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That's incredibly cynical. I took up private piloting at age 37, went on to multiple certifications including Single Pilot Multi-engine jet, about as high as yo

That's incredibly cynical. I took up private piloting at age 37, went on to multiple certifications including Single Pilot Multi-engine jet, about as high as you can go. I'm 50 now and continue to learn and study new things every day (including taking three Harvard Extension courses at this time). I certainly hope to master many more skills in the years I have left, while "raging against the dying of the light."

dpark 12y ago
It's exceedingly cynical. Most people don't master anything after 40, but most people don't master anything before 40, either. The difference is that younger people can look forward to an imagined life with huge accomplishments and older people have to look back and admit they they didn't achieve the things they imagined. There's nothing stopping someone over 40 from achieving huge things, any more than there is something stopping someone 20 from doing the same. It's true that most people who accomplish big things do so when they are young, but that seems to mostly be a reflection on the fact that people who are driven to do big things have generally the same drive when they are young. People who don't have that drive when younger don't typically discover it at middle age.
- joshuapants 12y ago
  Another consideration is time, stamina, and commitments. A person fresh out of college doesn't necessarily have anything holding them back from devoting time and resources to learn and master something. A person who's even younger will have more time and possibly more family support/coercion (how many violin prodigies do you think picked up the violin entirely of their own volition?) Someone in their 40s may have a time-consuming job and a family to support, which precludes ditching the time-consuming job in favor of putting in long hours to master something. Maybe they can only spare an hour or two a week, and maybe they're so exhausted from work that every now and then they can't even do that. Older adults may be more risk-averse, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of mastering something, just that they're less likely to choose to do so.
  - amyjess 12y ago
    On the other hand, unscrupulous employers tend to exploit younger employees by giving them more hours, for a few reasons (fortunately, I've never worked at a company like this, but I know I dodged a bullet). "You don't have a family to go home to, so of course you won't object to working until 9pm every day." "There are a gazillion fresh-out-of-college people with your exact skillset I can hire to replace you in a heartbeat, and you don't yet have the professional reputation to easily find another job." "You don't have a nest egg built up yet, so if you quit on me or I fire you, enjoy defaulting on your lease and couch surfing until you find something else."

dpark 12y ago

It's exceedingly cynical. Most people don't master anything after 40, but most people don't master anything before 40, either. The difference is that younger people can look forward to an imagined life with huge accomplishments and older people have to look back and admit they they didn't achieve the things they imagined. There's nothing stopping someone over 40 from achieving huge things, any more than there is something stopping someone 20 from doing the same. It's true that most people who accomplish big things do so when they are young, but that seems to mostly be a reflection on the fact that people who are driven to do big things have generally the same drive when they are young. People who don't have that drive when younger don't typically discover it at middle age.

joshuapants 12y ago
Another consideration is time, stamina, and commitments. A person fresh out of college doesn't necessarily have anything holding them back from devoting time and resources to learn and master something. A person who's even younger will have more time and possibly more family support/coercion (how many violin prodigies do you think picked up the violin entirely of their own volition?) Someone in their 40s may have a time-consuming job and a family to support, which precludes ditching the time-consuming job in favor of putting in long hours to master something. Maybe they can only spare an hour or two a week, and maybe they're so exhausted from work that every now and then they can't even do that. Older adults may be more risk-averse, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of mastering something, just that they're less likely to choose to do so.
- amyjess 12y ago
  On the other hand, unscrupulous employers tend to exploit younger employees by giving them more hours, for a few reasons (fortunately, I've never worked at a company like this, but I know I dodged a bullet). "You don't have a family to go home to, so of course you won't object to working until 9pm every day." "There are a gazillion fresh-out-of-college people with your exact skillset I can hire to replace you in a heartbeat, and you don't yet have the professional reputation to easily find another job." "You don't have a nest egg built up yet, so if you quit on me or I fire you, enjoy defaulting on your lease and couch surfing until you find something else."