I was being sarcastic, mostly. And I agree with you, Adrian. I'm not saying all young, talented programmers are elitests, but a lot of them are. And yes, B0bDole, most of them are socially inept. That's why you have to find the few that are a good mix of all those things.
I'll be the first to admit that I like having older, more experienced programmers on my team, because when I get stuck, they can usually help me out of it. That doesn't mean I don't teach them things as well.
I guess my point is, I don't think any company will ever find "the ideal" programmer for the job. 98% of them either don't know some specifics about a language or haven't been working with it for 10 years, or aren't the perfect social fit for the company. But then again, what other positions are filled in a company with ideal candidates, right?
Originally Posted by ober
