No problem here at 44. I have listings of code I wrote when I was a teen. It was good code. Code I wrote in my twenties is very good when I look at it today. I was pretty good at a young age, and so are others who are those ages now. I'm also a tad smarter than my younger self, and that's what counts.
Someone who at 25 was smarter than my 25 year old self (whether at the same time or decades apart) will probably be smarter at 45 than my 45 year old self.
Someone who wasn't smarter than me at 25 will probably not catch my 45 year old me at 45 either.
You're driving yourself with the concurrent comparison: people who are currently younger. That is fallacious. Someone who was smarter than you at your age or younger historically also counts.
For instance, someone in 1969 could have been a brilliant hacker at age 17; better than you are now. Do you discount that person today because he or she is currently older than you?
Basically, you should compare yourself to historically good people. When you do that, you probably don't stack up. So, get over it and move on.
Future-wise, also. Someone not even born until after you die will be better than you.
Someone who at 25 was smarter than my 25 year old self (whether at the same time or decades apart) will probably be smarter at 45 than my 45 year old self.
Someone who wasn't smarter than me at 25 will probably not catch my 45 year old me at 45 either.
You're driving yourself with the concurrent comparison: people who are currently younger. That is fallacious. Someone who was smarter than you at your age or younger historically also counts.
For instance, someone in 1969 could have been a brilliant hacker at age 17; better than you are now. Do you discount that person today because he or she is currently older than you?
Basically, you should compare yourself to historically good people. When you do that, you probably don't stack up. So, get over it and move on.
Future-wise, also. Someone not even born until after you die will be better than you.