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Learning to code at 56

medium.freecodecamp.com

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Re: Learning to code at 56

#81

Post by Brockenstein »

pier25 wrote: post #26
Baeocystin wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a 43-year old, while I do have some health issues that I didn't have in my 20's, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, I find learning new things as easy as it's ever been. And I honestly don't think I am unusual in that regard. I have a much wider framework of accumulated knowledge than I did 20 years ago, and leveraging that, I can see how wider parts of systems interrelate with a clarity that I never came clo…

I'm 37 and I find that I'm smarter and wiser now than I was in my 20s which makes learning much easier even if my brain is almost double the age.

Well 37 isn't really that old.

The difference between you and a 20 year old might be measurable, but negligible, when it comes to pure learning. IE you're both learning a task, subject, skill neither of you has knowledge or experience about.

Clearly experience and knowledge has great value, and coupled with any normal sort of learning ability is a solid combination that is superior to increased learning alone.

After all small children can learn amazingly fast compared to adults. But without knowledge and experience to see how to use what they learn or how to combine it to get new ideas they're at a disadvantage.

I mean as a software developer at 35 I know a lot more than I did at 20. I was able to learn pretty quick back then, starting from scratch. I can learn pretty quick now. But with the advantage of knowledge and experience, I'm really only learning a couple of new things at a time to add to an already immense store of knowledge, so yeah it's easy. One new thing and I can see right where it fits into my existing knowledge. It's kind of a different ballgame now compared to when I was 20 when I was still getting a handle on the basics.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#82

Post by DanielBMarkham »

beat wrote: post #39

At 51, I've noticed there are really two kinds of people at my age... people who are completely beaten, and people who are winning. Once you hit 40 or so, the scope of mortality really hits you. You realize that you've probably already had half your productive life, maybe half a career. You start seeing peers die of "old age" - heart attacks and strokes and stuff. For most, they're beaten, defeated. They decide this…

What I really enjoy about being 51 is being able to understand both extremes you describe -- as well as being able to understand and remember what many other segments of life was like.

It gives you quite a broad view! At times it feels like standing on a mountain and seeing a vast landscape that you've crossed to get here -- and the mountain path ahead that leads to new heights.

There's also the joy of playing to type for the kids. So many times, they look at you as if you were some weird creature from a zoo. It's quite funny because you can get away with a lot. Hell, they don't know.

I have no doubt that skills and abilities decrease with age, but quite frankly, if you started out way ahead of the norm, by the time you hit your 50s and 60s you're still going to be on par or ahead of most of the population anyway.

So when a dear friend that's in their 20s or 30s asks me how I'm doing, I have quite a bit of fun describing some sort of horrible body issues -- until they realize I'm pulling their leg. And when I hit my 60s and 70s, if I last that long, you can be sure I'll be screwing with people who might think I have dementia. Screw 'em.

More fun times ahead.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#83

Post by Unbeliever69 »

beat wrote: post #71
beachstartup wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

part of the problem is by the time you're 50, you've had 30 years of adult life to accumulate bad decisions. a lot of people are saddled with obligations they never actually wanted. :(

Yeah, this. :( My ability to stop working for The Man and start my own company has been severely hampered by the need to pay my mortgage and kids in college and stuff.

Trust me when I say that this is all fear. Multiple times I have uprooted family despite all discomfort, odds, safety nets, etc. to pursue a passion. First it was moving out of state to attend graduate school. Second, it was leaving a 6 figure career to pursue my dream. Downsizing was necessary. I had to question my values about money, things, accumulation, happiness. NEVER sell yourself short. If you are passionate you will find a way. Check out these guys. They have a great book and a movie. http://www.theminimalists.com/

Re: Learning to code at 56

#84

Post by Dotnaught »

lordnacho wrote: post #21
johansch wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does take longer for many people to learn new things when they are 50-60 though. I do think we have to be realistic about the issue that many people who learned and performed complex intellectual skills in their 20s/30s no longer perform this kind of ability to pivot in their 50s/60s; to learn a new craft that depends on learning a lot of new information/skills. Of course this doesn't mean that all people in their…

How much of it is age, and how much of it is having kids along with an established routine? I find it pretty easy to learn things, just not when I'm interrupted by the kids. There's no reason why at 36 I can't listen to lectures about philosophy or read a bit about some new tech. What's hard is getting focused time to do a proper project, because my time outside of work hours is taken up by parenting.

