RVR800,
your last sentence hits the nail on the head. This is very much the attitude held by the major airlines (old dog, new tricks and all that).
The point they are missing though (and I don't fully accept that older people do digest information slower anyway) is that more mature people are generally KEENER to learn. Just look at how many folks take up OU in later life.
I'm heading for forty and am working my way through my licences now and I'm sick of the (corporate) attitude that you're over the hill at 35.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I heard a rumour that its actually illegal in the US to be "ageist" when hiring personnel.