I suspect he wasn't skilled in overcoming his appearance and projecting himself yet. I had a similar experience to yours, perhaps, but in engineering. Most of

I suspect he wasn't skilled in overcoming his appearance and projecting himself yet. I had a similar experience to yours, perhaps, but in engineering. Most of my coworkers were at least 25 years older (and one good friend calls me grandson). It took a while to learn to project "I know what I'm talking about and can prove it" without coming off as pretentious. And I've had people note the change. Perhaps like your experience, I've learned to establish myself quickly, and if I lose face it's certainly not because of my age. ... The first time. I've been very careful to be cautious, since it can easily _become_ a problem. In a management group, it's easy to lose face fast if someone doesn't follow a nuanced argument (which is admittedly a rookie mistake in such a setting). Then you're scrambling to correct the spoken typo and your already lost. I'm usually bull-headed enough that's not a problem, but meekness can be a stumbling block, and I suspect that may have tripped up the author (or perhaps perceived meekness of eager youth?), and that fear alone can pressure a person into feeling unfairly judged. Just my $2.00 on playing devil's advocate.