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Modern Humans Far More Robust Than Ancestors

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the porky-too dept.

joeljkp writes "The New York Times has an article up discussing how modern humans are 'So Big and Healthy Nowadays That Grandpa Wouldn't Even Know You.' Despite the hyperbole, the article makes several excellent points regarding the impact of antibiotics and modern medicine on humans in their youth. The 'baby boomers' of today have an overall level of health far higher than their parents did in middle age, and reason stands that their children will have even better health to look forward to." From the article: "The biggest surprise emerging from the new studies is that many chronic ailments like heart disease, lung disease and arthritis are occurring an average of 10 to 25 years later than they used to. There is also less disability among older people today, according to a federal study that directly measures it. And that is not just because medical treatments like cataract surgery keep people functioning. Human bodies are simply not breaking down the way they did before. Even the human mind seems improved. The average I.Q. has been increasing for decades, and at least one study found that a person's chances of having dementia in old age appeared to have fallen in recent years."

6 of 359 comments (clear)

  1. Well we are intelligently designed after all :) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Intelligent design at work :)

    1. Re:Well we are intelligently designed after all :) by AhtirTano · · Score: 2, Funny
      It looks like our designer has improved our memory management and patched some vulnerabilities. Maybe the next release will include DRM to lock out multiple personalities from sharing a single body.

      The New and Improved Human 1.8! Now faster, more secure, and more stable than ever before!

    2. Re:Well we are intelligently designed after all :) by trentblase · · Score: 2, Funny
      ...conclussion...

      Is a conclussion like a concussion brought on by the conclusion obtained through the use of a clue-stick?

  2. Smack those smarmy bastards by Asmor · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does anyone else feel a strong urge to smack those smarmy bastards who are so convinced that drugs and chemicals and such are making us weaker?

    "Ooh, but the cavemen didn't have glut--"

    "Fuck the cavemen. They were chased by saber-toothed tigers and lucky to live to the age of 20."

    I say pump me full of drugs, corporate America!

  3. Increasing IQ? by ArielMT · · Score: 3, Funny
    The average I.Q. has been increasing for decades

    And it took less than one decade for the average IQ to drop below that of a rock.

    Hello, tech support? The cupholder on my PC is broken. ... Yes, the cupholder. ... Yes, it does... Or did... It broke just after I opened and ran that Microsoft virus patch you sent me in email, although it ended up in my junk folder for some reason. ... Whaddayumean what? I had to disable the virus scanner because it said your patch was a virus.

    *Sigh*

    --
    It must be Windows. It needs half a gig of RAM and a hardware-accelerated graphics card just to run Solitaire.
  4. Re:Increasing IQ's? by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Funny

    Of course. IQ == Idiot Quotient.

    Didn't you get the memo? If you can't fix it, feature it!