Lack of uninterrupted time for learning and experimentation is a real issue if you have a family. I ended up paying to attend a General Assembly JavaScript class recently because while I could easily have learned the material on my own for free, I couldn't guarantee having regular blocks of time to engage with the material otherwise.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#85

Post by Unbeliever69 »

jaclaz wrote: post #47

Well, if it is not an ad, at least is some astroturfing, how come the BIG photo is not that of the actual guy? The image on the article is this one: https://i2.wp.com/tobecomeateacher.org/wp-content/uploads/20... "Stock photo" by Jake Barford: https://unsplash.com/@jakebarford The photo of Mr. Vaughn, (from his "profile"): https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/fit/c/100/100/1*Lu4bKAqf2Sxm...

This REALLY irks me.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#86

Post by conistonwater »

tptacek wrote: post #54
johansch wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does take longer for many people to learn new things when they are 50-60 though. I do think we have to be realistic about the issue that many people who learned and performed complex intellectual skills in their 20s/30s no longer perform this kind of ability to pivot in their 50s/60s; to learn a new craft that depends on learning a lot of new information/skills. Of course this doesn't mean that all people in their…

"I think we have to be realistic about" is, whether you intend it or not, an attempt to reframe the discussion around your particular set of priors. We need to be careful about language like that. There are many reasons to challenge the assumption that it's difficult for older people to learn to code: * It's may not be valid to extrapolate from more general neuroplasticity findings to programming * It may be that cha…

I'm skeptical of arguments based on neuroplasticity or learning styles for the following reason. Given how good people are at learning in general (it is the evolutionary advantage that humans have), it would in fact be extremely surprising if there was anything short of an illness that shut down somebody's ability to learn things. Thus ability to learn things, even when one is older, doesn't need an explanation, whereas inability to learn things does.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#87

Post by iblaine »

On one hand, it's warming to hear about someone trying to better themselves. People should never stop learning. On the other, entering a career "to make money" rubs me the wrong way.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#88

Post by tptacek »

conistonwater wrote: post #86
tptacek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I think we have to be realistic about" is, whether you intend it or not, an attempt to reframe the discussion around your particular set of priors. We need to be careful about language like that. There are many reasons to challenge the assumption that it's difficult for older people to learn to code: * It's may not be valid to extrapolate from more general neuroplasticity findings to programming * It may be that cha…

I'm skeptical of arguments based on neuroplasticity or learning styles for the following reason. Given how good people are at learning in general (it is the evolutionary advantage that humans have), it would in fact be extremely surprising if there was anything short of an illness that shut down somebody's ability to learn things. Thus ability to learn things, even when one is older, doesn't need an explanation, wher…

There's definitely research that suggests our ability to learn some things, like verbal languages, slows down with age --- though I wasn't able to find a cite for whether that decline is gradual or whether there's some inflection at adulthood. Either way, I'd just caution that we not automatically extrapolate from those findings to the broader claim that every new skill acquisition is similarly impacted.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#89

Post by slantyyz »

randcraw wrote: post #61
yaur wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They make "computer glasses" that are supposed to help reduce eye strain associated with computer use. I don't personally use them so I can't say if they work, but it's probably worth it for you to look into them.

Computer glasses work great for me. I'm mildly myopic, but at 58 found I could no longer focus on desktop screens ~2 feet away. So I got computer eyeglasses (my normal prescription divided in half). They've made a huge difference. Everything's clear again. However my more myopic sister could never make hers work, so YMMV. I'm generally OK with spec swapping, but I'm tempted to replace my primary glasses with bifocal/…

I'm not sure computer glasses and the glasses you got are the same.

IIRC, computer glasses have a yellowish-amber tint to them, and possibly some coatings.

Like you, I got single vision glasses for computer use, but they don't have the tinting/coatings that computer glasses do.

I run a pair of 4K 27" monitors at 100% scaling (people who see my setup think I'm crazy), but I had my optometrist get me set up for a reading distance of 21" to 27" -- the closest and furthest points of my monitors -- for my glasses. My single vision prescription includes distance + adjustment for presbyopia, so it's great.

Re: Learning to code at 56

#90

Post by [deleted] »

beat wrote: post #39

At 51, I've noticed there are really two kinds of people at my age... people who are completely beaten, and people who are winning. Once you hit 40 or so, the scope of mortality really hits you. You realize that you've probably already had half your productive life, maybe half a career. You start seeing peers die of "old age" - heart attacks and strokes and stuff. For most, they're beaten, defeated. They decide this…

[deleted]
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