It sounds pretty implausible to me, intellectual productivity is usually at its peak from mid-20s to mid-30s(for high fluid-intelligence fields like math and physics)
This definitely differs for different folks. I was nowhere near my sharpest in late teens or early twenties. I think my peak was early 30s. Now in early 40s, I’m feeling somewhat less sharp, but still ahead of where I was at 18 (even setting aside crystalized knowledge).
I do generally agree though that this is a critical point in history, and we should have more people trying more research directions.
How do you tell that there were sharper back then?
It sounds pretty implausible to me, intellectual productivity is usually at its peak from mid-20s to mid-30s(for high fluid-intelligence fields like math and physics)
This definitely differs for different folks. I was nowhere near my sharpest in late teens or early twenties. I think my peak was early 30s. Now in early 40s, I’m feeling somewhat less sharp, but still ahead of where I was at 18 (even setting aside crystalized knowledge).
I do generally agree though that this is a critical point in history, and we should have more people trying more research directions.