My own impression of the tech industry are that young programmers are like stem cells--stick them anywhere and they'll differentiate into what they need to be. However, mature, differentiated developers often find it very hard to adapt to the second, third, or fourth new wave of tech. companies--both culturally and technically.
I don't think this is a true, learning new tech is skill. Back when I was an undergrad there was a class that basically switched languages once a week after each homework assignment and every 2-3 weeks it switched paradigm (procedural, OO, functional, logic/declarative, etc). The idea was that the tech being used doesn't matter, just the understanding of the theory and the skill to learn new tech. Anecdotally, every time I switch tech now as a professional, I feel I get better at it, faster. Learning itself is a skill to be learned.
I think that for the majority of people, neuroplasticity decreases with age, which is attributed to a decline in physiology [1]. I think your personal experiences can be explained be fact that learning a new technology does not really involve a lot of change; much technology shares the same underpinnings.
[1] "However, there is an obstacle to learning in mature age: the mental decline related to the deterioration of brain function, which is determined in the later stage of life. When the age increases, the ability to generate new synapses between neurons in response to external stimuli declines; this ability is the basis of fundamental and complex functions like memory and learning. The brain ageing causes various changes: reduction in brain volume and gray matter in particular, progressive atrophy of neurons and their interconnections, degeneration of cortical regions governing the functions of sensation, cognition, memory and motor
control, metabolic decline of key neurons and loss of features related to physical and chemical deterioraion (OECD, 2007).The acquiring of new knowledge and skills becomes therefore more and more diffcult, and the execution of complex tasks requires more effort than the younger learners.
I do not disagree about the neuroplasticity decrease, that is a fact. I guess I am saying that if you know the foundations (which we agree are pretty constant) which I will call the world model, any decrease in neuroplasticity is outweighed by the acquired skill of integrating new technologies into the programmers established world model.
In regards to the whole neuroplasticity/cognitive decline, I think this varies a lot by person and their environment. I know people in their 60s who are much more agile thinkers than other I know in their 40s.
