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The stereotype of a cranky old man, set in his ways, getting more conservative by the day, is an enduring one. But new research has debunked the myth that people become more conservative as they age.

By comparing surveys of various age groups taken over a span of more than 30 years, sociologists found that in general, Americans' opinions veer toward the liberal as they grow older.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080310/sc_livescience/bustingmythpeopleturnmoreliberalwithage

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
... or a saddle point if you're into Mathematics ...

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[thread drift]

Are you into mathematics?

Let's say you fly from Winnipeg to Montreal and back, zero wind all the way.

Then you do it again, but this time there's a 20 kph westerly wind all the way.

I think this cowboy has reached his saddle point.

P.S. Doesn't the wind cancel itself out?

[ 11 March 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
Heh. I haven't flown east in years. Is it still possible to fly in that direction?

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Ok, ok, point taken. How about if I change the problem to flying right for 2,408 km, then flying left the same distance? Now it's not thread drift.

ETA:

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P.S. Doesn't the wind cancel itself out?

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What's that supposed to be - a clever way of getting me to solve the problem for you? Just say "uncle" when you want the correct answer.

[ 11 March 2008: Message edited by: unionist ]

But why would you want to fly back to Winnipeg anyway?

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
The round trip should take the same amount of time as the windless trip. What's gained in one direction is lost coming back.

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Incorrect. The windless trip is the shortest (in time). Any constant wind increases the duration. Without doing the actual math, the basic reason is that even though the tailwind improves your speed to the same extent as the headwind hinders it, the tailwind is blowing for less time than the headwind. It's hard to visualize, but you can always do a sample calculation to convince yourself.

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But why would you want to fly back to Winnipeg anyway?

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Originally posted by Sven:
But, I also have the sense that many people in their retirement years tend to move somewhat to the left after they retire.

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Originally posted by unionist:
Yeah, if you start off in Winnipeg and face south, I guess Florida would be somewhat to the left.

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Originally posted by Sven:

You think most older Americans move south?

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Originally posted by Toby Fourre:
My Canadian neighbours are moving to the right with age.

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Huh. Someone needs to have a chat with certain members of MY family then.

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Originally posted by Sineed:
Ditto.

Though my dad is an American Republican who voted for Richard Nixon, he finds his beliefs are no longer in line with much of the current Republicans because they've moved to the far right while he's stayed put.

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He's still voting for Nixon?

He's a pretty good-natured guy, generally.

Interesting anecdote: while in Florida in the early 90s, during a community meeting, dad loudly stated his opposition to the (first) Gulf war.

Some American old guy: "If you knew anything about our military..."

Dad explained he was an American military veteran, twelve years overlapping part of Korea and Vietnam before immigrating to Canada in '69.

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Originally posted by rural - Francesca:
ok, it's it wrong that when I read this thread title I justified it becuse as people age they get bent a bit and end up walking that way...

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