Ok, ignore the increase in my ability from then to now. When I was young I compared myself to every other programmer and thought I was in the top 5%. Now I com

Ok, ignore the increase in my ability from then to now. When I was young I compared myself to every other programmer and thought I was in the top 5%. Now I compare myself to every other programmer and think I'm average. I also look back and realise that when I was 18 I was probably in the bottom 5% of programmers worldwide. I agree there is no such thing as generic experience, but within the same domain experience does make a difference. Everything else being equal, an 18yo kernel programmer will have less kernel programming experience than a 35yo kernel programmer. Now I'm not saying this automatically makes the 35yo the best choice or the better programmer, but it certainly does add some value.