49  On integer vs. fractional counting of ages

When asked their age, young children sometimes respond:

“I’m three and a half.”

That’s interesting. We adults count our age by integer years, not fractional ones.

On reflection, I am not surprised that children measure their ages by fractional years, as a half-year increment, for example, is a significant fraction of a three-year old’s life. Moreover, 3-½ year old children undoubtedly see themselves as more mature than mere 3 year-old toddlers.

At some point, children switch to reporting integer years. “I’m seven.” This continues for decades. However, they might exclaim, “But I am almost 21!” when trying to persuade an adult to sell alcohol to them.

When they eventually reach old age, some people will again change how they report their age. Consider my Mom, who grew up in an era when asking a woman’s age was considered gauche.

Near the end of her life (she died at 98), she became conspicuously proud of having outlived most of her peers, despite her multiople health issues. When a neighbor asked how old she was, she responded:

I’m 90 and a half.”

I was surprised by her statement. After all, one-half year is a tiny fraction of the cumulative number of years my Mom had lived.

Suddenly I realized that I was looking at her answer in the wrong way. My Mom was not adding half a year to the number of years since her birth. Instead, she was unconsciously comparing it to the expected number of years she might have left to live.

Assume that my Mom first used this expression at the age of 92 ½ years. At that age, her life expectancy would have been roughly 4 ¾ years. One-half year is a significant fraction of the expected 4 ¾ years left in her life.

There is sometimes symmetry in life. “The Child is the Father of the Man.”