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Sure, by 40 you're not likely to change the world. But in your 20's, you're not likely to change the world either. It's a long shot. Focusing on the fact that the long shot odds gets worse as a reason to not hire people just doesn't make sense.
People in this thread need to ask themselves why they're engaging in age-denialism.
Simple: compensation and hiring practices run counter to this notion. If you're most productive in your 20's you should be paid more for that productivity, and years of experience wouldn't be such a mandatory metric.
Neither is true in practice. Older people have more expeirence, and get paid more. Policy makers have a median age in the late 50's. Young people are hired for peanuts and hope to get more money as they get more experience, regardless of if they are treading water or are in fact the most productive member of a company.
Your notions are only really true for top level sports, where gynmasts and professional athletes are in fact hired, compensated, and performed at their peak in the early 20's and tend to burn out (relative to other early 20's athletes) as they approach 30.
I just described an industry where it's not. You don't make money playing sports in your 30's. If you still wanna work by that time, you teach others sport, be a newscaster, or sell your brand. They may or may not make millions. It depends on how you sell yourself, but most athletes aren't salesmen.
> In a freer market, it wouldn't be the case.
We're about as free as we're going to get. You can quit or be laid off at anytime and hires in tech get amazing compensation for relatively little experience compared to fields like medicine, law, or accounting.
You're free to enact such a model yourself and see how well it works if you're confident in it. But market forces aren't dumb either.
The average founder is over 40. They are the folks making money. Not sure what geniuses have to do with where you are coming from. Sure, most mathematicians who make a name for themselves are young. But most people changing the world and making money with tech? That's the over 40 crowd because they have been professionals and understand what other professionals need.