SaveroK,
For arguments sake (and because its a proven fact), I'll agree that as you age you lose some physical speed, but I don't agree that your ability to make quick decisions is diminished - on the contrary, I'd say that I am able to make quicker (and stronger) decisions now than I could 5 10 or 15 years ago. I think that it boils down to time more than anything else - Yeah, I've played a lot of games online, but I don't practice - I need to use every chance I've got to play - and I'll work on getting better in game.
As far as experience goes, I think that from a gaming standpoint there are several kinds of experience that will determine who is better.... if you took a 39 year old and a 9 year old and handed them the game for the first time, I have a feeling that the 39 year old would be better at first - just because he'd have some practical experience in figuring things out as he goes (isn't that what life is all about? Figuring things out as you go?) But over time the 9 year old would probably surpass the 39 year old in skill...
Where I think experience has a bigger effect (and correlates back to the time issue), is that while the 39 year old has more "experience" the 9 year old who's played 250 more games has more "in game" experience, and, if he's got any brains at all, has learned how to compensate for the various things that the game and opponents have thrown at him - he's (or she's) seeing fewer and fewer things for the first time - while the 39 year old is running across new things every game still... so again, having the time to play is the final issue.
Wisdom, I'd give to the old folks... quickwittedness too... time (and by association game experience, which matters more) and physical speed I'd give to the younger folks... and while each get both, the old saying is that you can't train speed. (or, if you'd prefer, speed kills)
16-24 - but dwindling after 21. Just my 2 cents.
ZSG
[This message has been edited by Zero_Sum_Game (edited 02-03-2003 @ 02:45 PM).]