Wracking my brain for some humorous topic to write about, I came up with diddly squat, zero, naught, nada, zilch. Unless you think it's funny that sometime during the past year I concluded, for some unknown curious reason, that I was a year older than I actually am!
I credit my daughter for adding this unexpected year to my life when she phoned on my birthday, asked what year I was born and did the math. I just lose track of the years which seem to have decreasing significance to me as I get older. So, go ahead and laugh at my expense. What do I care? I'm a year younger than I've been thinking!
Old Folks -- FOUR FRESHMEN. Vocal by Don Barbour
This seems a good time to consider the reports of a new study should we all continue to live through the coming decades -- Human Mortality at Extreme Age, recently released by The Royal Society Publishing you can read HERE.
"The first human could live to 130 within this century" as Victor Tangermann at Futurism's Neoscope reports in his summary of the study's conclusion HERE.
"The researchers also found that past a certain point, the risk of dying as a supercentenarian plateaus, and remains constant at a 50/50 chance of dying within a given year. The implication, seemingly, is that sufficiently advanced medicine could provide many people with Methuselah-esque lifespans."
"Beyond age 110 one can think of living another year as being almost like flipping a coin," Anthony Davison, lead researcher and professor of statistics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), told Agence France-Presse."
This blog has no centenarians, those 100 years of age, or even in their 90's reading, writing here, including me, to the best of my knowledge currently. (Some do have living parents in their 90's and Millie, a 96 year old long time blogger is on my blogroll), Some of us are getting closer with the present years having a way of rapidly flying by, so I find some of these statistics and projections to be of greater interest to me now than when I was much younger.
Pew research reported in 2016:
"In 1990 there were 2.9 centenarians for every 10.000 adults ages 65 and older around the world. That share grew to 7.4 by 2015 and is projected to rise to 23.6 by 2050. That's only 28+ years from now! Some of us may still be around then.
The research continues, "Since 1990, the population of those ages 80 and older -- the oldest segments of the 65-plus population -- has grown more rapidly than that of the younger segments, those ages 65-79. This faster growth is driven by improved life expectancies among those 65 and older."
Reuters reports U.S. life expectancy in men has dropped 2 years in 2020 since the pandemic which isn't over yet. The rest of the world effects are discussed, also. The figures above may still reflect an expected generally accurate upward trend but further analysis is warranted.
Pew research continues: "...the U.S. leads the world in terms of the sheer number of centenarians, followed by Japan, China, India and Italy."
Perhaps the Global Conference 2021 on the future of aging as described by the Milken Institute provides some insights on what we can anticipate which you can check HERE.
BBC Future of Ageing focuses on some technologies that could transform ageing HERE.
I'm really curious about what the years ahead of us will be like?
I do wonder how this pandemic may further impact some of these figures and projections?
I ponder about possible adverse effects on our aged population if, in the U.S., we lose our constitutional democratic republic to the establishment of an autocracy masquerading as a democracy in our nation?
I consider sometimes, just how long I really want to live? The bottom line for me is that keeping my mind is critical to my having the quality of life I desire. My physical condition matters, too, as I wonder just how satisfied I would be continuing to live, should I experience a serious lessening of functioning abilities?
Have you given any thought to aging issues, formulated any views on these matters, or even changed your perspective as you may have experienced health changes and are becoming older?
P.S. Rain is on the way, maybe up to an inch, which won't eliminate our drought, but moisture is coming to SoCal! Hooray!
