Agree. That is why Google has Vint Cerf working for them. It probably more than paid off.

> What I mean is that there aren't many 60+ year old people that think "Hey, you know what, I'm going to develop an Android application." It just doesn't come up.

Only because you're so sure of yourself, I have to correct you.

1. I'm 67. Here's my Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus

2. Here is a list of my recent Android apps: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=paul+lutus&c=apps

3. I was probably programming before you were born: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer

Have a nice day.

I was feeling pretty old and unappreciated ... thanks!

Sure, but did you win the Putnam?

I'd love to be able to qualify to compete in the Putnam, much less win. I can speak math reasonably well:

http://arachnoid.com/gravity

But I'm not in the Putnam class, more's the pity.

Apparently people take offense when you talk about things in general terms. Why is it out of place to say that people who are 60+ who do program are the exception? It was not really a career open to most people forty years ago, it was a rather exclusive field or one left to brave adventurers and hobbyists.

You've been a developer for some time. How many people in your age group do you know that have recently taken up that as a career path?

And no, you weren't programming before I was born.

Hey. I read your sailing book and absolutely loved it!

Thanks! For others, here's a link to the free online version:

http://arachnoid.com/sailbook

> Also, having a wikipedia page that you wrote yourself, doesn't really say anything...

I didn't write the Wikipedia page. If you think otherwise, locate evidence to the contrary, like a responsible adult. And if you cannot locate evidence to the contrary, ask yourself whether you really want to go on record saying what you have just said about a named person.

Your personal website is fascinating! Particularly the anti-psychology and Aspergers material. This piece was extremely well written and intructive:

http://arachnoid.com/psychology/aspergers.php

> This piece was extremely well written and intructive:

> http://arachnoid.com/psychology/aspergers.php

Thanks, but my latest article is better IMHO, as well as more up-to-date:

http://arachnoid.com/trouble_with_psychology

Thanks again for your support.

I enjoyed the personal story, it was quite gripping!

Inspired by "Broca's Brain" by Carl Sagan, I made it halfway through medical school with the intention of being a psychiatrist, before I finally realized that, on closer examination, psychiatry was not only a scam, but actually pernicious, repressive and evil!

No, he hasn't always been an android developer, plus the guy hasn't always been a developer (designed electronics for NASA before). You really believe anyone can write their wikipedia page and not have it deleted within 10 seconds? Personally i think there's a lot more to learn from seasoned developers who have literally seen it all, rather than the next-instagram-wannabe boys that frequent here.

> Personally i think there's a lot more to learn from seasoned developers ...

Thanks, but for balance, I recently had a conversation with a talented young developer who, unlike me, is fully conversant with modern times. I said, "How do the Angry Birds developers make money if they give away their app?" He patiently replied, "It shows advertisements."

My mid-20th century brain slowly wrapped itself around this idea: an application whose apparent purpose is to entertain, but whose real purpose is to deliver eyeballs to a vendor. Hmm.

They also sell lots of Angry Birds merchandise. Clothing and plushies and pencil erasers and coloring books and keychains and usb drives and multitudes of other branded products. This article says that 30% of their revenue comes from merchandising and licensing: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/roundup/rovio...

That's not really a programming/development concept.

Making money? Only if the programmer under discussion is a salaried employee, disconnected from any economic issues apart from being paid regularly.

Some programmers still market what they write. Granted, this is a shrinking sector.

To be fair, there aren't many 20 year olds who think that, either. There are many on college campuses who have Macbooks and iPhones just so they can check Facebook.

There aren't many 20 year olds, but there are even fewer 60 year olds. That's all I'm saying.

drhowarddrfine, you appear to have been hellbanned about 150 days ago.