# Someone appears 30 years old but is either 20 or 40. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2015, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301 "2015-12-03T09:43:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/1 "2015-12-03T09:43:53Z")
Hypothetical: Someone appears to be 30 years old. (I am not specifying race, gender, attire, etc.) Which would you consider to be a bigger surprise: To find that they are actually 20 years old, or to find they are actually 40 years old? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/2 "2015-12-03T10:51:03Z")
This happened to me. When I was 20, thanks to my beard, I appeared to be 30; when I was 40 I appeared to be 30 thanks to no longer having a beard. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/3 "2015-12-03T11:21:04Z")
I used to know someone who looked like he was in his 40s when I met him, but I was quite surprised to find he was actually 27 at the time. I was only 19 so he seemed “old” but he also had thinning hair and an ageless tubby appearance. I knew him for almost ten years, and throughout he looked the same, which was good for being cast in the stage plays we did together. He regularly played older characters. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/4 "2015-12-03T13:29:36Z")
20: the ratio of 20 to 30 is less than the ratio between 30 and 40. Plus, not everyone is even finished growing at 20. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/5 "2015-12-03T15:35:58Z")
Neither would surprise me, as I stink at that game. If a carnival hired me to work the age guessing booth they would be bankrupt inside a week. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/6 "2015-12-03T15:59:27Z")
Usually it takes more than a 10 year spread to get my attention but usually its the “looks younger” that really surprises me. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/7 "2015-12-03T16:04:26Z")
Given the number of cosmetic options plus general better nutrition and health, I wouldn’t be very surprised to learn that a “30 year old” is actually 40. I’d be more surprised to see someone look artificially aged a decade. ---
**Author:** ![kimberlyxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kimberlyxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimberlyxx)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/8 "2015-12-03T17:03:03Z")
i always get told i look like a teen, im in my late 20s my friend same age as me looks 35 his wrinkles are BAD ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/9 "2015-12-03T17:09:15Z")
I am 40 but get mistaken for being in my 20s - my husband is the same. I sick at guessing she’s, maybe because i know so many people who look much younger than they are? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/10 "2015-12-03T17:13:48Z")
It’s much easier to look old. Drug use, poor health, too much time in the sun, early balding, weight gain… heck, people even look a little older if they’ve been sleeping poorly. I am terrible at guessing ages though. You’re lucky if I get within 50% of your age. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/11 "2015-12-03T20:46:21Z")
I voted with the majority. I look about 15 years younger than I am which leads to people not believing I’m at retirement age. Plus there are tons of 19 year old actors who play 15 to save money for the production company. I’d guess a 50 year old could look older with too much sun and stuff, but a 30 year old is not going to have done enough damage to look 40. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/12 "2015-12-03T21:04:22Z")
20 is also at the edge of ‘just out of high school’, a lot of people still haven’t settled into their adult look - a lot of 20 year olds still look distinctly young. I think if you guessed that someone was 35 and found out they were 25 or 45, the surprise would balance out more. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/13 "2015-12-03T23:15:22Z")
That they are actually 20. It isn’t uber hard to appear 30 when you are 40, but if you are 20 and appear 30 then to me that implies heavy drug use or a terrible lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/14 "2015-12-04T05:16:56Z")
Well, she looked eighteen to m- oh, sorry, I’m in the wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-appears-30-years-old-but-is-either-20-or-40/739301/15 "2015-12-05T17:45:27Z")
c) neither, regardless of superficial appearance of age, IME there are always tells. Maybe the mannerisms of the person or the way they dress. maybe those tiny subtle laugh-lines, or perhaps references to certain events or the way those references are made.