3 ms·

> It is a simple fact than many people (especially those aged 50+) are basically not re-educable. This is nonsense. It greatly exaggerates a small age-related

by lutusp 13y ago

> It is a simple fact than many people (especially those aged 50+) are basically not re-educable. This is nonsense. It greatly exaggerates a small age-related difference in the acquisition of new skills. I have five Android apps on Google Play, I picked up Android programming over the past two years in my spare time with no great difficulty, and ... wait for it ... I'm 68. https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul%20lutus&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul%20lutus&hl=en So much for your appeal to simple facts.

kalleboo 13y ago
I'm glad you're not one of the "many people". Neither are my parents - they're also very enthusiastic about adopting new technology. But my parents are also constantly bitching to me how many of their same-aged friends refuse to learn anything new. My parents want to share photos of their travels using tools like Flickr and Facebook to their friends, but their friends just refuse to learn anything new past the year 1999, so e-mail it is. If you believe most 68-year-olds are gung-ho about learning Android programming, I think you'll find you're a bit mistaken.
- lutusp 13y ago
  > If you believe most 68-year-olds are gung-ho about learning Android programming, I think you'll find you're a bit mistaken. I think you're right. I was only objecting to the absolute character of the original pronouncement, as thought it were always true, not that there isn't evidence for it in many cases.
  - wtallis 13y ago
    Read my comment again, and point out where it was being absolute and implied that something was always true. You've been arguing against something quite different than what I wrote. Perhaps you're overly sensitive to potential age-related discrimination, since the age factor wasn't even the main point of my comment.
wtallis 13y ago
You picked up Android programming in your spare time, after having been a programmer for decades. That's not a counterexample, and even if it was, I certainly didn't say that all older people are unable to learn a new career, I said that many people are, especially older ones.
- lutusp 13y ago
  > You picked up Android programming in your spare time, after having been a programmer for decades. True, but the thesis being tested is whether I am re-educable. Android programming is certainly not 6502 processor assembly-language programming. > I said that many people are, especially older ones. Fair enough, I may have overreacted to what seemed to be an overbroad generalization.

by lutusp 13y ago

kalleboo 13y ago

I'm glad you're not one of the "many people". Neither are my parents - they're also very enthusiastic about adopting new technology. But my parents are also constantly bitching to me how many of their same-aged friends refuse to learn anything new. My parents want to share photos of their travels using tools like Flickr and Facebook to their friends, but their friends just refuse to learn anything new past the year 1999, so e-mail it is. If you believe most 68-year-olds are gung-ho about learning Android programming, I think you'll find you're a bit mistaken.

lutusp 13y ago
> If you believe most 68-year-olds are gung-ho about learning Android programming, I think you'll find you're a bit mistaken. I think you're right. I was only objecting to the absolute character of the original pronouncement, as thought it were always true, not that there isn't evidence for it in many cases.
- wtallis 13y ago
  Read my comment again, and point out where it was being absolute and implied that something was always true. You've been arguing against something quite different than what I wrote. Perhaps you're overly sensitive to potential age-related discrimination, since the age factor wasn't even the main point of my comment.

wtallis 13y ago

You picked up Android programming in your spare time, after having been a programmer for decades. That's not a counterexample, and even if it was, I certainly didn't say that all older people are unable to learn a new career, I said that many people are, especially older ones.

lutusp 13y ago
> You picked up Android programming in your spare time, after having been a programmer for decades. True, but the thesis being tested is whether I am re-educable. Android programming is certainly not 6502 processor assembly-language programming. > I said that many people are, especially older ones. Fair enough, I may have overreacted to what seemed to be an overbroad generalization.