Forget About Looksmaxxing. Brainmaxxing Is the Real Rage.

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

Words are tricky critters. They constantly skitter away. When I’m banging on a keyboard or babbling into a microphone, I’ll sometimes stop short and realize that the phrase on the tip of my fingers or my tongue has vanished and isn’t coming back, no matter how furiously I will it to.

I used to chalk this up to my brain’s deficiencies. Now I half-panic that it’s brain disease.

“Uh-oh,” I say to friends. “Early onset.” That’s a new shorthand that we bandy back and forth, because we’re getting older (I’m 61), because consciousness of age-related dementia has reached........

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