Pay and productivity, it is generally assumed, should be related. But the relationship seems to weaken (31) people get older. Mental ability declines (32) age. That is the same for the brainy and the dim—and not (33) for humans: it is measurable even (34) fruit flies. (35) minds that keep lively will suffer less than the lazy. In general, the more education you have, the more productive your old (36) will be. Some (37) decline faster than others. According to most studies, people’s numerical and reasoning abilities are (38) their best in their 20s and early 30s. (39) abilities—those that depend on knowledge—may improve with age. For most workers, decreased abilities will (40) to lower productivity; only a minority will find know-how and knowledge outweighs their failing powers. Even those employees who remain highly productive will be likely to shine only in a narrow (41) . Academics notice this. It is less clear that employers do. Studies of supervisors’ ratings show no clear correlation (42) age and perceived productivity. When other employees’ views are (43) into account though, the picture changes: these ratings suggest that workers in their 30s are the (44) productive and hardworking, (45) scores falling thereafter. That is (46) up by studies of work samples, which find lower productivity among the oldest employees. A study for America’s Department of Labor showed job performance peaking at 35, and (47) declining. It varied by industry: the fall was (48) in footwear, but faster in furniture. Intellectual occupations are harder to measure, but the picture is the same. Academics seem to publish (49) as they age. Painters, musicians and writers show the same tendency. Their output peaks in their 30s and 40s. The only (50) is female writers, who are most productive in their 50s.

37（）

 A. The philosopher’s clumsiness in worldly affairs makes him appear stupid, or, "gives the impression of plain silliness." We are left with a rather Monty Pythonesque definition of the philosopher: the one who is silly.
B. The lawyer is compelled to present a case in court and time is of the essence. In Greek legal proceedings, a strictly limited amount of time was allotted for the presentation of cases. Time was measured with a water clock or clepsydra, which literally steals time, as in the Greek kleptes, a thief or embezzler. The pettifogger, the jury, and by implication the whole society, live with the constant pressure of time. The water of time’s flow is constantly threatening to drown them. C. But the basic contrast here is that between the lawyer, who has no time, or for whom time is money, and the philosopher, who takes time. The freedom of the philosopher consists in either moving freely from topic to topic or simply spending years returning to the same topic out of perplexity, fascination and curiosity.
D. It is our hope that some of them will make the time to read The Stone. As Wittgenstein says, "This is how philosophers should salute each other: ’Take your time.’"
E. Socrates believes that the philosopher neither sees nor hears the so-called unwritten laws of the city, that is, the mores and conventions that govern public life. The philosopher will disregard the societal titles given to a person.
F. As Alfred North Whitehead said, philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato. Let me risk adding a footnote by looking at Plato’s provocative definition of the philosopher that appears in the middle of his dialogue, "Theaetetus," in a passage that some scholars consider a "digression". But far from being a footnote to a digression, I think in this moment Plato tells us something hugely important about what a philosopher is and what philosophy does.