Thread

1. schnuri · 1790270153 · focus · HN ↗

   I am in awe about how wonderfully engineered by evolution the body is. E.g., what we are able to do with it and how it heals itself when we have an injury. Sure, many people would not live long without external intervention, but many others would. I still want to see the robot that can survive 80 active years without maintenance.

   1. chistev · 1790273879 · focus · HN ↗

      The human body can't survive 80 active years without maintainance. They take drugs, they see the doctor, etc.

      1. CookieCrisp · 1790274263 · focus · HN ↗

         What did people do 500 years ago?

         1. EduardoBautista · 1790274348 · focus · HN ↗

            Die as a child at alarming rates

            1. lukan · 1790274686 · focus · HN ↗

               But those who did not, got quite old without ever seeing a doctor.

               (If we are talking about hunter gatherers, not poor exploited peasants)

               1. fhn · 1790283671 · focus · HN ↗

                  quite old as in 50 because the avg lifespan back then is certainly lower than it is now.

                  1. LorenPechtel · 1790290102 · focus · HN ↗

                     There was no "average" lifespan back then. It is a bimodal curve, one peak young, one peak old. "Life expectancy" is far more about the size of the two peaks than an average. In modern society the old peak very much dominates, but even then "life expectancy at birth" is still substantially influenced by the size of the two peaks. Much of the difference across the developed world actually comes down to what doctors classify as a live birth. (Big negative correlation between infant mortality and stillbirth.)

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