One reason you know you're getting older
#1. You Lose the Ability to Be Surprised by Entertainment
When You're a Kid ...

The Sixth Sense was one of the coolest movies I've ever seen. Not because of the main content, but because the ending alone was enough to cement that film in cinematic history. It was brilliant. Fight Club was the same way. Given, the meat of that movie was fun as hell to watch, but the twist was just mind-blowing at the time.

Those little surprises are what make entertainment awesome when you're growing up. I'm not just talking about "twist endings," though. They can be -- and often are -- more subtle. A punchline of a great joke is only funny because you didn't expect it. A horror movie is scary because you never know what's going to jump out at you next. Holy fuck, I nearly shit myself when I saw the first two Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Those twists and turns are what keep things interesting and fresh.

The Warning Sign:

Unfortunately, they abide by a pretty strict formula, and once you've experienced so many of them, they become as predictable as a sunrise. A perfect example of this is BioShock Infinite. Don't worry, I'm not going to give out spoilers.

I bought the game because everyone I spoke to and every review I read said that it was quite literally one of the greatest games ever created<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock_Infinite#Critical_reception>. Their biggest praise fell on the storytelling, and I cannot find anyone who doesn't think that it's pure genius.

Except for all of my friends who are my age or older. None of us think it's a bad game, mind you. Hell, none of us really even think it's a bad story. But it is not even remotely close to being the mind-bending benchmark that the gaming world is declaring it to be. The reason for our very subjective, equally worthless opinions is because we've seen these plots a thousand times in a thousand different formats. Half of us predicted the "twist" in that game long before the setup was even complete.

That's not a slam on the game or a "Hey, look how smart and cool we are." It's a prime example of how our age and experience have trained us to read tone, music and visual cues, symbolism, pacing, three-act setup -- because we've played hundreds of games. We've seen hundreds of movies. We've read hundreds of books. We know stories. We know twists. And you will, too. It's not about intelligence. It's about consuming so much for so long that you can pick out the individual ingredients that went into making the cake.

But don't let me scare you. Growing older is a good thing in most respects. I'm just saying that it can sneak up on you if you don't know what to look for. Once you're prepared for it, it's up to you how to use it. Hell, Steven Tyler is like 190 years old, and that dude is still going like age ain't shit.