Age and perception thereof

I had been noticing that a larger percentage of people that I know in Calgary tend to crack jokes about me being single than I really encountered back in BC. I didn't really think to much of it, but then I started to wonder just how much this might have to do with the age that people perceive me to be.

I can't recall anyone in Calgary ever guessing my age correctly. A typical guess is somewhere in the 27 - 29 age range, and I don't think that anyone's ever guessed a figure lower than 27. The truth - well they're guessing about 4-5 years too high. I happen to be 23 at the moment.

My former roommate Mike, the other members of my research group, as well as pretty much anyone else that I've met out here put me in that higher age range. I went out for coffee with Jon and Calvin after a movie a week or so ago, and somehow the conversation shifted to this topic. They seemed to think that I was the oldest of the group, but then discovered that I was instead the youngest of the three.

Perhaps grad studenthood makes people guess too high. Perhaps nerdiness factors into a higher guess at age. Maybe I lead such a stuffy existance that people assume that I couldn't be that young. Perhaps I just became disillusioned and somewhat cynical at a younger age than most. I'm not sure how it all factors in or what additional factors I might not be thinking of.