The Old Factor: An AC Experiment on Age and Perception

In the 1960's, during the heyday of the Beatles and rock 'n roll, no self-respecting young person would trust anyone over the age of thirty.

Adults were the "establishment." The arbitrary age marker signaled something to be avoided at all costs: growing old. People above the age of thirty were square. Someone age forty and up was an antique. Once you hit sixty, you were practically dead! A person in their sixties in the 1960s would be a white-haired old lady (or old man) consigned to life in a rocking chair.

Of course by the turn of the 21st century, those same baby-boomer teens from the 1960's had grown up, and suddenly they realized that thirty wasn't so old, after all. Yes, one was an adult, with adult responsibilities and sensibilities. That didn't mean the same thing as being a senior citizen.

Forty wasn't old any more, either. Nor was fifty. People who'd already seen sixty years did all they could to remain looking and feeling youthful. Catchphrases like "Sixty is the new thirty!" were spawned, referring to the levels of health and activity that have changed how we view the decades of our lives.

We all know that chronology can't be altered by a catchphrase. Sixty is still sixty and thirty is still thirty, even if you erase and rewrite the numbers on every legal document produced since your birth. All those years can't be un-lived!

But perhaps the better question is, is sixty still old? For that matter, what exactly constitutes "old" in the first place? Is it a number? A level of physical well-being? A frame of mind? Can we cheat age and death, maintaining health and vitality to the century mark and beyond? What if we manage to unlock the secrets of the body's aging process and find ways to extend life in good health? Will that prevent us from becoming old, or will our definition of the word (at least insofar as it refers to human beings) change to accommodate our new physiological states?

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) caters to those age fifty and up. It disseminates advice and provides travel and other discounts to senior citizens. Does that mean that turning fifty make you old?