At 47: neither old nor young, but quite the opposite
A 47-year-old man asks whether he is old or riding the crest of the wave. Hair, weight and attitude shape the answers in a debate about middle age.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
At 47: neither old nor young, but quite the opposite
A 47-year-old man wonders whether he is old or riding the crest of the wave. The answer he gets is not unanimous, but it is revealing: according to one comment, it depends on whether he still has his hair, whether he is overweight and, above all, on whether he wants to live like a 20-year-old or like a retiree. The question, asked in a nightlife context, hides a more uncomfortable issue: what place does a middle-aged man occupy in social life today?
Age as a clinical diagnosis
The first answer the author receives is a diagnosis without anesthesia: if he still has his hair and has not gained weight, he still has a way to go. If not, the margin narrows. The observation, apparently superficial, connects with a reality the thread itself puts on the table: at 47, the body starts to take its toll. The comparison with Ötzi, the Iceman, is the show-stopper: arthritis, Lyme disease, cavities, intestinal parasites, cardiovascular problems and androgenetic alopecia. All of that, thousands of years ago, according to one comment. The conclusion drawn is that we live in better times, even if it doesn't always seem that way.
The biological calendar and the social calendar
The discussion drifts toward the concept of the young-old, that limbo in which a 47-year-old man can feel young for some things and old for others. The midlife crisis is mentioned as an appetizer for the one at 50. But someone introduces an important nuance: the crisis is not just about age, it is about the times. The general atmosphere, in every sense, feels negative and dark, and that does not help one's mood. The question, then, is not only whether one is old, but whether the world around him has aged along with him.
Life expectancy and the halfway point
One message points out that being 47 does not miccionan being at the halfway point of life. Another replies with geographical irony: if anything, at the Tropic of Cancer. Life expectancy in Spain exceeds 80 years, but the labor and social market does not always keep pace with that longevity. At 47, many men are in the middle of their careers, but they also start to notice the ground shifting: restructuring, covert ageism, technological changes that leave behind anyone who does not retrain.
The question nobody answers
The thread offers no single answer. Some argue that age is a social construct and that what matters is attitude. Others, however, stress that the body and the market do not care about attitudes. The only certainty is that the question remains open, and that at 47, riding the crest of the wave or on the way down, all that is left is to keep rowing.
A 47-year-old man wonders whether he is old or riding the crest of the wave. The answer he gets is not unanimous, but it is revealing: according to one comment, it depends on whether he still has his hair, whether he is overweight and, above all, on whether he wants to live like a 20-year-old or like a retiree. The question, asked in a nightlife context, hides a more uncomfortable issue: what place does a middle-aged man occupy in social life today?
Age as a clinical diagnosis
The first answer the author receives is a diagnosis without anesthesia: if he still has his hair and has not gained weight, he still has a way to go. If not, the margin narrows. The observation, apparently superficial, connects with a reality the thread itself puts on the table: at 47, the body starts to take its toll. The comparison with Ötzi, the Iceman, is the show-stopper: arthritis, Lyme disease, cavities, intestinal parasites, cardiovascular problems and androgenetic alopecia. All of that, thousands of years ago, according to one comment. The conclusion drawn is that we live in better times, even if it doesn't always seem that way.
The biological calendar and the social calendar
The discussion drifts toward the concept of the young-old, that limbo in which a 47-year-old man can feel young for some things and old for others. The midlife crisis is mentioned as an appetizer for the one at 50. But someone introduces an important nuance: the crisis is not just about age, it is about the times. The general atmosphere, in every sense, feels negative and dark, and that does not help one's mood. The question, then, is not only whether one is old, but whether the world around him has aged along with him.
Life expectancy and the halfway point
One message points out that being 47 does not miccionan being at the halfway point of life. Another replies with geographical irony: if anything, at the Tropic of Cancer. Life expectancy in Spain exceeds 80 years, but the labor and social market does not always keep pace with that longevity. At 47, many men are in the middle of their careers, but they also start to notice the ground shifting: restructuring, covert ageism, technological changes that leave behind anyone who does not retrain.
The question nobody answers
The thread offers no single answer. Some argue that age is a social construct and that what matters is attitude. Others, however, stress that the body and the market do not care about attitudes. The only certainty is that the question remains open, and that at 47, riding the crest of the wave or on the way down, all that is left is to keep rowing.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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