I was sitting with my grandmother last month, watching her calculate a restaurant tip in her head faster than I could pull out my phone. She smiled at my surprise and said something that stayed with me: “We didn’t have apps to do everything for us. We just had to remember.”
That moment got me thinking about how much we’ve outsourced our mental work to devices and apps. We have brain training games promising sharper minds, yet we’ve abandoned the everyday practices that kept previous generations mentally agile well into their later years. The 1960s generation didn’t need Sudoku or memory apps.
They had something better: real-world skills that exercised their brains naturally.
1. Mental arithmetic without calculators
Every transaction in the 60s required mental math. People calculated change, balanced checkbooks by hand, and estimated costs while shopping. This constant practice strengthened neural pathways in ways that tapping a calculator app never will.
I started challenging myself to do basic calculations mentally when grocery shopping. At first, it felt slow and frustrating. But after a few weeks, I noticed something interesting. I wasn’t just getting faster at math. I was more present, more engaged with what I was actually spending.
2. Memorizing phone numbers and addresses
Before contact lists, people memorized dozens of phone numbers. They knew addresses of friends, family, and frequently visited places without checking their phones. This wasn’t just rote memorization. It created a mental map of their social world.
I’ve started making a point to memorize important numbers again. My husband’s cell, my sister’s address, my doctor’s office. When I actually need to recall information instead of searching for it, I feel more mentally sharp. More connected to the information itself.
Your working memory functions like a muscle. Use it or lose it. When everything is stored externally, that muscle atrophies. People in the 60s exercised this muscle constantly, often without realizing it.
3. Reading physical maps and navigating without GPS
Navigation in the 60s required spatial reasoning, planning, and constant environmental awareness. You had to understand where you were in relation to your destination, recognize landmarks, and adjust your route based on real-time observations.
GPS has made us passive passengers in our own journeys. We follow turn-by-turn directions without understanding the bigger picture.
When I travel now, I spend time studying the map before I go. I note major streets, landmarks, and the general direction I’m heading. I still use GPS, but I’m aware of where I am. The difference in how present and engaged I feel is remarkable.
4. Following complex recipes without looking them up
Cooking in the 60s meant remembering recipes, understanding proportions, and making adjustments on the fly. People passed down recipes verbally or wrote them on index cards they’d reference until the steps became second nature.
This kind of procedural memory, combined with the sensory engagement of cooking, creates rich neural connections. You’re not just following steps. You’re integrating visual, tactile, and olfactory information to create something.
I’ve been working on memorizing a few recipes I make regularly. When I cook without constantly checking my phone, I’m more intuitive. I can tell when something needs more time or a different seasoning. I’m using judgment, not just following orders.
5. Engaging in sustained conversation without digital interruptions
Dinner parties in the 60s meant hours of uninterrupted conversation. No phones buzzing. No checking notifications. People listened fully, held complex threads of discussion, and engaged deeply with ideas.
This kind of sustained attention strengthens cognitive flexibility and emotional intelligence. When we’re constantly interrupted by devices, we lose the ability to think deeply and connect authentically.
As Rudá Iandê writes in his book Laughing in the Face of Chaos: A Politically Incorrect Shamanic Guide for Modern Life, “Most of us don’t even know who we truly are. We wear masks so often, mold ourselves so thoroughly to fit societal expectations, that our real selves become a distant memory.” I’ve mentioned this book before, and his insights continue to resonate with me. Rudá is the founder of The Vessel, and his work has inspired me to create more spaces for genuine, uninterrupted connection in my own life.
I started implementing phone-free dinners at home. The first few times felt awkward. We kept reaching for our devices out of habit. But once we settled in, the quality of our conversations deepened. We remembered more, connected more, and honestly? We laughed more.
6. Writing letters and remembering details about people’s lives
Letter writing required you to hold someone’s life in your mind. You remembered what they told you last time. You asked follow-up questions. You thought carefully about what you wanted to say before committing it to paper.
This practice strengthened both memory and empathy. You couldn’t just scroll through someone’s social media to catch up. You had to actually remember and care about the details of their lives.
I started writing occasional letters to close friends. The process forces me to slow down and really think about them. What have they been dealing with? What did they mention last time we talked? The act of remembering strengthens my connection to them in a way that reacting to their Instagram stories never could.
7. Solving problems through trial and error without instant answers
When something broke in the 60s, you figured it out. You couldn’t Google the answer or watch a YouTube tutorial. You observed, hypothesized, tested, and learned from failure. This developed problem-solving skills and resilience that no app can replicate.
There’s something valuable about sitting with not knowing. About working through a problem with your own hands and mind. As Rudá asks in his book, “What if we could learn to embrace the discomfort of not knowing?”
I’ve been trying to fix small things myself before searching for solutions online. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I make it worse before I make it better. But I’m engaging my brain in a different way. I’m building confidence in my ability to figure things out.
Final thoughts
These skills weren’t special. They were just normal life in the 1960s. But they provided constant, varied mental exercise that kept minds sharp without any deliberate “brain training.”
We can’t go back to the 60s, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to. But we can be more intentional about which skills we’re willing to outsource to technology. Every time we choose the easy digital solution, we lose an opportunity to exercise our minds naturally.
Start small. Calculate a tip mentally. Memorize one phone number. Cook a simple recipe from memory. Navigate somewhere without GPS. Write a letter. These aren’t just nostalgic practices. They’re investments in your cognitive health that cost nothing and require no subscription.
Just launched: The Vessel’s Youtube Channel
Explore our first video: The Brain Beneath Our Feet — a short-film by shaman Rudá Iandê that challenges where we believe intelligence comes from.
Instead of looking to the stars or machines, Rudá invites us to consider that the first great mind on Earth may have existed without a brain at all… and that the oldest form of thought might be living beneath our feet.
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