How do you know it’s not from simply growing older?
Do people usually get smarter as they get older?
During development to adulthood, clearly so. Thereafter, interpreting “smart” as the OP’s “better at problem solving”, they do, or at least, they can and should. They learn more, acquire and develop skills, accumulate experiences, and so on.
But it’s not clear that “simply growing older” is a thing, distinct from all of the things one actually does while time passes — including such stuff as studying rationality.
I’d probably say that “growing older” implies accumulating experience. How well you convert that experience into wisdom (= “getting smarter”) very much depends on the person (and in particular, on IQ). Some people do an excellent job out of it, others not so much.
During development to adulthood, clearly so. Thereafter, interpreting “smart” as the OP’s “better at problem solving”, they do, or at least, they can and should. They learn more, acquire and develop skills, accumulate experiences, and so on.
But it’s not clear that “simply growing older” is a thing, distinct from all of the things one actually does while time passes — including such stuff as studying rationality.
I’d probably say that “growing older” implies accumulating experience. How well you convert that experience into wisdom (= “getting smarter”) very much depends on the person (and in particular, on IQ). Some people do an excellent job out of it, others not so much.