As Ms. Manners would ask, Why would you want to know?

Ize -I'm with Schuler.

You can't have an average of any sort (mean - arithemetic or geometric - median or mode) without more than one value. And in some cases without more than two.

Since you only have one age it's a meaningless debate as to what 'average' means. You can't have an average age. It's an absolute value.

I'm experiencing the best ten years in a woman's life - the period when she says she's 39.

I'll be 59 on Thanksgiving! Doesn't fall on that day (Nov 22) very often. Probably the mathematically inclined can figure out how often it happens, I'm sure there's a formula for that too. :)

I'm 54 - I think its a legit. question. I know my travel style has changed as I've gotten older so finding out the age of fellow Fodorites might be a factor in evaluating information received here.

I have trouble with those mathematical things, too. But I remember a 50-year old friend telling his father-in-law that at 50 he was now middle-aged. His FIL replied "how many 100 year old people do you know?"

mathematically, you can have an average with only one number -- it is that number, and any statistical software should tell you that if you ran some stats to calculate the mean of a sample with only one observations. It's just a formula (sum of all observation values divided by the number of observations). You certainly don't need more than two observations to have an average, don't know why someone said that.

I have a master's in statistics and the mean and average are the exactly same thing. The "average" is just a layman's or colloquial term for mean. There are definitely other measures of central tendancy (median, mode) as some mentioned. Even a good basic dictionary defines what a mean and average are (ie, first definition in mine for average is "arithmetic mean").

The concept of an average age for an individual in abstract doesn't mean much. YOu could infinitely divide numbers into ages, also, so it wouldn't necessarily be integers to sum (ie, 15.1 years of age).

Mathematically, if you were just counting integers of ages, it is just one's average age would be just the current age divided by 2 plus 0.5. (ie, if you are 50, it would be 25.5). That would also be the median.

If you count "zero" as an age (which I don't, as you wouldn't be born), the mean or average would be exactly the age divided by 2. Or 25 if you are 50.

Yes, I'm with Suec1... age can make a difference in travel likes, dislikes, and desires.

Sometimes there is a lot of flack issued here to people who like to stay in luxury hotels etc... I have surmised many on this board are retired and not in the position to perhaps have an occasional windfall from a good bonus and very little vacation time and therefore feel no problem splurging for one week of the year.

My husband and I recently splurged for a 5 day stay at Palazzo Sasso on the Amalfi coast. At 47 and 50, we actually were pretty old there. Lots of young couples, many without wedding rings... We also went to Karini in Santorini and again saw lots of young couples - it was a convivial group around the pool and as we all got to talking, we found many were either not married or married with no kids. Lot's of disposable incomes and serious foodies to boot...

Plus a twenty somethings idea of a long, strenuous hike certainly wouldn't typically equate to a sixty somethings idea of one.

I was some 10 months old when Laika was put into orbit...
And I'll never be old, because old people are people who have some 20 years more than me...

29. My friends are so happy that I will finally be in the same decade as them in another two weeks.

Interesting question. I do think age has some effect on travel preferences, tolerance of uncomfortable situations, etc.

I'm 28 and my husband is 34.

While I imagine I am slightly on the younger side of the "average" age of posters, my travel preferences/tolerance have changed quite a bit from when I was 20 when backpacks and hostels were my norm. I'm sure they will change in the years to come as well.

Christine - an average is a statistic relating to distribution. By definition, if you only have one value you don't really have a 'distribution' to measure. Yes, your software will return a value, but it will be a mathamatically meaningless value.

Properly calculated averages usually come accompanied by standard deviations, standard errors or confidence limits. These cannot be calculated without two (or sometimes 3) or more values.

Your age is not a 'distribution' of the number of days/weeks/years you've lived. It's a finite value. Just one 'n' number. Calling your age divided by 2 the 'average' of your age is mathamatical b*ll*cks.

I am 16 ... going on 63.

Does anyone apart from me feel sorry for the poor sod who posted the original question?

Well, I'm not getting into the argument about averages. (I had enough math and statistics to understand regression analysis, so it's not that.) Just don't want to argue it.

BUT I am going to throw off the average of the ages people list here -- I am 72!! So there! I am apparently an outlier. (Get out your stat. textbooks to look that one up.) I have never apologized for my age, and don't intend to ever. In my head I am only 35, so what the heck.

But we do travel differently now. We don't backpack or sleep on the ground anymore. We don't climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence anymore. But we still don't stay in luxury hotels, because we are more relaxed in B&Bs or apartments, we get to know more Italians that way, and we'd rather splurge by staying in Italy longer. We don't go to the "in" restaurants because although we are avid foodies, we prefer the taste of the food to be the show, not architectural arrangements of it. Besides, it's less expensive to eat elsewhere, and very often just as good.

Charnee

Sheila, no, I just feel sorry for all the statisticians who are missing the point. I have enjoyed this thread - why spoil it with an argument over what is statistically correct?

Dear poor sod that posted the original question,

I'd be very happy to tell you my age, but I can't count that high on my fingers. Just visualize me as forever young.

Charnee,

I know this is not a contest, but I'm more of an outlier than you -- at 77.

We don't climb long flights of stairs, either, and ride the buses in Paris, rather than take the Metro, but we still have a wonderful time -- just more slowly.

:-)

I'm about 25, maybe thirty. It's just that that rapidly greying wreck of humanity that looks at me from the mirror is a fair bit older.