...peak and then slowly find that they're no longer the fastest kid on the block. Not my experience. Not even close. 30 years of programming and my best code

...peak and then slowly find that they're no longer the fastest kid on the block. Not my experience. Not even close. 30 years of programming and my best code has always been my most recent. I just keep getting better and better with no end in sight. And I love it. AFAIC, there's absolutely positively no reason to believe OP's hypothesis of "peaking" and "declining". I wonder what data he bases this upon. Not me, that's for sure, and not most of the people I know in their 40's and 50's. In this way, we are not like athletes at all. I remember watching Michael Jordan when he played for the Wizards, riding the staionary bike to keep loose during timeouts. What a pity, I thought, to be at the top of your game, then a shadow of yourself just 5 years later. We programmers are not like that. Just take care of yourself and you don't have to level off until you would have anyway. All the new technology and opportunities keep the field fresh. And the people, too.