At What Age Do Our Intellectual Abilities Peak?

The answer is more complex than you may think.

learn more about Laura Entis

By Laura Entis

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When it comes to ability, conventional wisdom says age matters. At one end of the spectrum is the belief that mental sharpness peaks early, a viewpoint enforced by the college-aged entrepreneurs currently raising billions in Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, there exists a simultaneous, parallel narrative, one that equates experience with intelligence (consider that we've never elected a U.S. president younger than 43, and aren't legally allowed to elect anyone under 35).

From a cognitive standpoint, which position holds more sway? Do our intellectual abilities peak in our mid-20s, or do they continue to ripen with age?

According to a recent study published in Psychological Science, the answer is yes to both.

When neuroscientists at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital gathered data from nearly 50,000 individuals aged 10 to 71 on a wide variety of online cognitive tasks, they found substantial variances in the relationship between age and intellectual abilities. Performance on processing speed, for example, peaked and began to decline early, around high school graduation; verbal and visual working memory tasks plateaued in the mid-30s; emotion-perception gradually crested in late middle-age. Finally, vocabulary continued to steadily climb into the 60s and beyond.

Related: How Old Is Too Old to Start a Business? The Answer May Surprise You. (Infographic)

"These findings motivate a nuanced theory of maturation and age-related decline, in which multiple, dissociable factors differentially affect different domains of cognition," the authors write. "On the practical side, not only is there no age at which humans are performing at peak on all cognitive tasks, there may not be an age at which humans perform at peak on most cognitive tasks."

This view of human ability – one that recognizes the existence of multiple, co-existing intelligences, each with its own individual life-cycle -- helps explain why many personal renaissances arrive later in life: Harland Sanders started KFC his 60s, Ray Kroc opened McDonald's in his early 50s, Steve Jobs spearheaded the iPod, iPhone, iPad and iMac after the age of 45.

Of course, certain abilities do, in fact, favor the young. "A lot of what it comes down to — are you cognitively able to do it?" James C. Kaufman, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut, recently told The New York Times. "Most software developers don't suddenly start at 60." Attempting to develop a new skill at an age where your ability is already waning, the deck is literally stacked against you. "It is generally very difficult to get a late start in a field that requires lots of fluid intelligence from the get-go," Dean Keith Simonton, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis told the outlet.

Related: 8 CEOs Who Amassed a Fortune Before Age 30 (Infographic)

This, of course, gets at the root of Silicon Valley's youth obsession; some of the bias is founded in fact. But the blanket statements often bandied about – "people under 35 are the people who make change happen…people over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas," venture capitalist Vinod Khosla famously pronounced – are oversimplifications.

Engineering, programming and coding are skills ideally acquired before middle-age, but entrepreneurship itself is not a profession reserved for the young. A recent report from the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity found that the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. happens in the 45-54 age bracket, with a considerable amount occurring in the 55-64 demographic. Meanwhile, when a team of researchers looked into the backgrounds of 502 successful engineering and technology American companies founded between 1995 and 2005, they discovered that the median age of their founders was a nearly middle-aged 39.

In fields like law, psychoanalysis and entrepreneurship, lead-time is important; peaks often crest late. It's important, then, to step back and recognize the shifting abilities that course through us: There is no magic formula, or magic age, when it comes to starting a business.

Related: Richard Branson on How to Use Age to Your Advantage

Laura Entis
Laura Entis is a reporter for Fortune.com's Venture section.

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

This 61-Year-Old Grandma Who Made $35,000 in the Medical Field Now Earns 7 Figures in Retirement
A 'Quiet Promotion' Will Cost You a Lot — Use This Expert's 4-Step Strategy to Avoid It
3 Red Flags on Your LinkedIn Profile That Scare Clients Away
'Everyone Is Freaking Out.' What's Going On With Silicon Valley Bank? Federal Government Takes Control.
Leadership

How to Detect a Liar in Seconds Using Nonverbal Communication

There are many ways to understand if someone is not honest with you. The following signs do not even require words and are all nonverbal queues.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

'I Dreaded Falling in Love.' Rupert Murdoch Is Getting Hitched for the Fifth Time.

The 92-year-old media tycoon announces he will wed former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Leadership

How Great Entrepreneurs Find Ways to Win During Economic Downturns

Recessions are an opportunity to recalibrate and make great strides in your business while others are unprepared to brave the challenges. Here's how great entrepreneurs can set themselves up for success despite economic uncertainty.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.

Starting a Business

Selling Your Business? Do These 6 Things Right Now.

If you want the maximum price you need to make these moves before you do anything else.

Business News

'Invest In That Future Now Before It's Too Late': Bill Gates Calls For Global Pandemic Response Team In Op-Ed

In the same month that the World Health Organization called the coronavirus a pandemic three years ago, billionaire Bill Gates reiterated his call for a "fire department for pandemics."