I recently bought a Wii(TM). This purchase followed the realization that I can be motivated to exercise by frustration and perfectionism. Or rather, the realization that exercise may result as a by-product of my compulsion to conquer all the games on Wii Fit(TM). Whatever works, I suppose. But anyhow, One feature of Wii Fit(TM) is that it calculates your Wii Fit Age(Probably TM), which it claims to determine from your BMI and performance on various balance tasks. One problem here is that the balance games require some instruction (not provided) and it is a different game every day. So instead of assessing your balance, they are really assessing how quick you are on the uptake. How quickly can you catch on to every new game presented? And on the off-chance that you have seen the game before, and the Wii(okay, I'm done with the TMs) really is assessing some balance-type skill, it's probably testing your learned ability to shift your weight in the specific manner that pleases Wii Fit Balance Board(Nope, one more...TM), not so much your functional balance. What is my point? The Wii Fit age is an insignificant, arbitrary number...basically. Oh good, one can balance....and is a healthy weight. But what about one's joints? Lungs? Heart? .....Emotional maturity level? I don't know.....there are seriously a lot of factors that should go into figuring a person's age. In short, don't trust everything followed by a TM. In fact.....be more skeptical of it.
But really, this got me thinking about age in general and how arbitrary it is, Wii Fit or no Wii Fit. Past a certain undetermined point, those particular numbers on your birth certificate don't tell you a whole lot. Important for planning birthday parties, yes. Important for determining your level of physical, mental, emotional, or social functioning...quite debatable and certainly variable.
My brother John is 8 years older than me (take that, grammar nazis...I'm a rebel). That used to be way, way old. Chiu Fang (Hereafter, Jenny) is John's age. I don't think of her as any older than I am (okay, I caved). And there's Tina too. Age is really not a factor in our friendship, and that is cool. There are no Wiis in Heaven....or BMIs...or, I don't know....joints.....
I really want a strong closing sentence for this rambly mess of a post....but I am losing interest and am afraid that that is simply not going to happen.
"There are no Wiis in Heaven" would be a good name for a Country/Western song.
It also totally depends on how old you and the other person are when you meet. If you had met Jenny 10 years ago, you might think of her as older because that would have been how you thought of her then. Since you met when you were both past the point when age really matters, it's no longer a factor.
ReplyDeleteI agree. So there is a point, before which age matters and after which it no longer does.
ReplyDeleteAge is just an social thing. Like why in chinese culture "you look so much younger than you are" is a compliment? Also, I think all the grades in school make age difference a much bigger deal than it should, especially among class mates or school mates. Like~oh he is just an undergrad~ But if you meet outside this grades thing---like i met all you guys in the trip to Reynosa, I really don't feel most of you guys are younger than me. Like I met Tina when we are both studying abroad, so I don't think much about her age.
p.s.When I stepped on your Wii mat I didn't know it can bring you so much thoughts. Very impressive turnout not only physically but mentally, hopefully spiritually in the future?
See you tonight roomie~