Ageing can seem like a scary prospect, but a wealth of scientific studies have found that youth isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are plenty of cases in which human beings peak well into middle and old age.

Many of the points mark the middle of an age range that scientists have identified, which means they are all determined by averages.

Some are also surveys, not controlled trials, so there is a possibility the self-reports don’t capture the most accurate picture.

But in many cases, the numbers keep cropping up for a reason, which is that life isn’t a downhill slide from youth.

Linguists and psychologists are still arguing about this one, but it’s commonly accepted that learning a second language is easier for most people when they’re younger, generally before puberty.

One of the key ways cognitive scientists test your brain’s processing power is through what’s called a digit symbol coding test – they equate a number with a certain symbol, then give you a string of numbers and ask you to convert them to the correct symbols.

We’ve all been there: you just met someone new, and their name went in one ear and out the other. It turns out that’s least likely to happen when you’re 22 or so, according to a 2010 study.

Women are most attractive to men at about 23. And men’s attractiveness to women seems to get better with age.

According to the book’s analysis of the data, men find women in their early 20s most attractive. Even as the men got older, their preference for 20-something women seemed to stay the same. Continue reading »