Life expectancy

[Amber1974]

too bad we're not living in the 1800's or earlier when kids died all the time and the life expectancy was only like 35 or so, easier to die from disease etc cuz of lack of knowledge about hygiene, instead of now being expected to dick around for 80 years, um no not happening lol

 

[TAW122]

Well, I guess that sucks in the 1800's then. What is actually worse is while the people who died young did end up dying, it was really painful and horrible to go that way. No anesthesia, pain killers, or anything that made dying more bearable and less painful.

 

[ReadyasEver]

Vaccinations, antibiotics, and medications have really helped people extended their life expectancy. Infections killed many an individual in their prime.

 

[Stillnotsure]

Life expectancy then was the same as now. The high rate of child death brought the average age down and that's morphed into this myth people only lived to 35-40yo. If you survived childhood you'd be in for 70-80 years then just as now really with a slight decrease because of medical care but not that much. Even people 1000 years ago got to about the same old age as we do if they lived past childhood.

I agree with @Amber1974. In my studies, average life expectancy was much lower. It was rare to reach octogenarian ages. Just curious where you read differently?

 

[Stillnotsure]

Again AVERAGE is being viewed incorrectly when this is repeated...even in schools. If half the population dies at birth and the rest lives to 80 then the average age is said to be 40, and people then think that means people lived to 40 typically then died. That's not the case. It's viewing the math incorrectly. If you survived childhood then you were on track to similar ages as now barring the same things that kill us now, cancer, trauma etc.

https://www.livescience.com/10569-human-lifespans-constant-2-000-years.html

https://www.verywellhealth.com/longevity-throughout-history-2224054 You were right, we are debating different terms here, "life expectancy vs lifespan. I learned something new today. Thank you.

 

[Lifeisatrap]

I would say that we are less free now than the days of Socrates. At least back then suicide wasn't frowned upon. Not to the extent it is now anyways.