The "Why we See Less of [Older Workers]" section repeats stereotypes about older devs without any empirical support. A more evidence-based follow-on would be a great read.

My own experience working with devs from different age groups does not support the claims that older devs fall behind in their learning and lack fresh insights: there are plenty of devs in their 20s with no intellectual curiosity and devs in their 60s pushing themselves hard to stay on the cutting edge.

If there are genuine differences between age groups in our field, it would be nice to know more about exactly what these are, based on real research, which probably exists.

I only know of research on older workers more generally, which may or may not apply to our field.

- Here's one that showed no correlation between age and creativity or performance in training programs: https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2008-02855-011.

- There's research showing that older workers make fewer mistakes but produce work more slowly–which overall is more efficient. I'm sorry I can't find the link.

You write well, and I'd be really interested in a follow-up article on older software engineers backed by research instead of folk wisdom.