Age-related decline is, according to my observations, caused by declining interest in the nuts and bolts of programming. When people lose interest, they start

Age-related decline is, according to my observations, caused by declining interest in the nuts and bolts of programming. When people lose interest, they start relying on high-level abstractions even when those abstractions are inaccurate or inadequate. Or they rely on concepts they've learned in the past, without learning what's new about the new technology. It looks exactly like intellectual laziness, but "laziness" is not the right word, because it is an unavoidable consequence of boredom. Losing interest in technology is like tires losing their grip on the road. You keep going in the same direction, no matter which way you point the wheels. Often age-related decline is masked by working in a static technical environment that a person has already mastered. It's like sliding uncontrollably down a straight road. Then, when the person needs a new job, they find that they haven't learned anything new in five years, are hopelessly out of date, and can't muster enough interest to learn anything new. The road finally curved, and they're in the ditch. Personally, I've come to value my ability to be interested in the technical details of computer systems. It's embarrassing sometimes, but it's the key to my livelihood. (I've gone from being ashamed of it to occasionally wishing I had more of it.) I know I can't really be satisfied without an aspiration, or at least a connection, to grander things (fame, the mysteries of the universe, or boatloads of cash, depending on who you ask) but now I treat my geekiness as an asset instead of a distraction.