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Discussion on: Why Older People Struggle In Programming Jobs

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aleron75 profile image
Alessandro Ronchi • Edited

Hi Adam,
I'm almost 46 and I quote every single word of your article.

When I read "think outside the box" I elaborated on the metaphor and thought: "when we are young, it's easy to think outside the box because that box is small if ever exists."

As time goes by, the box grows and grows, we fill it with something called "experience" and thinking outside of it becomes harder because, well, we realize that a lot of things we need are already in the box.
But nobody seems interested because, well, it's in the box and we should "think outside the box".

I had my most important achievements after I turned 40 and that's because I never stopped exploring, learning, and realizing that the more I see the less I know.

That's the Dunning-Kruger effect that a lot of people ignore because... of it :-)

You can't please everybody but the very first person you have to please is yourself, so keep pushing, never stop learning, fill that box with experience, after all, it's your box, nobody can appreciate what's inside more than you.

Looking forward to reading more from you about the topic.

My best,
Alessandro

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bytebodger profile image
Adam Nathaniel Davis

This is excellent. Unfortunately, it will probably make me far more annoyed the next time I hear someone saying, "think outside the box"...

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bcncodeschool profile image
George K.

This is gold -- "When I read "think outside the box" I elaborated on the metaphor and thought: "when we are young, it's easy to think outside the box because that box is small if ever exists."" 👍🙌

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Jen Looper

I really like the quote "fill that box with experience... after all, it's your box, nobody can appreciate what's inside more than you." Well said, from an Old :)

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bytebodger profile image
Adam Nathaniel Davis

Thank you!