Those 40 somethings? Yeah, they built the modern Web and Internet.
To use an easy example: who do I want on my team, John Carmack (42), or some 19 year old kid that is working on his first engine (and is likely to stumble over a million landmines due to lack of experience)? Easy choice, I'll take the ridiculously vast experience and refined skillset.
Sure, and the programming work he was doing back then required very little prior knowledge. He invented a lot of it as he went, and has been able to scale from day one with the radical increase in complexity.
Try building something like the latest id Tech engine or the Unreal Engine from scratch. Carmack could do it, a 19 year old kid writing his first engine could not.
To use an easy example: who do I want on my team, John Carmack (42), or some 19 year old kid that is working on his first engine (and is likely to stumble over a million landmines due to lack of experience)? Easy choice, I'll take the ridiculously vast experience and refined skillset.