“Information bad for you,” says older generation

I just turned 50 years old. So that officially qualifies me to be recognized as an “older American,” at least according to the good folks in the AARP membership department.

As I’ve come to learn with age, you are certainly as young as you feel, act, and – I would add – as you think. Invariably, with age comes experience and with experience comes the tendency to recognize patterns – or what one interprets as patterns.

This can be a good thing when it comes to mitigating risks and maximizing returns. However, it can be a bad thing when it stifles innovation. At the half century mark, I’ve seen the upside and downside of this dynamic tension between innovation risk and return.

A couple of recent articles reminded me of how this drama plays out every day in the tech industry, often outside of the typical consumer’s eyesight. …