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Interesting: why we have a short span of life

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levycarneiro:
Interesting...

While reading the article at [1] it reminded of Ray's video "From where did God's Knowledge & Wisdom come?", specially the part below about why this commentator thinks we have a short lifespan. This might be the one of the reasons why God chose - in wisdom - we should not have 700 or 900-years old people anymore.

"The Human Lifespan: Not a Limit but an Optimization

My belief is that the human lifespan is less the result of some hard limit due to cellular degeneration or the like, and more an optimization that balances physical and cultural evolution on the one hand, and the time needed to gestate and develop physical and intellectual complexity on the other.


* While a bacteria-like generational turnover would allow us to evolve about a million times faster (no exaggeration), 20 minutes is two short a time for the development of anything much more complicated than a single-celled organism, and certainly two short a time for the development of something as complex as a human fetus.  It's not a coincidence that humans, dolphins and elephants, three of the most intelligent animals, are also three of the longest gestating animals. We need even more time after birth for intellectual development, socialization, and cultural transfer, all fundamental to human civilization.
* On the other hand, if humans lived as long as the Sequoia Redwood, with an average age say of 1000 years, we'd have physically evolved ten times slower, so perhaps would still be living in trees.  Where do you think we'd be culturally?  Some would argue that the longer life would allow individuals to be smarter and more mature. I would argue that individuals become increasing set in their ways and in their thinking with time, and thus the greatest factor in cultural change is actually generational turnover, much as it is for physical evolution.  Just look around and you can see that shifts in attitudes about race, gender and sexual orientation go with generational shifts.  Where would we be with ten times slower cultural change? We'd still be savages living in caves, living under the oppressive power of 700-year old elders threatened by any new ideas."

[1] http://www.quora.com/Life/Why-do-living-things-die

indianabob:
Hello Levycarneiro,
I'm one of those old fossils, age 77, but I am definitely not threatened by NEW ideas.
I like to think that our ancestors were just as adventurous as young folks in their teens and twenties.
Plus our progenitors, had original revealed knowledge and intellect and physical attributes that would put to shame those of us who are the result of centuries of deterioration and genetic diseases.
Contrary to popular scientific belief, our ancestors who lived in caves, if that be true, (I'm confident that they had ample building materials) had many advantages that we today do not enjoy. One of those advantages would have been insatiable curiosity and the physical/mental ability to take advantage of it. We on the other hand are the result of natural entropy due to disobedience to God's perfect laws.

Hoping to hear more from you in Brazil.

Indiana Bob USA

Kat:
Hi levycarneiro,

It does make you wonder why Adams generation and those generations that proceeded Adam had such a longlife span. What has occurred to me is, well if you think about it, God was starting a whole new race with Adam and Eve. Maybe God allowed these first generations more time to populate, I mean a woman that lived to be 800 yrs or so would surely have many more child bearing yrs than women of lesser lifespans. So after a few centuries you could see that the population would be large enough and so the lifespan could be reduced.

Another idea is that Adam walked with God in the garden, maybe for yrs. I would think that God would have explained many things to Adam, as he was the beginning of a more sophisticated race of humans. You can see in a history timeline that inventions started to be noted after the time of Adam in history. I want to think that Adam was taught all these things by God and he passed it on to his children/generation. It would have explained a lot of how they had such knowledge to design and build the ancient wonders that have been found, instead of the ridiculous idea that aliens bought the knowledge here.

Most judge people of Adam's time as being evolution backwards from where we are now, and that would indicate they were barbaric and probably cave dwellers. When I think they may have been highly sophisticated and could have been taught how to use natural elements to their advantage. I think the Scriptures show there was ancient knowledge of astronomy, earth science, internal body functions, construction and mining metals. But it's interesting that most of that knowledge seems to have been lost over time, down through the age, until now when nobody believes it at all.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

santgem:
Can not relate. Me below fifty's...LOL!  ;D

would rather hear from Senior Citizen. :D.... Again....Joke! joke! joke! :)

Joel:
I can see that Genesis 11 holds clues that can explain a shorter life span after the Lord confused the builders of the tower in the land of Shinar ( Babel ).
Inbreeding could be a factor, without going into the pros and cons of such a practice.

Joel

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