The older we get, the more we like to reflect on the importance of “life experience,” and how the passage of time can give human beings an expertise in their chosen field that raw talent never can. But how important is experience, really? After all, talented athletes now begin their professional careers as teenagers, and don’t appear to suffer from a lack of life experience. Could the same be true in politics, music, or art? Is it possible that all the talk of seasoning and maturation is nothing more than our fear of those younger than us?