We have to keep up with the reading. I find it incredible that there might be age discrimination amongst programmers. In medicine, experience is usually considered an asset. Much of the training in medical school is irrelevant, and Residency training does little to prepare for real-world medicine.
Experience is the greatest teacher.
In fact, some believe it is desirable to find a physician with around 10 years experience - apparently that is the point where clinical knowledge and experience are optimal. So it seems unusual that age and experience would not be considered valuable in your field. Of course there is a big difference between the tiny percentage that are really into learning, curiosity, and self-improvement that read and learn constantly. Yup, that probably applies to every profession.