@beatnikprof Ok, so I’m going to push back here a bit. I’m not sure I agree that age should be a determinant of retirement. Why does it matter? I see these jokes, and find them funny but also frankly ageist.
@DrSuzanne @beatnikprof I do agree, age should not be a determinant factor but rather the ability of conducting research and teaching effectively.
However, determining who is able to do this things and who is not is difficult. You'd need an expert in the field to evaluate this. Said professor is probably the expert in the field, and most likely other experts in the field do know him.
It is difficult to expect a genuine valuation to come out given such premises.
The age limit should cut it in most cases, and anyways I know plenty of people who keep working in research even after they retired.
@rastinza @beatnikprof Also, that’s exactly what peer review is for. Granted, it’s not a perfect system, but it’s designed exactly for other experts to judge what is quality research and what is not. So you’ve simply described the research publishing process in it’s current state. An excellent way to judge capability, good suggestion!
@DrSuzanne @beatnikprof I do have prejudices. And I do think that old people should stop working and leave place to younger people.
I am not saying that all old people are unable to work, what I am saying is that I believe it is beneficial to use an age based discrimination system because I believe that on average older people lose their capabilities. While this system may not be perfect, it has the advantage of being simple, clear and hard to circumvent.
Peer review is not for this and could not be used for this at all. Reviewers do not tell you who should retire.
@beatnikprof @rastinza As I understand it, using an age limit to delineate when someone stops being capable of something, is the definition of ageism. The responses I’m getting to my toot indicate that no one cares they their attitudes are prejudice. If you were talking about any other marginalized group, people would be horrified. I would rather people just be upfront with their prejudices.