“The golden years appear to have little effect on the productivity of the active professor, according to a Canadian study that looked at publication frequency and the aging academic. The study, by researchers from the Université du Québec à Montréal and published in December in the journal PLoS ONE, found that professors in the science disciplines aged 50 to 70 published almost twice as many papers in academic journals as their 30-year-old counterparts. The investigation also found that at an age when other non-academic seniors might be teeing off on a golf course or spending more time with the grandchildren, older university professors are continuing to publish in top academic journals …” (more)
[Philip Fine, University World News, 1 March]
What a croc, lets get real here, 70 year olds are not as productive as 30 year olds in science. Benjamin Franklin may have his face on every 100 dollar bill but he sure didn’t make that paper.