Age and Innovation

First, a disclaimer. This is basically just a rambling of what is going on in my head this minute.....

So, I am combining two distinct thoughts here and trying to identify if there is an underlying pattern. Plus, I'm hoping for some comments on what others think. I know there are people looking at the blog (thank you google analytics) and you're likely smarter than me. So, I'd love to hear from you.

First Innovation: defined as an introduction of new things or methods.

Next Age: defined as the length of time during which a being or thing has existed.

So, what I'm trying to think about here is the concept of "Does someone need to be young to be innovative?" or "Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

We've all heard that as you get older, you get more sedentary in your beliefs. You've had experiences...and you stick with what you know. Is this true? I'm not sure I'm the best candidate to answer this (being only 28.95 years old) but I'll give it a go....

I'm thinking that I want to take the typically MBA response. It depends. There are always exceptions in both categories. Young people that can't "think outside the box" and also old people that can be highly creative.

Why would an older person be less creative? If they've had a ton of experiences in life--wouldn't they be more open to creative ways to solve problems? They have likely seen more than one way to do things and have a potential knowledge that can combine solutions to be more effective.

On the opposite side of the coin. Why are younger people thought of as being more innovative? I mean sure, all these Gen Y folks (which I'm "technically" not a part of) have lived all their life in front of a computer....in front of a television screen, or behind a video game controller. They've been successful in complicated military strategies from playing World of Warcraft. They've seen myths busted on the Discovery Channel. They've been checking the news on CNN for years. They've been exciting their brains with Starbucks. The question is...how does this make them more innovative (while they're young)? Does it make them more innovative? My personal answer is that it definitely makes them more socially aware. They have a global perspective--which is critical to being successful (yes, I personally thing globalization is GOOD) But I don't think that this makes them more innovative. I think it makes them more likely to question the norm. But, they still just question, they don't create innovative answers.

I don't know. I'm done thinking about this topic. Any insights? Opinions?