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Modern Humans Far More Robust Than Ancestors
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."
get used to it.
perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
Mod this sick fuck down!
They're comparing a population that has been through world-wars and war induced famine
with another population that looks okay superficially but is overweight and also likewise
suffering from malnutrition.
Food used to be wholesome but scarce, but without modified genes, cobalt irradiation and
the billion plus artifical flavorings, colorings and "preservatives" they add to it nowadays.
Today food is abundant and literally designed to make you sick and whatever remains of the
wholesome foods, these are out of reach of the majority of the population simply because of
the price.
Yet another Brave New - York feel-good message that could have been authored by Reichsminister
Dr. Goebbels himself.
having a high IQ means absolutely nothing if your ethical IQ is low.
My favorite set of figures went to some listing or other of average IQs of high school leavers.
The Netherlands came first with something like a 113 average.
England came a fair bit lower at something like 106.
The United States, for whom the tests are normalized to 100, scored 99.
You've got to admire a nation that has the tests normalized for them and still manages to underachieve.
On the positive side, at least Texas gets a good argument to go back to joyfully executing those so mentally subnormal that they're unaware they even committed a crime: leave them living and they really screw up the averages (assuming the typical voter is smart enough to know what an average is).