I automatically discount anybody who believes that people are "too old to be familiar with current programming technologies and shortcuts." Aren't we supposed to be a meritocracy and judge on nothing but talent?
I'm the author. I upvoted you because I see how you may have misunderstood what I wrote. I agree with you in part because I'm a 32 year old and over-the-hill if you go by some things I read here.
I was referring to "old school" more than "old". A 50 year old programmer can bring very valuable perspective to problem solving, even if he doesn't know a word of Javascript. He can also probably provide important leadership; the kind which is sorely lacking here in Japan. Unfortunately, I don't know any here. (I worked with one back in the US and he was awesome for how he provoked me, even if he didn't code that much)
The people I was referring to were people are the ones who believe everything needs to be built close to the metal, and that scripting languages are toys that cannot be used for serious engineering. They are generally older, in positions of management, and useless.
That's the problem in Japan. It's a delayed meritocracy. You collect on your performance from 10 years ago thanks to rigid seniority. So, these ageist stereotypes actually hold true sad as it may seem. The software industry in Japan is more like a medieval European guild than what you imagine.
