“It’s never too late” is one of the most repeated but cost more vital slogans to apply. When you reach a certain age it is lazy or lacks the strength to start something again. This is not the case with Lucio Chiquito Caicedo, a 104-year-old Colombian grandfather who finished his doctoral thesis in 2020 after 30 years of starting it. The story went viral again in the last hours.
This centennial engineer took advantage of the coronavirus quarantine to lock himself in his home in Medellín and finish three decades of study. In addition, thanks to his observations he found a mathematical formula that allows to calculate the optimal flow of a river to produce electrical energy. An enigma with more than 200 years old.
“My thesis is to determine the maximum amount of water that can be economically drawn from a river for energy or anything else.” A dream that was postponed on different occasions, until finally last year he had the time and energy to realize it.
His academic career and the beginning of the thesis
As soon as he can, he will present his thesis at the University of Manchester, where he graduated in 1947 and started in the world of hydraulic research. However, it would not be until the age of 73 that the thesis would begin. He was born in 1916, in the middle of the First World War, and arrived in England in 1943, when the Nazis bombed the British country in the Second.
However, he is clear that his academic life still has more to give. “I was never unemployed, I always had work to do,” he said and now seeks to improve in English and German.
Although its validity and good health is not based solely on the study. “I walked a lot, more than 50 years I was exercising walking because of the fieldwork.” Something that he highlighted was very important to be strong in these years and to be able to dedicate himself to his thesis.
In addition to being a great student, he was a successful entrepreneur in Colombia where he is also known for his work in favor of gender equality.
Staying in a good shape
As he explains, what he does to stay in such good shape despite his longevity is to always bathe with cold water, eat a lot of fruit and take advantage of the dead hours to read and study whatever. “Time comes and goes, and lost time will never come back,” he says. His next goal is to review German grammar, a language he learned 90 years ago.
In a dialogue with the site El Colombiano, he said: “First, take advantage of the time because the time that is gone no longer returns. If it was difficult before it is now easier with technology and opportunities, so my best wishes for those who want to undertake the challenging path of study and the realization of their theses. ”
And he added: “The second is to be able to inspire and leave a legacy to the new generations. Fight for your dreams because anything is possible no matter the age.”
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Source: La Vanguardia
He presented his doctoral thesis at the age of 104 and solved an enigma from two centuries ago. Photo: Unsplash. Credits: Bruce Mars
