A variation on the "age" threads

[Eilan]

In light of the recent age threads, I'm forced to make a confession:

I am terrible at guessing people's ages. Simply terrible. About five years ago, back in my teaching days, I had a student who started an in-class assignment as follows: "I have been married for 15 of my 30 years." The shocking part, for me anyway, was not that she'd married at 15, but that she was only 30. For some reason, I'd assumed she was at least 10--and maybe 15--years older than that. I was 27 at the time, and I couldn't believe that she was just three years older than I was.

It's happened a couple of times since then, and each time I've made the mistake of assuming that the woman (oddly enough, it's ALWAYS been a woman) was quite a bit older than she actually was.

So, Litsters, how good are you at guessing how old people are? Does it matter if the person's male or female?

Inquiring minds want to know. MY inquiring mind does, anyway.

 

[EJFan]

i suck at this.

if i was the carnival guy who guessed ages and weights, the carnival would be in chapter 11 (that's bankruptcy protection against the stuffed animal contingent) before the first day ended.

of course, the biggest thing with age is making sure that the girl i'm talking to is of the age of consent in my state. j/k.

just for the record, i'm no good at names either. i call everyone "chief," "boss," dude," or "bro" so i don't have to remember.

 

[silverwhisper]

i generally am OK at guessing a person's age. i've been deceived on occasion and IMX, it's harder to guess the ages of blacks or asians for most. being asian myself, i probably have an easier time of that than the norm though, i suspect.

don't feel bad, eilan: a lot of people aren't so hot at this sort of thing. although i do have to wonder: she was married at 15? if you don't mind my asking, what state was that?

ed

 

[Quoll]

I can usually get to within 5 years on ages, faces I forget instantly and names are not much better.
I hate walking down the street and have someone say hello as if they know me, I usually have no idea who they are.

 

[h_i_s]

i'm good with guessing ages. i always remember a face, yet rarely can recall where i know the person from, & almost always forget their name.

 

[HybridCrow]

I can honestly say I am better at guessing with ranged answers. I can easily tell somebody if a girl is between the ages of what and what simply by how they look and how they act.

I think the only reason I don't try to guess guys ages is because I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm straight. However, I can sometimes guess accurately how old a guy is if there's a way he acts and of course looks if somebody asked me if I knew anything.

So, lol... I guess by the previous comment, you can already tell I try to stay away from the younger crowd of girls when it comes to looking for a girlfriend. I mean, I don't have any standards, except I would prefer a girl to be my age or near my age, maturity-wise and age-wise.

I will admit that I'm not perfect, and I've guessed wrong from time to time, which is why I use the age RANGE.

I've been told I look younger than I really am as well. I've also been told I don't look like I have changed a bit. Which REALLY sucks because I work hard to look different, even better if possible.

So, hope that's your food for thought.

 

[Eilan]

don't feel bad, eilan: a lot of people aren't so hot at this sort of thing. although i do have to wonder: she was married at 15? if you don't mind my asking, what state was that?

I live in Ohio, in what's considered to be part of Appalachia, which encompasses most of the southeastern part of the state. For some girls (and their families), marrying that young is a career goal of sorts. For others, it just happens.

My husband was lurking over my shoulder when I started this thread, so he and I were talking about our respective abilities to guess people's ages. He's probably about as good at it as I am, which isn't saying a whole heck of a lot. However, because of his job, he's seen more extreme examples of people who look older than they are. Particularly when he has to deal with addicts--meth is really big in our area right now.

I'd prefer to err on the side of youth when I'm making my guesses, but it doesn't usually happen that way.

I hate walking down the street and have someone say hello as if they know me, I usually have no idea who they are.

This happens to me every so often. Usually it's a former student whose name and/or face I've forgotten. The A students are usually easy to remember--as are the F students. It's the ones in the middle who melt together in my memory.

I've been told I look younger than I really am as well. I've also been told I don't look like I have changed a bit. Which REALLY sucks because I work hard to look different, even better if possible.

I guess that I've had the opposite problem in the past. People that I went to high school/college with don't recognize me, and I'm never sure if this is good or bad.

 

[Lynxie]

I stink at guessing people's ages. In fact, I'm just all-around horrible when it comes to describing other people. If I had to describe someone to the police, I really couldn't do it - I'm awful at guesstimating weights and heights, and have a very difficult time explaining other features of appearance. It's one of my weird handicaps in life.

 

[Cathleen]

I don't want to guess my own age. I don't think I'm good at guessing other folk's ages. (Guess low!)

 

[Undomiel]

I'm 19 and constantly getting mistaken for a 14 year old. Probably cause I haven't changed a bit since then. Sometimes it annoys me but sometimes its handy, like getting child fares on the train. But I hate when people just assume what I age I am. Like people would be talking to me and go "So you're doing your junior cert then?" (exam we do here at about 14/15) and I just roll my eyes and tell them I'm half way through my degree in Uni!
And because of all this, I don't even bother trying to guess peoples ages. Its too hard. If I have to I'll say oh they're in their 20's or 30's or something. Very vague.

 

[Eilan]

I'm 19 and constantly getting mistaken for a 14 year old.

This reminds me--my ex-husband and I were both 24 when our first child was born. However, my ex has always looked older than he actually is. Once when we were out in public during my pregnancy, this woman started yelling at my ex for getting such a young girl pregnant.

What's funny is that I'm just a bit older than he is. Go figure.

 

[iansearchof]

Reply

Stumbled onto this and am fascinated.

Since puberty I was assumed to be a few to several years older than I was. (On my 17th birthday I was sent to buy drinks because a biochemist with at least one graduate degree was "carded" and came back enraged and empty handed.) Today I'm usually viewed as several years younger. (All my life I've been in training to be a dirty old man, and, now that I've got the age thing covered, they're taking it away from me!) Now I'm sympathetic because I can't estimate others' ages worth a damn. A few times, my assumptions have been especially embarrassing even personally painful.

 

[phoenix1224]

Me?

Young body (30), old mind (85), ancient soul (10,000)...


As for telling the age of other people? It all depends on the person... Some come off as much more mature than their physical age, others come off as being much more immature than their physical age, and then there are those whose mind and body seem to be in perfect sync with one another... *shrugs*

 

[corkscrewer]

My mother has that problem.
I think it's because she likes to think of herself as younger and more beautiful than every other women. She needs to face it that she's got wrinkles, and grey hair

 

[sweetgirl666]

I am relativly good with ages with most people...It is somehow easier with guys than with girls though.


However, I found with myself, since I gained my lovely college 20 I look like a teenager!! yuck. I am 24, going on 25, and people think I am here in the local High School! When I was 18 and visited the US I gotten alcohol served with no question asked....

 

[cymbline]

I am not good at guessing ones age, male or female. I tend to under-estimate, just to be on the safe side. As far as putting faces with name, only if you are wearing a nametag.

 

[yesYesYEsYES]

I am horrible at this...but a very good diplomat...guess low....very low and when they tell you act totally amazed that they look that good for their age

Name? Hi Hun....how are you?

 

[babydoll2u]

I'm usually real good at guessing someone's age upon seeing them