The 5 Year Aging Scale
- jim Young
“I was never obligated to growing UP, but I had no choice in growing OLD.” - Steve Greeley
I don't know about you, but I literally have to stop and do the calculations whenever someone asks me how old I am. And even then, because I was born at the end of the year, I usually have to deduct 1 anyway. Minus-ing even 1 in my head is sometimes a mental challenge these days.
Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if the number didn't change every year.
Why can't we celebrate birthdays just every 5 years instead? Sure, our age would then be recorded in 5 year increments, but it might be easier to remember.
We’re 60 for 5 years, then 65 for 5 years and so on.
To let people know we are using the “5 year aging scale” we could qualify that by adding a plus sign to it. Let’s face it, if you want to be technical, even one day after our 65th birthday we are really 65.0028 years old (rounded to 5 digits).
Telling someone we are 65+ is really more accurate than just telling them we are 65.
Saying we are 70+ would let people know we are between 70 and 74. That’s close enough and easier to remember. We only have to recalculate the number every 5 years.
At our age a rough estimate is all that is really required anyway.
When most people inquire about the ages of old people they are content with simply knowing "he's in his 60s" or "she's in her 80s". Sometimes they try to define it a little more by suggesting "he's in his early 70s" or “she’s in her late 80s”. So I think the “5 year aging scale” would work well.
The “5 year aging scale” would help younger people when adding their profile on dating sites as well. Instead of outright lying about their age or using terms such as “late 20s” or “early 30s” they might be more comfortable answering “30+” as their age. (Respondents to these ads would still be well advised to assume the person they are replying to is really “35+” however.)
I’m 65+ now. I have been for a couple of years and I will be for another couple of years. Let’s leave it at that.
THAT is a number I can remember.
- 30 -
“I was never obligated to growing UP, but I had no choice in growing OLD.” - Steve Greeley
 |
| Calculating my age. |
Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if the number didn't change every year.
Why can't we celebrate birthdays just every 5 years instead? Sure, our age would then be recorded in 5 year increments, but it might be easier to remember.
We’re 60 for 5 years, then 65 for 5 years and so on.
To let people know we are using the “5 year aging scale” we could qualify that by adding a plus sign to it. Let’s face it, if you want to be technical, even one day after our 65th birthday we are really 65.0028 years old (rounded to 5 digits).
Telling someone we are 65+ is really more accurate than just telling them we are 65.
Saying we are 70+ would let people know we are between 70 and 74. That’s close enough and easier to remember. We only have to recalculate the number every 5 years.
At our age a rough estimate is all that is really required anyway.
When most people inquire about the ages of old people they are content with simply knowing "he's in his 60s" or "she's in her 80s". Sometimes they try to define it a little more by suggesting "he's in his early 70s" or “she’s in her late 80s”. So I think the “5 year aging scale” would work well.
The “5 year aging scale” would help younger people when adding their profile on dating sites as well. Instead of outright lying about their age or using terms such as “late 20s” or “early 30s” they might be more comfortable answering “30+” as their age. (Respondents to these ads would still be well advised to assume the person they are replying to is really “35+” however.)
I’m 65+ now. I have been for a couple of years and I will be for another couple of years. Let’s leave it at that.
THAT is a number I can remember.
- 30 -
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