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Some very interesting thoughts in this article. I know my metabolism almost flipped a switch at age 30. Too bad our bodies start declining while our brains are just beginning to get smart.
We are profoundly uncomfortable with "the idea of a permanent unconsciousness in which there is neither void nor vacuum — in which there is simply nothing,” as the late surgeon and writer Sherwin Nuland perfectly articulated in his 1993 book How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter.
Newland may have perfectly articulated it insofar as what he wrote being clear but that's his reality, not that of Christian people of faith.
It's perfectly clear to me that I will die one day - likely sooner rather than later given my age - but if knowing and acknowledging that helps me live a bit longer, so be it.
Article: "Then again, what is a normal lifespan for a human being? A couple hundred years ago, it was about 30 years. Even 50 years ago it was only around 65 years."
I don't believe this. Only till age 30 in 1815?? (For prehistoric times it is said the age was 45.) Only till 65 for our grandparents??
Article: "We run smoothly over the years, but right around the age of 30, the parts begin showing their wear. We start running out of hair pigment cells, and our hair begins turning grey, skin cells become inefficient at getting rid of waste, gunk builds up, we develop age spots, our eyes become less elastic and we suddenly need reading glasses."
Age 30? By that calculation we would have all been gone by 45. Seems like a gross exaggeration.
Article: "Want to know why older people sometime seem confused, forget their keys, can’t seem to get their pill regimen straight? A literally shrinking brain is the answer."
Nonsense. I had this problem at age 25.
Article: "As our bodies march inexorably toward oblivion...."
Wait a minute here. I object.
Article: "If we know we will inevitably degrade...by admitting to ourselves that we are in decline"
We didn't know?
Article: "An older person’s greatest enemy is actually falling down."
What a revelation. Who wrote this?
Article: "Our shrinking brains have more room to slosh around in our skulls and are more easily damaged by a blow to the head."
Good grief.
Article: "So, hold on to the stair rail."
OK, will do.
Article: "You may not consider yourself old, but the truth is that your body began accessing backup systems from the time you were 30 years old."
Newland may have perfectly articulated it insofar as what he wrote being clear but that's his reality, not that of Christian people of faith.
It's perfectly clear to me that I will die one day - likely sooner rather than later given my age - but if knowing and acknowledging that helps me live a bit longer, so be it.
Article: "Then again, what is a normal lifespan for a human being? A couple hundred years ago, it was about 30 years. Even 50 years ago it was only around 65 years."
I don't believe this. Only till age 30 in 1815?? (For prehistoric times it is said the age was 45.) Only till 65 for our grandparents??
Article: "We run smoothly over the years, but right around the age of 30, the parts begin showing their wear. We start running out of hair pigment cells, and our hair begins turning grey, skin cells become inefficient at getting rid of waste, gunk builds up, we develop age spots, our eyes become less elastic and we suddenly need reading glasses."
Age 30? By that calculation we would have all been gone by 45. Seems like a gross exaggeration.
Article: "Want to know why older people sometime seem confused, forget their keys, can’t seem to get their pill regimen straight? A literally shrinking brain is the answer."
Nonsense. I had this problem at age 25.
Article: "As our bodies march inexorably toward oblivion...."
Wait a minute here. I object.
Article: "If we know we will inevitably degrade...by admitting to ourselves that we are in decline"
We didn't know?
Article: "An older person’s greatest enemy is actually falling down."
What a revelation. Who wrote this?
Article: "Our shrinking brains have more room to slosh around in our skulls and are more easily damaged by a blow to the head."
Good grief.
Article: "So, hold on to the stair rail."
OK, will do.
Article: "You may not consider yourself old, but the truth is that your body began accessing backup systems from the time you were 30 years old."
That certainly explains things.
Some of those are downright funny. Others, stupid. Sounds like I've been falling apart for the past 40 years and didn't know it. They make a 30 year old sound like 60...or maybe 45.
Now I'm going to have this visual of my brain sloshing around in my head all the time.
My ancestors in the 1700s and 1800s lived to be pretty old. Most made it to their 80s. Well, except for the women who got worn out younger having so many kids and all. The men who died younger, in my family, were mostly killed in feuds and political arguments at the bar!
The problem with statements like "A couple hundred years ago the average lifespan was 30 years..." is that it uses an AVERAGE lifespan. Averages include outliers both above and below the typical. A couple hundred years ago infant mortality and childhood diseases took the lives of many, many children, thus skewing the "average". Including those young ages of death in the average pulls the average down and makes it seem that the normal age for someone to die was in their 30's. It wasn't.
The problem with statements like "A couple hundred years ago the average lifespan was 30 years..." is that it uses an AVERAGE lifespan. Averages include outliers both above and below the typical. A couple hundred years ago infant mortality and childhood diseases took the lives of many, many children, thus skewing the "average". Including those young ages of death in the average pulls the average down and makes it seem that the normal age for someone to die was in their 30's. It wasn't.
Of course you're right! But freelance article writers skip over common sense for sensationalism.
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