Hitting The Scientific Age Wall
from the do-scientists-become-over-the-hill-at-30 dept
An odd article talking about how most mathemeticians and physiscists make their greatest discoveries at a very young age and wonders what that says about the way people think. There are a few different theories in the article including that all nighters (and the ability to actually spend all night on a problem) help generate new ideas. They also suggest that younger scientists are less set in their ways. Of course, the article doesn’t seem to have any scientific backup for what it’s saying, but rather relies on a number of anecdotes. Is there any evidence for this?
Comments on “Hitting The Scientific Age Wall”
GM will take care of that...
It’s probably true, but it’s not necessarily bad. “I believe that children are the future….” 🙂 And what happens when we start living for 200 years? I’m sure all this andedotal evidence will get thrown out the window. People will start saying “I didn’t have a *really* good idea until I hit triple digits –in my 120’s.”
Rubbish
It is of course total nonsense. Get hold of the book that lists what various people did at different ages. (I cant remember the name off hand) Really clever people go on doing great stuff for years, it’s just that it comes to be expected and so it not made a big deal of.