Average lifespan in 1900 - 31 years Average lifespan in 1950 - 46 years Average lifespan in 2020 - 73 years
It’s generally a statistical trap to say that life expectency was in around 40s. From what I’ve heard, this number comes from the fact that very few children got to live long enough to become adults. But for those who survived past childhood - it wasn’t uncommon to see people in their 70s.
And that applies all the way to ancient times. Remember Ötzi? He lived over 5000 years ago and died in his late 40s.
95.7 % of all statistics are misleading.
And that fucker was hiking through the mountains, surviving on what he carried with him, being pursued by a foe who ultimately killed him.
Imagine what his way to school was like
Definitely uphill both ways.
especially for the under 5
Yes, infant mortality rates have improved immensely.
The crazy thing is how much infant mortality changed from pre- to post-WWII. It dropped about 90% in that time.
Pre and post pressure from the USSR.
Antibiotics and vaccines. Sometimes a spade is just a spade
Unless it’s David Spade that dude has range.
Dude does not. Literally the single same character played throughout. Zero range. I will fight you on this. Dude may be funny but fuck me, nick cage will kick his arse on range.
The invention of antibiotics and vaccines do not immediately cause declines in birthrate, it’s the distribution of them that does. Why has distribution slowed down and prices of vaccines increased? Because there hasn’t been another competing superpower to challenge the US. No looming war that everyone has to be ready for, no chance some other country can swoop in with a cure they distribute for pennies. Monopoly on an international level. There is a reason why antivaxx/healthcare skepticism has seriously taken off in the past 30 years, same reason as why other sciences like NASA has gotten funding cut.
but not for long, the future is coming on is coming on is coming on
Doomer bullshit.
Between 1900 and today, we had the spanish flu. World Wars I and II. The invention of nuclear weapons and the cold war. The invention of dirty bombs. The invention of bioweapons. An exploding polulation that was outstripping our ability to produce food. Several worldwide economic crises.
And yet, over the long term, life expectancy continued increasing. Are there some things going on that are bullshit right now? Yes. But things were also bullshit during the Cuban missile crisis. The fact is, even the looniest loonies tend to have a few other people in the room with them who realize that they do not want to start a catastrophic world ending event. And there are a great many people who are actively working on preventing all the possible bullshit we are worried about right now. Sure, humanity consistently falls short of our potential - but we also tend to work really hard right at the last moment to at least be good enough.
Should we expect human lifespan to double again in the next 100 years? Probably not - but that is because things right now are already amazing. With the exception of the last few years at the end of peoples lives, which are typically fairly low quality anyway, most people in developed nations can expect to live into old age if they are born at all. Infant and child mortality, death from physical trauma and disease, death from violence, and death from hunger have all PLUMMETED in the last hundred years due to improved science, technology, and supply chains. The only reason we should not expect contunued big increases in worldwide life expectancy is because so many people are already hitting their maximum natural age limit.
And we should expect this trend to continue even if we have a real pandemic or another world war or runaway climate change, for the simple reason that even if we experienced a truly apocalyptic catastrophe, the survivors would remember what we had. Even without any actual documentation of how it worked, they would remember we had electricity and safe homes and abundant agricultural output and worldwide supply lines and cheap, fast transportation and computers and advanced medical technology and peace, and the simple fact that they would know it is possible would massively amplify the speed at which they could recreate our current world.
And people say the present is the best time to live
