Forgive me, please, for going totally and lengthily OT for a moment. I've been intrigued and sometimes amused by the varied opinions and stereotypes about old age in connection with RL. I'm fairly sure that the age of the ones posting has a lot to do with their perception of old age. It's clear that those of us over 65 dislike being dumped into a generalized "old" or "elderly" category with 85-100+ year olds. Those of us, like me, who were born at the beginning of the Baby Boomers (the generation starting in January 1946), are now 70-71. I doubt that many of us would consider ourselves "elderly." In fact, I frequently joke that we are the generation Bob Dylan referred to in his song "Forever Young."
I did a little digging around to see if my own perceptions have any basis in scientific opinion. Linked below, thanks to my friend Google, is what some researchers say. IMO some of these categories will be further revised as Baby Boomers get older. We aren't going down without a fight!
How does all this relate to RL? He is an active guy, physically younger than his chronological age or even looks would imply. This doesn't make him a killer (and I don't think he is), but he also can't be ruled out
just because he's "old." Living in a retirement community as I do, with ages ranging from early-60's to 106, I can tell you that even the researchers' categories should not be written in stone.
Thanks for humoring my OT digression. I think all the cases we work on provide opportunities to expand our thinking on any number of topics. That keeps us young.
Gerontologists have recognized the very different conditions that people experience as they grow older within the years defined as old age. In developed countries, most people in their 60s and early 70s are still fit, active, and able to care for themselves.[SUP][17][/SUP] However, after 75, they will become increasingly frail, a condition marked by serious mental and physical debilitation.[SUP][18][/SUP]
Therefore, rather than lumping together all people who have been defined as old, some gerontologists have recognized the diversity of old age by defining sub-groups. One study distinguishes the young old (60 to 69), the middle old (70 to 79), and the very old (80+).[SUP][19][/SUP] Another study’s sub-grouping is young-old (65 to 74), middle-old (75–84), and oldest-old (85+).[SUP][20][/SUP] A third sub-grouping is “young old” (65-74), “old” (74-84), and "old-old" (85+).[SUP][21][/SUP] Delineating sub-groups in the 65+ population enables a more accurate portrayal of significant life changes.[SUP][22][/SUP]
Two British scholars, Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard, have added a “fourth age” sub-group. In British English, the “third age” is “the period in life of active retirement, followinge middle age”.[SUP][23][/SUP] Higgs and Gilleard describe the fourth age as “an arena of inactive, unhealthy, unproductive, and ultimately unsuccessful ageing.”[SUP][24]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age
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