Sir Clive Sinclair predicts 'digital natives' in future; 1984

Sir Clive Sinclair, speaking in 1984, on the concept of young people being 'digital natives' and able to embrace technology and computers but he also feels older retired people adapt well given they have more free time to learn. "Constantly I get parents saying 'this is terrible' because there's my fourteen year old and he's marvellous at programming, and he's absolutely extraordinary adept, and that clearly it's these young minds can absorb these new ideas and here I am at forty-whatever and i've had it. But the curious thing is that we don't necessarily see so many people of forty buying them and it's quite true that he fourteen year olds do marvellously at them; they're quite extraordinary. Programming used to be thought of as some sort of arcane matter is now the province of children who are not just good at it, but superb at it. But the interesting thing is, there are the children being expert at it but the other group we see as being absolutely expert at it and taking to it like ducks to water are retired people. So the concept of it just having to be young minds is quite wrong; it's a mind that's free of the burdens of everyday life perhaps? The forty year old is absorbed in his job all the time but the retired person with some time to spare can take to it wonderfully." (NBSF439W - AEVZ001J)