I’m not saying life-long learning is impossible. For certain things, it gets harder to put new stuff in your head.

My experience in the petroleum industry is that big oil companies like the young engineers because they are willing to soak up the new technology that is out there. They still need to be guided, but the young ones do find new ways to make more oil while spending less money. A 15-year petroleum engineer may, on the other hand, still be a good engineer. While he has found ways to make things work well, he is less likely to learn the new technology. So as another decade passes, he becomes obsolete.

You can claim that this engineer is just not ambitious enough to learn new ways. But I think it has a lot to do with lower brain function as we age. All the studies I have come across say it is best to learn when one is young. It just gets harder for this middle-aged engineer to absorb the new technology. He should — and maybe given enough drive, he can. But it’s hard, especially when other life things (like a family or work environment that really doesn’t care about your development) are happening.

While our technical abilities may not keep up to date, our people skills improve as we age — probably past the usual retirement age of 65. I know I am much better at reading people situations than I was a decade ago.

But for those who believe they can learn new things at the same rate as when they were 25, I say good on you! But you are a minority. You should be thankful for this attribute, not spurn those who don’t have it.