[wongarsu]

>It's just that when programming in area E, a 47 yo who learned A, B, C, D, and E does not have an advantage over a 32 yo who learned B, D, and E.

Then maybe task E is not the right task for the 47 year old? Maybe when building another accounting system it's enough to know all about accounting systems, but the closer you get to the cutting edge the more useful broad knowledge gets.

For example there is just about nobody with 5 years of experience in VR-technology, but if you have worked in a number of even slightly related fields in the last 20 years you probably can bring a lot to the table.

[rndrnd]

Remember the comparison is not between 47 yo with experience vs 22 yo with no experience. It's 47 yo vs 32 yo - both have experience.

[wongarsu]

But one of them has 15 years more time to get experience in a number of fields (or in depth in one or two fields). I think 15 years is enough to still make a difference in this regard.