We can all take a lesson on life expectancy from William Shakespeare who wrote in the Life and Death of Julius Caesar, “It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.” The fact is that even with the tremendous advances in medicine, people, rich educated people, the kind who buy life insurance, really aren’t living that much longer. Remember John D. Rockefeller, Jr., he died when he was 97.
The life expectancy of children, coal miners, industrial workers and the population in general has improved greatly in the last 100 years, but that is only because they were dying unnecessarily in the first place. Cavemen only lived 30 years, but they did have good teeth.
So if you are on the internet, in your own home, with a BMW parked in the garage, chances are you will not live that much longer than your parents. Let’s face it; your genes probably have more to do with your life expectancy than any other factor.
While it is true that many more people survive cancer and heart disease today than in the past, very few of them will live beyond age 90. Our morbidity has improved greatly, but our over-all life expectancy has not. In other words, we live a healthier life but not necessarily a longer one
I think it’s reasonable to assume that in the next 100 years science will make advances in actual life expectancies. Some scientists suggest that people born today could live well beyond age 120. The trick is not to just cure major diseases but to stop the aging process. Cells only reproduce a certain number of times, when they stop doing that, you stop. End of story. When science learns to control cell reproduction our life expectancy will improve rapidly. Social security benefits….not so much.
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