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At 102 years old, Dean Simes is proving that age is just a number when curiosity and determination take the wheel. While millennials have grown up dodging questions like “Can you install this app for me?” or “Why is my phone so slow?” from their baby boomer parents, Simes is turning the tables entirely. He’s teaching retirees across Sydney not just how to use technology, but how to master it, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
A Late Bloomer with Unstoppable Drive
What makes Simes’s story truly remarkable is that he arrived at technology relatively late in life. In the year 2000, when Windows XP was arriving on the market, he founded Computer Pals, a nonprofit association dedicated to teaching digital skills to older adults. At that point, he was already over 75 years old. Even more striking: he didn’t own his first personal computer until after he turned 80.
Yet instead of accepting defeat as so many might have, Simes persisted. ABC Radio Sydney featured his story, recognizing him as likely the world’s oldest technology enthusiast. His determination to learn wasn’t casual either. He committed to a three-year course to understand systems, hardware, and user interfaces so he could effectively pass his knowledge to others. Age wasn’t a barrier; curiosity was the engine.
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Teaching by Example
Today, Simes leads Computer Pals with the same energy he brings to everything else. His students include people like Vera and Michael Last, both 94 years old, who practice diligently at installing applications on Android devices. These aren’t abstract lessons or condescending tutorials. They’re practical, hands-on sessions with someone who understands the learning curve because he’s lived it.
When asked about his teaching philosophy, Simes doesn’t overcomplicate it. The secret, he believes, boils down to one thing: practice, practice, practice. There’s no shortcut, no magic wand. Just repetition and patience, the very qualities that sustained him through learning technology in his seventies and eighties.
A Life in Balance
Simes’s vitality extends far beyond the classroom. To stay in shape at 102, he maintains a strict routine that includes sports sessions, regular gatherings with his six children, bridge games, and driving trips around Sydney. It’s a lifestyle that embodies the principle of a healthy mind in a healthy body, and it clearly works.
When asked about succession plans for Computer Pals, Simes acknowledges the inevitable: someday, he’ll need to hand the reins to someone younger. But not yet. There’s always another person to train, another question to answer, another mind to help navigate the digital world. As he freely admits, this mission keeps him from becoming what he calls a “couch larva.” In other words, staying active, engaged, and purposeful isn’t just good for society; it’s essential to living fully.
A Lesson for All Generations
Dean Simes’s story turns the conventional wisdom on its head. Technology isn’t the domain of the young, and age isn’t a valid excuse for giving up. What matters is showing up, staying curious, and refusing to accept limitations. In a world obsessed with digital natives and generational divides, here’s a man in his second century proving that the only real barrier to learning is the one we build in our own minds.
