Moving forward with work on the D language and foundation

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad via Digitalmars-d-announce]

On Wednesday, 9 December 2015 at 07:49:58 UTC, Rory McGuire wrote:
> The number of scarily intelligent people aged over 60 is most 
> likely a lot
> higher than the number of 25 year olds that are so. Its just 
> the way our
> brains work, your brain optimises its thought processes 
> continually, and
> experience is where you get that.

Indeed a very complex matter. In late teens we are probably 
quicker and learn more easily than later in life. After 25 I 
don't know how much slow down there has been, but as you get 
older you also can narrow down which trains of thought that are 
promising so you use your labour more efficiently. A 20 years old 
is going all over the place, a 50 years old will ask more 
questions of what is necessary to get the job done. Which is why 
the army only want youngsters (<25), older people would just ask 
too many legitimate questions about how the army is organized...

In research the lack of direction of younger people can be an 
advantage in terms of finding new fields (e.g. looking in the not 
so promising areas) at the cost of higher failure rate. The 
Norwegian mathematician Abel probably did his findings due to not 
having an advisor to guide him all the way, so he was looking at 
math from his own angle. But finding new fields is just a very 
very small part of research, although it makes people famous. So 
yes, there are more famous young researchers, not because they 
are smarter, but because they are ignorant enough to walk into 
new terrain and probably also because they have something to 
prove before they get tenure. Besides, a lot of discoveries are 
the result of mistakes or misunderstandings. Young people make 
mistakes at a higher frequency. Often a bad thing, sometimes a 
good thing.

Although very young people learn more efficiently, we also have 
to remember that learning is a skill too, so I think it matters 
more that one learns continuously and find better ways of 
learning as one gets older. People who keep their brain active 
can learn new languages at the age of 80, and in comparison even 
most teens have trouble learning a new language, yet 2 year olds 
learn languages like crazy!

So, yeah, 2 year olds are much much better at learning than any 
other age group. Much better. Are they smarter, than the rest of 
us? On some metrics they probably are. They consider everything 
from a fresh angle. But older people can do that too, by training 
and techniques.

Did I learn faster at the age of 18, than at the age of 40? Yes. 
Did I learn new technology faster at the age of 25 than at the 
age of 40? No, I think I learn faster now. Not because the brain 
is faster, but because I don't need to learn the basics as 
frequently. But I notice that it is more important to stay active 
(keep programming) as one gets older.