What Do You Think Is Their Age

Why do so many people think they look younger than their age? (Seriously, most look their age.)

Because they are not seeing themselves, they are seeing a symbol of themselves. Let me explain.The human brain is a wondrous thing. When you meet someone, and see them full-face, you (hopefully) remember what they look like. Then you see them again, but it’s not full-face, maybe you see them from the side, or they’re looking down. You still recognize them, correct? It works for all sorts of things, like recognizing the letter ‘A’ in different fonts, different handwritings. This is helpful, as we don’t have to see something in all it’s forms to be able to recognize it later. Our brain can interpolate the views, and then when you see that person or thing again, it can do some sort of ‘close enough’ comparison and recognition happens. It’s very difficult for a computer to do this, in a way we can do it from being very small babies.So, once you’ve seen a face and ‘learned’ it, your brain has a ‘symbol’ for that face, keyed on certain features, such as eye shape and colour, nose shape, whether your top lip disappears when you smile and so on.These symbols tend not to change. So when you look at yourself in the mirror, you are not really seeing yourself, you are just doing a quick inventory of the features, until your brain recognizes ‘you’ and then you get on with whatever you’re doing looking in the mirror (combing your hair, shaving, putting on makeup).That’s one of the reasons, most people hate how they look in photos. Because, you are always going to look ‘older’ than your symbolic face that you memorized when you were a child or teenager. (There are enough facial changes, and brain changes as a teen that it probably results in a completely new mapping).It’s also why, when you get an unexpected glimpse of yourself in a reflective surface like a shop window, you say, ‘who is that crazy homeless person’ and realize with horror, that it’s your reflection!

Why do people think they look younger than their age? It’s even more puzzling when this happen to people who look older than their age. Do they use a special mirror?

I find it hysterical. (I just looked up this question after reading a typical Quora answer about how “I’m 60 but I look and feel younger. I eat right and do yoga, blah blah blah.” I don’t care who you are, if you’re not a celebrity with a limitless botox-and-plastic-surgery budget, once you’re past about 40–45, you do NOT look young for your age.“But everybody tells me I look so young!” They’re being polite, because you keep dropping hints for compliments, OR because they know old farts expect it. Don’t tell me you really believed them??If we took everybody who thinks they look young for their age vs. those who think they look their age or older and put them in two separate rooms, the “my age or older” room would be empty enough to house all the homeless in the USA. This is a scientific fact.Yes, they use a special mirror. I also have this mirror. When I gaze upon my beauteous visage, I see a 40-something woman. But if I take a selfie at the same time, I need to take about 99 more to capture that illusion of youth, because 99% of my photos look like a picture of a 61-year-old woman.Thank God for these special mirrors.But please don’t go around telling everybody how you look young for your age and EVERYBODY SAYS SO, because we’re all going to agree and then giggle behind your back :-).A candid shot of Christie Brinkley. Does she look fabulous? YES! Does she look her age? YES! (She is careful to curate most of her photos—there are very few candid closeups online of her AND she’s always in full makeup.)

Do you think the age gap is important in relationships?

Concerning romantic or sexual relationships, yes, depending both on how wide it is and the age of the youngest person in it.In my opinion, the younger they are the smaller the gap should be. It’s only practical because if someone is still in their formative but developing romantic/sexual interest years (whatever age they are when that part of puberty hits to 19~20 imo) having them experience emotional or physical things they aren't or can't be prepared for would just be too damaging.Age isn't a 100% indicator of physical maturity, mental maturity, or life experience, because it can happen sooner for some, later for others, and as a result of that and other factors, there can be situations where an older partner can be more vulnerable as a result. But still, age provides a more than decent estimation of things to go by. And should be the first thing you go by when kicking off a relationship with a stranger. I think a person will typically thrive more with someone they can relate to, and learn/grow alongside during that time, so it will help you aim for that.When you're older the gap can get wider, but after a certain point I think there’s a risk of one partner instinctually taking on a more parental kind of role which could destabilize a relationship, should the other partner feel put off by this. It can work the opposite way too I guess, with the younger one maybe expecting too much from the older. Mutual trust and belief in a partner’s reliability just seems like it'd be hard to maintain if the life experience gap is too big. Proper communication of expectations can help avoid this.When it comes to friendships though, I don't really think a gap matters, so long as you're treating them with respect. Just be considate of things they don't know, don't need to know yet, or don't like.Age and experience aren't the only important things to factor in I think. The difference in a person’s financial or social standing can create a power imbalance parties involved should watch out for.

Why don't women like revealing their age?

I'm going to answer for myself, personally. It has to do with two factors, 1) why don't women like revealing their age and 2) why don't people like revealing their age.1) For many people, everything changes when you know a woman's age. How you judge her appearance, assess her career accomplishments, look at her personal life. It gives you a yardstick to measure someone against. It happens to men, too but not as intensely. The most common comment I hear in the circles I travel in now after someone finds out a woman's age are"She doesn't look her age" {Sounds like a compliment but means, "I didn't know she was THAT old!" Can also mean "I think she's had botox"}"She doesn't look too bad for her age" {Eh, at that age, you shouldn't expect much}"Her age really shows" (Means, "I kind of guessed she was that old, but I didn't quite believe it. She should have botox."}This phenomenon is particularly acute for women after 35 years of age because that is when you become keenly aware of your body changing in small and irritating ways that you have little control over. But that's another question.2) The world is divided into those who are older than you and those who are younger than you. Those who are older, God bless them, are usually polite and look with fondness at the years when they were your age. On the other hand, those who are younger frequently have not accepted the fact that they, too, are getting older. Finding a gray hair is the end of the world. It's like they think they can freeze their life at 27 years. They frequently distance themselves from people 10-20 years older (between their age and their parents), I think because they represents domesticity, settling down, maybe compromising with your career because, damn it, real life often interrupts our plans. Unlike previous generations who eagerly embraced adulthood, many Gen Xers, Gen Yers and Millennials seem to, somehow, think they will be spared, everything in their life plan will work out but due to the miracle of science, their minds and bodies will not experience aging.It is very painful for me to listen to 20something describe someone as young as 35 in disparaging terms because of their age. It shows a naiveté and insensitivity that is remarkable in people I find smart in so many other ways. I wish I could tell them, "You, too, will become your parents."