Elapsed vs Computational Years

We received a question asking us to clarify how the 40 Elapsed and 35 Computational Years work when Social Security calculates your Retirement Benefit.  Here is the question:
“I know that Social Security uses the 35 highest inflation factored years to determine a worker's Social Security Retirement Payment. But I'm confused about the "past 40 years" that you talk about. Does this mean the Social Security calculation does not take into account, earnings from 41 years ago?”
Calculating SS Benefits
This question refers to the method that the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses to calculate your SS benefits.  Today I will focus on Retirement Benefits to answer this question.  The basic method that the SSA uses to calculate your Retirement Benefit is this:
This process starts with the assumption made by the SSA that a “typical” work lifespan is 40 years. In the SSA Handbook, Section 704 they describe “elapsed years” as those “calendar years after 1950, or after you turn 21, if this i