How old is OLD enough?

[KK]

When I can no longer control my bladder or bowel movements, I'll kill myself.

 

[jfall]

Does it seem like cancer is becoming more and more popular these days? I don't know of anyone that doesn't know someone who has or has had cancer. Personally cancer is the one thing that really scares me, because it can happen to anyone regardless of their life style or age. We don't seem to be making any earth shattering break throughs with it either.

 

[Continuity28]

The AGE doesn't really matter, what does is how healthy you are for your age.

Some 90 year olds can probably be just as healthy and feel just as good as some 60 year olds. If you take care of yourself, you'll feel good in living longer.

So the question of "How old is too old?" would depend on how you treat yourself, and any diseases or illneses you may have.

On average I'd say anything past 70 is a good/long life.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: mdchesne
I think the life expectancy of Americans is 75. but most live past 80 if they don't get hit by cancer or a mental ilness. My greatgrandpa lived to 96, Greatgramma 92, so bam! in the face of LE numbers

Your post led me to run some quick numbers...so I searched the web, and got life expectancy for white males starting in 1930.

LifeEXP.jpg

I then graphed it and added a trend line.

If you were born in 1930, you should have lived until 1990 (~60 years), but by 1990, the avg life exp was up to ~73, so you gained 13 years. 13 years later, in 2003, it is around 75, so you gain another two years. Obviously diminishing returns, but nevertheless, a gain.

Similarly, for someone born in 2000, the life expectancy was ~75. 75 years later, assuming similar gains to the last century, you live to nearly 100, giving you an additional 25 years to live (in other words, as each generation lives longer, each gains more years) - so you make it to about 100, and you should live to say, 110. So someone born in 2000 should live to 2110 or later. Also, remember that's the average, and people routinely live to 90, and I'm pretty sure things like car accidents lower this average, so if you're reasonably lucky, someone born in the mid 1980's, like me, might well live into the 22nd century, and be the rough equivalent of a 90 year old man. And that's assuming that no huge breakthoughts come down the line from nanotechnology and genetics in the intervening 100years. Note the neat little leap during the 1950s --- which can probably be largely attributed to antibiotics and vaccines for deadly diseases. (i.e. Breakthroughs)

 

[MikeMike]

my great grandma lived to 104, grandma on the other side lived to be 80 i believe (smoked)

grandpa is turning 90 next year, and grandma 86.

i dunno how long i'll live.

 

[Muadib]

My grandpa on my father's side lived until he was 90 something, but my mother's father died when she was 12 or so. Two of my aunt's died in their 60's, but one died in her 30's, just as my brother did. As long as I can get to drive a Ferrari before I go, it will have been a good life.

 

[So]

Nobody has their thinking caps on tonight?