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Just how much of an outlier is a 61 year old male? No pixels on the graph for anyone over 54! Learning new stuff, e.g. writing Android & iOS apps, keeps the mi

Just how much of an outlier is a 61 year old male? No pixels on the graph for anyone over 54! Learning new stuff, e.g. writing Android & iOS apps, keeps the mind young, much like lifting weights and aerobics keeps the body young ...

astrodust 14y ago
Considering the average 60+ year old male still thinks Facebook is about the entire extent of the internet apart from online banking and Amazon, yes. The only 50+ developers are those that have always been developers.
- daeken 14y ago
  I think that's a silly statement to make. The average 40 year old will have nearly identical patterns, and I assure you that it's not limited to Facebook. While there are certainly more new 20 year old developers than new 60 year old developers, they absolutely do exist; I've met maybe a dozen over the last year or two. (Disclaimer: I'm 24)
  - astrodust 14y ago
    I've met many too, but like I said, most are former developers, or have been developers for some time. They're the ones with war stories about having to load their apps in on paper tape and they're not exaggerating.
    - corin_ 14y ago
      As a single data point, a colleague of mine is a 50+ developer, who was a nurse in the army until a little over a decade ago - and he learned for the sake of a career change, he didn't move into something that he was already doing on the side, or had done when young.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  That's a pretty out-of-touch statement. The Web has been around 20 years now. There's plenty of 60+ years olds in many far-reaching corners. Smart startups would be thinking about that.
  - astrodust 14y ago
    What I mean is that there aren't many 60+ year old people that think "Hey, you know what, I'm going to develop an Android application." It just doesn't come up. The adoption rate of technology is always slower in older age groups. The way technology is used between 20-40 and 40-60 is enormous. Between 40-60 and 60-80 is even more dramatic.
    - zargon 14y ago
      drhowarddrfine, you appear to have been hellbanned about 150 days ago.
    - lutusp 14y ago
      > What I mean is that there aren't many 60+ year old people that think "Hey, you know what, I'm going to develop an Android application." It just doesn't come up. Only because you're so sure of yourself, I have to correct you. 1. I'm 67. Here's my Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus 2. Here is a list of my recent Android apps: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul+lutus&c=apps https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul+lutus&c=apps 3. I was probably programming before you were born: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer Have a nice day.
      - Volpe 14y ago
        Aren't you proving the parents point? He was saying the only 60+ developers have always been developers... Also, having a wikipedia page that you wrote yourself, doesn't really say anything...
        14y ago

astrodust 14y ago

Considering the average 60+ year old male still thinks Facebook is about the entire extent of the internet apart from online banking and Amazon, yes. The only 50+ developers are those that have always been developers.

daeken 14y ago
I think that's a silly statement to make. The average 40 year old will have nearly identical patterns, and I assure you that it's not limited to Facebook. While there are certainly more new 20 year old developers than new 60 year old developers, they absolutely do exist; I've met maybe a dozen over the last year or two. (Disclaimer: I'm 24)
- astrodust 14y ago
  I've met many too, but like I said, most are former developers, or have been developers for some time. They're the ones with war stories about having to load their apps in on paper tape and they're not exaggerating.
  - corin_ 14y ago
    As a single data point, a colleague of mine is a 50+ developer, who was a nurse in the army until a little over a decade ago - and he learned for the sake of a career change, he didn't move into something that he was already doing on the side, or had done when young.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
waterlesscloud 14y ago
That's a pretty out-of-touch statement. The Web has been around 20 years now. There's plenty of 60+ years olds in many far-reaching corners. Smart startups would be thinking about that.
- astrodust 14y ago
  What I mean is that there aren't many 60+ year old people that think "Hey, you know what, I'm going to develop an Android application." It just doesn't come up. The adoption rate of technology is always slower in older age groups. The way technology is used between 20-40 and 40-60 is enormous. Between 40-60 and 60-80 is even more dramatic.
  - zargon 14y ago
    drhowarddrfine, you appear to have been hellbanned about 150 days ago.
  - lutusp 14y ago
    > What I mean is that there aren't many 60+ year old people that think "Hey, you know what, I'm going to develop an Android application." It just doesn't come up. Only because you're so sure of yourself, I have to correct you. 1. I'm 67. Here's my Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus 2. Here is a list of my recent Android apps: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul+lutus&c=apps https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul+lutus&c=apps 3. I was probably programming before you were born: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer Have a nice day.
    - Volpe 14y ago
      Aren't you proving the parents point? He was saying the only 60+ developers have always been developers... Also, having a wikipedia page that you wrote yourself, doesn't really say anything...
      - 14y ago