So poetry is mentioned in the article quite prominently, and I think I know a little bit about it, so I'd just like to point out a few confounding factors. 1.

So poetry is mentioned in the article quite prominently, and I think I know a little bit about it, so I'd just like to point out a few confounding factors. 1. Many great poets (Keats, Shelley, Byron, Sylvia Plath, etc) died at a young age. Not only did that limit their output at a later age, the resulting aura around death at young ages contributed to their reputation. 2. Other great writers (Shakespeare, Joyce) wrote poetry when they were young, and moved to writing longer works in slightly different forms as they got older. Their later works are even more acclaimed, and are actually "poetic" if not exactly poetry. There are many, many poets who are critically acclaimed and wrote their best work much later in life. I think point (1) must have dominated this person's research, and makes me suspect his overall point. I suspect similar factors come into play in science - for example, great scientists most likely end up in administrative positions where they supervisie and mentor younger scientists who write the papers.