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Why Older Workers Are Out-Innovating the Young
Description
Conventional wisdom says innovation is a young person's game. But the data tells a different story. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a surprising trend: workers over 55 are now filing patents at a higher rate than millennials. They dig into a 2025 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research showing that older inventors' patents are more cited, more valuable, and more likely to result in commercial products. They discuss why experience beats raw cognitive speed in certain types of innovation, how corporate R&D labs are restructuring to retain older talent, and what this means for economies facing both aging workforces and stagnant productivity growth. Lucas brings a specific case: the MIT Media Lab's 'gray inventors' project, which pairs retired engineers with early-stage startups. Luna pushes back on whether this is a blip or a structural shift, and they land on a nuanced view of the future of innovation in an aging world.