by Doly » Thu 16 Nov 2006, 11:03:25
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KhanCEO', '
')Benjamin Franklin lived to 84
Benjamin Franklin wikiJames Madison lived to 85.
James Madison WikiGeorge Washington lived to 67.
George WashingtonThis was during the 1700s and early 1800s.
There's always been people living to their eighties, it's just that they were a small percentage of the total population.
When it's said that life expectancy in pre-industrial societies was about 30 (I think 25 is exaggerating), they are talking about an average. It doesn't mean that most people lived till 30 and then dropped like flies. It meas that the majority of children died, and those who reached adulthood had fairly good chances of reaching the age of 50, and a significant percentage died even older.
Anyway, I've always disagreed with the concept that post peak we will forget everything we have ever learned about medicine.