Minor correction: 51 year olds were 15 when the Apple ][ came out, not 18.
And they had seen computers, just not personal computers. Exhibits showing line printers printing ASCII (or, more likely, EBCDIC) art were fairly common views. Any technically inclined kid in a rich country would have seen one (touching is something else)
Also, I don't think we have fewer good low-level programmers; they just get lost in a sea of glue-blocks-together experts (that, by the way, has its place, too)
And they had seen computers, just not personal computers. Exhibits showing line printers printing ASCII (or, more likely, EBCDIC) art were fairly common views. Any technically inclined kid in a rich country would have seen one (touching is something else)
Also, I don't think we have fewer good low-level programmers; they just get lost in a sea of glue-blocks-together experts (that, by the way, has its place, too)