SCHiM: "is it things like paradigms that have stuck with you..."
For me it's always been about problem solving rather than simple fascination with some particular technology. If I can solve a problem with a keyboard macro in Emacs, great. If it requires Perl or Java or javascript, so be it.
I try to use the tool that's appropriate. If I can solve a problem quickly and move onto something more interesting, one-and-done.
If I have to stop and learn something new (e.g., WKWebView in iOS ObjC) to get my task done, so be it, and I'll put in some late nights to get there because at my age, I'm a bit paranoid about looking bad so I try to give the good folks at HQ no reason to doubt me. I spend a lot of time on Stack Overflow and Youtube doing concentrated learning.
But the real thing is what others have also mentioned: properly defining a problem that needs to be solved, proper communication, keep good records, and try to maintain transparency, honesty, and pleasant comportment at all times.
Honestly the older I get, the less I notice people's age. If someone half my age knows something I don't, then the way I see it, they have something to teach me. I've been to many conferences and watched many youtube tutorials where the teacher was very young (from my wizened perspective) but the information is why I'm there and that's all I care about.
What do I think about young people? (you didn't ask but I'm saying it anyway)
I love young people. They have so much spirit, so much energy and creativity. I keep hearing critical (snarky) things about millennials this, X-gen that. But I don't see it. The young people I've been around (for a while I was back in school full time, surrounded by 20-somethings and a few 30-somethings) were a joy. Fun, humorous, inquisitive.
Everyone has his faults, not least myself, and I believe as we get older we become more tolerant of others' faults and shortcomings. In fact that may be the single hallmark of growing older (apart from physical issues).
For me it's always been about problem solving rather than simple fascination with some particular technology. If I can solve a problem with a keyboard macro in Emacs, great. If it requires Perl or Java or javascript, so be it.
I try to use the tool that's appropriate. If I can solve a problem quickly and move onto something more interesting, one-and-done.
If I have to stop and learn something new (e.g., WKWebView in iOS ObjC) to get my task done, so be it, and I'll put in some late nights to get there because at my age, I'm a bit paranoid about looking bad so I try to give the good folks at HQ no reason to doubt me. I spend a lot of time on Stack Overflow and Youtube doing concentrated learning.
But the real thing is what others have also mentioned: properly defining a problem that needs to be solved, proper communication, keep good records, and try to maintain transparency, honesty, and pleasant comportment at all times.
Honestly the older I get, the less I notice people's age. If someone half my age knows something I don't, then the way I see it, they have something to teach me. I've been to many conferences and watched many youtube tutorials where the teacher was very young (from my wizened perspective) but the information is why I'm there and that's all I care about.
What do I think about young people? (you didn't ask but I'm saying it anyway)
I love young people. They have so much spirit, so much energy and creativity. I keep hearing critical (snarky) things about millennials this, X-gen that. But I don't see it. The young people I've been around (for a while I was back in school full time, surrounded by 20-somethings and a few 30-somethings) were a joy. Fun, humorous, inquisitive.
Everyone has his faults, not least myself, and I believe as we get older we become more tolerant of others' faults and shortcomings. In fact that may be the single hallmark of growing older (apart from physical issues).