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Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

economictimes.indiatimes.com

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Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#21

Post by eli_gottlieb »

nileshtrivedi wrote: post #6
benched wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are longer lifespans better by definition? I realize fully I'm in the minority on this, and y'all can feel free to live forever, for all I care, but I wish that my personal life expectancy was about 40 years shorter than it is. That would have felt about right to me. Complete, and without too much decline. I mean, is everybody's desired lifespan just "as long as possible?"

I don't understand. Our goal should be to maximize choice: people who want to live long should have the option to. The problem is that this choice is currently missing. You can always live your life as if this year is your last year.

Make an accounting for being Tired of Life, for lacking the finances for longer lifespans, for cognitive and physical decline... blah blah blah.

Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people.

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#22

Post by lmm »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #21
nileshtrivedi wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand. Our goal should be to maximize choice: people who want to live long should have the option to. The problem is that this choice is currently missing. You can always live your life as if this year is your last year.

Make an accounting for being Tired of Life, for lacking the finances for longer lifespans, for cognitive and physical decline... blah blah blah. Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people.

> Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people.

No they don't. Old people might say they wish they'd died younger, but their actions show otherwise.

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#23

Post by dmnd »

CmonDev wrote: post #19

This is obviously good news, but I guess the fight with overpopulation is over.

We're winning that fight, though it's not yet over: http://annualletter.gatesfoundation.org/#section=myth-three

A quick summary is that lowering child mortality actually reduces the fertility rate, causing population growth to slow. Longer lifespans mean fewer people.

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#24

Post by eli_gottlieb »

lmm wrote: post #22
eli_gottlieb wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Make an accounting for being Tired of Life, for lacking the finances for longer lifespans, for cognitive and physical decline... blah blah blah. Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people.

> Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people. No they don't. Old people might say they wish they'd died younger, but their actions show otherwise.

You mean their actions like having a living will that says to let them die in some circumstances, or outright filing "right to die" lawsuits? Or their attempts at suicide, which come at a rate well above those of the general population?

Those actions?

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#25

Post by VBprogrammer »

benched wrote: post #3
tokenadult wrote: post #2

This is good news. The worldwide trend for more than a century is that the countries that are now developed countries have been gaining about 2.5 years of life expectancy each decade (sometimes expressed as "six hours each day").[0] Girls born since 2000 in the developed world are more likely than not to reach the age of 100, with boys likely to enjoy lifespans almost as long. The article "The Biodemography of Human…

Are longer lifespans better by definition? I realize fully I'm in the minority on this, and y'all can feel free to live forever, for all I care, but I wish that my personal life expectancy was about 40 years shorter than it is. That would have felt about right to me. Complete, and without too much decline. I mean, is everybody's desired lifespan just "as long as possible?"

That is a sentiment I've often expressed in the phrase "I want to die before someone else has to wipe my arse."

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#26

Post by MarkTee »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #24
lmm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Young people always think we want to live longer. Somehow, our minds end up changing by the time we become old people. No they don't. Old people might say they wish they'd died younger, but their actions show otherwise.

You mean their actions like having a living will that says to let them die in some circumstances, or outright filing "right to die" lawsuits? Or their attempts at suicide, which come at a rate well above those of the general population? Those actions?

If they truly wished that they'd died younger, then they'd already be dead.

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#28

Post by rayiner »

benched wrote: post #3
tokenadult wrote: post #2

This is good news. The worldwide trend for more than a century is that the countries that are now developed countries have been gaining about 2.5 years of life expectancy each decade (sometimes expressed as "six hours each day").[0] Girls born since 2000 in the developed world are more likely than not to reach the age of 100, with boys likely to enjoy lifespans almost as long. The article "The Biodemography of Human…

Are longer lifespans better by definition? I realize fully I'm in the minority on this, and y'all can feel free to live forever, for all I care, but I wish that my personal life expectancy was about 40 years shorter than it is. That would have felt about right to me. Complete, and without too much decline. I mean, is everybody's desired lifespan just "as long as possible?"

Increasing life expectancy in places like India is mostly reduced childhood mortality, not longer lives at old age.

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#29

Post by netcan »

Any demographers on HN? 'Life expectancy' is itself like GDP of health, a complicated scorecard that includes a lot of things. I would be real interested in an accessible breakdown of demographic ideas

'Infant mortality ratio has come down to 42 in 2012 from 58 per 1,000 live births in the 2005.'

My back-of-the-envelope has this contributing 1 year to life expectancy at birth. Additional (surviving babiesaverage lifetime)/1000 = (58-42)65/1000

"Maternal mortality ratio has declined from 301 per 100,000 live births in 2001-03 to 212 in 2007-09," the health ministry said. - I think this contributes another 4-5 months.

I'd also be interested in some related questions & gratuitous scifi-like speculations. When are we likely to see 60 year old sports stars. Bernard Hopkins seems to be intent on becoming a 50 year old undisputed boxing champion. When are we likely to see 100 year olds working productively, enjoying physical hobbies, sexually active, sexually attractive…

:)

Re: Life expectancy in India goes up by 5 years in a decade

#30

Post by shawabawa3 »

reeses wrote: post #8
benched wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are longer lifespans better by definition? I realize fully I'm in the minority on this, and y'all can feel free to live forever, for all I care, but I wish that my personal life expectancy was about 40 years shorter than it is. That would have felt about right to me. Complete, and without too much decline. I mean, is everybody's desired lifespan just "as long as possible?"

You don't want to live half your life as an over-60 geriatric, with daily pains, vocational ostracisation, inadequate income, and decreasing social relevance? Mind you, some would bin that in with the douchey "I wouldn't want to live if I became paraplegic/deaf/blind," but I do fear that, given how crappy it is to be 75 today, it's not going to be senior Disneyland by the time I'm old. Older. Put my brain in a jar an…

I'm pretty sure most over 60s aren't in pain and friendless.

My dad is over 70 and is completely fit, healthy, independent and pain free. Sure, not all old people have it so good, but with increased live expectancy comes increased quality of life at older ages

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