[pacomerh]

Yeah at any age you can have problematic developers, but in general the problem is just being prejudice towards an age segment. I think that if the person has proven to be competent they should be given the opportunity and at the same time treated accordingly if they behave like the example you gave.

[WalterBright]

With an older programmer you have "survivorship bias", meaning the incompetent and not useful have left the profession by then.

[webgoat]

Yup, they've successfully transitioned into business roles and run the company.