3 ms·

Your anecdata of one doesn't sway my real world experience. Cognitive decline starts at 25 for everyone, and no amount of midwit theory that everyone is equal w

Your anecdata of one doesn't sway my real world experience. Cognitive decline starts at 25 for everyone, and no amount of midwit theory that everyone is equal will change that.

nicoffeine 5y ago
In this thread alone you said “hired a few” older devs, and yet discount one person’s experience as “anecdata” while you claim to have “real world experience.” The difference between the two is not “a few” - 1. I’ve worked with amazing devs and hardware engineers from every age, including 50 and up. I’m guessing your experience with older devs “having a complex” was part of their response once they realized that you are just an asshole. As competent and experienced professionals who have dealt with many assholes before you, they adjusted their dedication to your project to reflect how little they cared about it once you became part of their job. They did enough not to feel guilty, but not so much that they risked working with you for longer than it took to find a better job.
- iratewizard 5y ago
  I like how the story of the "amazing dev" above only tells about how he accomplished checking into work everyday and battling cancer. Every senior dev under 35 that I've hired has a much better narrative surrounding how well they work. I also like your story about me, because there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole. I'm just an asshole to morons in denial on this flaming turd of a "tech forum". If you don't plan for your expiration date in the programming trenches, then you won't see it coming when it hits you hard. There's a reason the average age of a programmer is 39 just like there a reason why the average age of a construction worker is 38.
  - nicoffeine 5y ago
    The median age of the entire US labor force is 42.5, construction is 42.9, and "Computer systems design and related services" is 40.6 according to the BLS.[1] In other words, on the scale of human life expectancy, the difference is probably negligible. Even if you were being serious and earnest, you're basing your hypothesis on data that is either incorrect or outdated. (If you actually meant to include mean instead of median, your source isn't a robust data analysis by definition.) > I also like your story about me, because there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole If that's true, it's because you play a different character in person. Tell them about how you are "an asshole to morons" on a "flaming turd" of a tech forum, and how amused you were at the example of a terminally ill cancer patient continuing to work as evidence that old people can develop software. [1] https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18b.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18b.htm
    - iratewizard 5y ago
      My data is incorrect, despite the closest you could find to a meaningful dataset is "Computer systems design and related services". Lol.
      - nicoffeine 5y ago
        That's the industry classification with the largest number of "Software Developers, Applications" occupations from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics[1]. As far as I'm aware, there isn't a comprehensive analysis of occupations by age based on BLS data. I'm guessing your source is a survey that probably has a margin of error larger than the difference between any median ages provided by the BLS for industries that employ the most developers. Taking the industry as a whole is representative of a typical career path. If your narrow point is that people who have entry level positions are young, well, of course. If you've got a better dataset than the BLS, I'm sure there are many people who'd be interested, and you should share it. [1] https://www.bls.gov/oes/2018/may/oes151132.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2018/may/oes151132.htm
        iratewizard 5y ago
        I've got full access to Payscale's data sets ;)
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole. ...to your face. But you have no idea what they privately think, or say to each other when you're not there. (I'm with GP, I too guess what they think isn't what you think they think.)

Your anecdata of one doesn't sway my real world experience. Cognitive decline starts at 25 for everyone, and no amount of midwit theory that everyone is equal will change that.

nicoffeine 5y ago

In this thread alone you said “hired a few” older devs, and yet discount one person’s experience as “anecdata” while you claim to have “real world experience.” The difference between the two is not “a few” - 1. I’ve worked with amazing devs and hardware engineers from every age, including 50 and up. I’m guessing your experience with older devs “having a complex” was part of their response once they realized that you are just an asshole. As competent and experienced professionals who have dealt with many assholes before you, they adjusted their dedication to your project to reflect how little they cared about it once you became part of their job. They did enough not to feel guilty, but not so much that they risked working with you for longer than it took to find a better job.

iratewizard 5y ago
I like how the story of the "amazing dev" above only tells about how he accomplished checking into work everyday and battling cancer. Every senior dev under 35 that I've hired has a much better narrative surrounding how well they work. I also like your story about me, because there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole. I'm just an asshole to morons in denial on this flaming turd of a "tech forum". If you don't plan for your expiration date in the programming trenches, then you won't see it coming when it hits you hard. There's a reason the average age of a programmer is 39 just like there a reason why the average age of a construction worker is 38.
- nicoffeine 5y ago
  The median age of the entire US labor force is 42.5, construction is 42.9, and "Computer systems design and related services" is 40.6 according to the BLS.[1] In other words, on the scale of human life expectancy, the difference is probably negligible. Even if you were being serious and earnest, you're basing your hypothesis on data that is either incorrect or outdated. (If you actually meant to include mean instead of median, your source isn't a robust data analysis by definition.) > I also like your story about me, because there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole If that's true, it's because you play a different character in person. Tell them about how you are "an asshole to morons" on a "flaming turd" of a tech forum, and how amused you were at the example of a terminally ill cancer patient continuing to work as evidence that old people can develop software. [1] https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18b.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat18b.htm
  - iratewizard 5y ago
    My data is incorrect, despite the closest you could find to a meaningful dataset is "Computer systems design and related services". Lol.
    - nicoffeine 5y ago
      That's the industry classification with the largest number of "Software Developers, Applications" occupations from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics[1]. As far as I'm aware, there isn't a comprehensive analysis of occupations by age based on BLS data. I'm guessing your source is a survey that probably has a margin of error larger than the difference between any median ages provided by the BLS for industries that employ the most developers. Taking the industry as a whole is representative of a typical career path. If your narrow point is that people who have entry level positions are young, well, of course. If you've got a better dataset than the BLS, I'm sure there are many people who'd be interested, and you should share it. [1] https://www.bls.gov/oes/2018/may/oes151132.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2018/may/oes151132.htm
      - iratewizard 5y ago
        I've got full access to Payscale's data sets ;)
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > there isn't a single person who works for me or with me that would describe me as an asshole. ...to your face. But you have no idea what they privately think, or say to each other when you're not there. (I'm with GP, I too guess what they think isn't what you think they think.)