost: Trig, Calculus; most math beyond basic algebra
Gained: The lyrics to The Humpty Dance, Cantalope, and The Freaks Of The Industry
Lost: Roman and Greek history
Gained: The history of the DC Universe.
Lost: The plot lines for most of the plays of Shakespear.
Gained: The plot lines and character profiles for Babylon5 and Star Trek, TNG. Also Voyager.
Lost: The State Capitals.
Gained: A goodly portion of Monty Python sketches.
I don’t think defragging my brain is going to be good enough. I need an upgrade.
If you would put the crack pipe down for just one day you would realize this was actually on Opalcat’s board originally, not this one.
Now apparently, I’m the only person on this board that has ever gained/lost something. The rest of ya’ll have apparently been in a state of stasis, slumbering away like a bunch of smelly old hybernating bears.
Now surely there is some other poster out there who has gained one thing and lost something else. I make this statement with all sincerity, and not as a shameless bid to bump this thread back up to the top.
Some of use gain and lose so much that life is a perpetual juggling act. I think I go in about a 10 year cycle. I guess you want specific examples, so, at random:
Lost:
As you noted, calculus beyond differential calc
Many languages - but those always came back in a few weeks when I used to travel)
Molecular biology - did I forget, or has it changed that much?
Martial arts - every summer I think of trying to go back, but dang, I’m not a teenager anymore. It’s hard to believe I ever did some of those things
The ability to write poetry - I’ve tried many times. I guess I’m a shrivelled husk there, too.
The panicky feeling of losing someone I love (not jealousy) I don’t miss that
The urge to change the world - small acts mean more to me now
Impatience and a low threshold for boredoms
A lot of hair
Much of what I’ve gained involves upgrading skills that will be useless in five years anyway. Or else, the flip side of what I lost – i.e. I lost some of the driving ambition, but that’s a gain in contentment. I lost the ‘big crowd’ social urge and adventurism, but those were burdens as well as gifts. Wait…
Gained
The ability to rationalize my losses
A lot of ‘good habits’
A true appreciation of how brief ten years is. I remember when that was definitely ‘long term’, now it’s medium. I’d almost call it short – but then I’d lock my keys in the car
