This is not ageism. I can judge a candidate based on her work experience. I would be just as quick to reject a 20-something with too much experience as a 50-som

This is not ageism. I can judge a candidate based on her work experience. I would be just as quick to reject a 20-something with too much experience as a 50-something, and I would absolutely hire a 50-something with the right level of experience. Don't get me wrong - there is an ageism problem in the tech community. If we take these arguments at face value though and don't make an effort to understand why a rational, unbiased person might appear to discriminate, then cannot effectively address the problem.