Age Perception: Compliment or Insult?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the perception of age and how comments regarding looking older or younger can be interpreted as compliments or insults. Participants explore the implications of age perception across different ages and genders, as well as personal experiences related to these perceptions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the interpretation of age-related comments varies with age, noting that being told one looks older or younger can switch between compliment and insult depending on the context.
  • One participant proposes that the threshold for what is considered acceptable changes as one ages, particularly around the age of 40, where perceptions may shift to disbelief rather than offense.
  • Another viewpoint indicates that reaching a certain age leads to indifference towards such comments, with some expressing that they find it amusing when others misjudge their age.
  • Several participants share personal anecdotes about being mistaken for different ages, with mixed feelings about the implications of such perceptions.
  • There are comments reflecting on gender differences in how age perceptions are experienced, with some participants challenging generalizations about male behavior towards younger women.
  • Humor and sarcasm are present in the discussion, particularly in responses that reference physical attributes and societal expectations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views on how age perception is interpreted, and there is no consensus on when or how the switch between compliment and insult occurs. Participants express a range of personal experiences and opinions without reaching a definitive agreement.

Contextual Notes

Some comments reflect personal biases and experiences that may not be universally applicable, and there are unresolved assumptions about societal norms regarding age and gender.

  • #31
That's it, you're going to hell for sure now buddy.
 
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  • #32
marlon said:
I will take the risk anyhow. A God named SMURF does not really impress me. You could at least have chosen a Latin name man

marlon
Caeruleus Fatuus? Eh, marlon, can you inflect me? :blushing:
 
  • #33
Moonbear is 33.
 
  • #34
It doesn't matter what your chronological age is, it's how you think, act, feel, and look. I thought the girl two offices down from me was 25, she's 49 and a grandmother. :bugeye:

Moonbear is a youngster.
 
  • #35
Evo said:
It doesn't matter what your chronological age is, it's how you think, act, feel, and look. I thought the girl two offices down from me was 25, she's 49 and a grandmother. :bugeye:

Moonbear is a youngster.
And I am a fossil.
 
  • #36
:smile:
... What does that make me? :biggrin: An Embryo?
 
  • #37
arildno said:
And I am a fossil.

Wow the oldest human alive or nearly but may be not.

And EVO is about 25. Moonbear may be 27ish to me any way
:biggrin:
 
  • #38
Smurf said:
:smile:
... What does that make me? :biggrin: An Embryo?

More a Zygote :smile:
 
  • #39
Evo said:
Moonbear is a youngster.

Well i am a youngster too! :biggrin:

Why does women tend to hide their ages! :smile:
My GND told me she is 23 but i found out ,she is 25 :smile:
 
  • #40
Smurf said:
:smile:
... What does that make me? :biggrin: An Embryo?

a microscopic tadpole :biggrin:
 
  • #41
I'm not quite sure how other PF'ers regard fossils, but since most fossils are made when the animal is suddenly covered in sediments in the prime of their life and becomes preserved like that for all eternity, the association was, to my mind very clear:
I'm in a state of petrified, rock-hard youth..
 
Last edited:
  • #42
heman said:
Why does women tend to hide their ages!
I don't lie about my age, but I find that some people tend to catgorize people based on age. A young girl might want to be thought of as more mature and

Wolram said:
And EVO is about 25.
:!) Good, I see you're taking those drugs I sent, just keep taking them. :-p

Marlon, however, is in deep trouble.

Arildno, you're not old. :rolleyes:
 
  • #43
arildno said:
I'm not quite sure how other PF'ers regard fossils, but since most fossils are made when the animal is sudden covered in sediments in the prime of their life and becomes preserved like that for all eternity, the association was, to my mind very clear:
I'm in a state of petrified, rock-hard youth..
Oh my. :bugeye: :biggrin:
 
  • #44
arildno said:
I'm not quite sure how other PF'ers regard fossils, but since most fossils are made when the animal is sudden covered in sediments in the prime of their life and becomes preserved like that for all eternity, the association was, to my mind very clear:
I'm in a state of petrified, rock-hard youth..
:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
Ok, old man, may be you are not an oopart.
 
  • #45
An out-of-place-artifact?
Perhaps I am an oopPF instead..:confused:
 
  • #46
Evo said:
I don't lie about my age, but I find that some people tend to catgorize people based on age. A young girl might want to be thought of as more mature and

Evo at this point i remember a nice song,Can you recognise it!

So she may be thirty-three
But that doesn't bother me
Her boyfriend's working out of town
I find a reason to go round
I climb a tree outside her home
To make sure that she's alone
I've see her in her underwear
I can't help but stop and stare

:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #47
arildno said:
I'm not quite sure how other PF'ers regard fossils, but since most fossils are made when the animal is suddenly covered in sediments in the prime of their life and becomes preserved like that for all eternity, the association was, to my mind very clear:
I'm in a state of petrified, rock-hard youth..

Everyone who's a PFer more than 1 year is fossil! :rolleyes:(we use this term for senior students too) Of course yomamma is an exception!
 
  • #48
arildno said:
An out-of-place-artifact?
Perhaps I am an oopPF instead..:confused:
No, but you're making me reconsider my position on conversion therapy... and you've given me a great new use for the word fossilization. :biggrin:
 
  • #49
honestrosewater said:
No, but you're making me reconsider my position on conversion therapy... and you've given me a great new use for the word fossilization. :biggrin:
:smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #50
arildno said:
:smile: :smile: :smile:
No, wait, I have the groaner of the week: I guess if I want to win you over, I should get some books on fossil dating. :biggrin:
 
  • #51
honestrosewater said:
No, wait, I have the groaner of the week: I guess if I want to win you over, I should get some books on fossil dating. :biggrin:
FOSSIL DATING??
:biggrin:
What a delightful new concept!
:approve:
 
  • #52
arildno said:
FOSSIL DATING??
:biggrin:
What a delightful new concept!
:approve:

Well according to Lisa we are all fossils, so when can the dating begin?
 
  • #53
I'll just fetch my cane, dear, then I'll come over as soon as possible..
 
  • #54
arildno said:
I'll just fetch my cane, dear, then I'll come over as soon as possible..

Cane i am not that type of guy sorry.
 
  • #55
But, I do need my walking stick; isn't that a cane?
I don't understand what you were thinking of..
 
  • #56
arildno said:
But, I do need my walking stick; isn't that a cane?
I don't understand what you were thinking of..

Ooops ,walking stick phew :biggrin:
 
  • #57
wolram said:
Well according to Lisa we are all fossils, so when can the dating begin?
Wait, you and Arildno? :cry:
 
  • #58
Physics is Phun said:
does it switch between an insult and a compliment to being told you look older or younger?
I am an 18 year old guy. I would be complimented if you said i looked 22 but insulted if you said i looked 16.
But when does it switch, when I'm 22 will i be complimented or insulted to be called 20?
is there a difference if your a guy or girl?
Dear me, this thread has degenerated a lot, hasn't it?
 
  • #59
Evo said:
Wait, you and Arildno? :cry:

But, but, but, but,No He is a nice guy, but i couldn't date
any one that old. :biggrin:
 
  • #60
wolram said:
But, but, but, but,No He is a nice guy, but i couldn't date
any one that old. :biggrin:
I thought you liked fossils. :-p

Wait, aren't I older than Arildno? :cry:
 

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