FUNNY FEATURE: JEOPARDY FOR THE FORGETFUL

“He was prime minister of Great Britain in World War II” the answer is not Winston Churchill. The Anomic Jeopardy answer is: Who was the fat bald guy who smoked cigars and made a “V” sign with his fingers?

For millions of Americans, watching Joe Biden and Donald Trump confusing the homelands or the mortality of world leaders brought a familiar sense of recognition—or the lack of it. We are a nation where nearly 60 million of us are 65 and older; 37 million are over 70. The youngest baby boomer will turn 60 this year, and with age comes an increasing inability to stick the landing on just who we are talking about. 

This phenomenon of the names of things, people or places feeling just out of reach is called anomia. As Wikipedia reassuringly describes it, people experiencing anomia “can often describe an object in detail and maybe even use hand gestures to demonstrate how the object is used, but cannot find the appropriate word to name the object”—though they retain their grammar, comprehension and general fluency.