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Are we better off than the prehistoric man?

Okay, so how about those 50 year olds that are all over the news and can't market their out-of-date skill-set to feed/house/socialize themselves. Aren't they the majority?

I don't know. I don't know anybody under retirement age that is having difficulty finding work because they're 50+, and I don't know the statistics on those who are having that difficulty.
 
That is so interesting ... I would blow my head off in that situation and self-destruct, I think.

It seems with your naive fatalistic outlook you are already halfway towards self destruction. Don't jump out of the car while the ride is still in motion (and this is a hunch here but don't judge the ride when you are still climbing the first hill either), it could very well be the only ride you are going to get.
 
You must be very young.

Life begins at 40. I'm about to turn 30, after having started life then. I can still do anything I could have done at the beginning of life.

I wonder if I could get a better understanding here. In my experience, a girl in my school told me that she would never go out with a man as old as 40. So, if you are 40, how do you get a social life?
 
I wonder if I could get a better understanding here. In my experience, a girl in my school told me that she would never go out with a man as old as 40. So, if you are 40, how do you get a social life?

When we are 40 most of us would never go out with a girl that was in school so that is a non issue - she would have no place in our social life. The social life matures with you, and it gets better.. much better with age (and yes I am 40).

When you are saying girl at school this is high school?
 
I think it may beat the nursing home and the gang competition on the streets for survival.

You're saying that rival "gangs"(groups perhaps, or whatever you want to call them) haven't fought until recently?
 
When we are 40 most of us would never go out with a girl that was in school so that is a non issue - she would have no place in our social life. The social life matures with you, and it gets better.. much better with age (and yes I am 40).

When you are saying girl at school this is high school?

Yes, high school. Actually, I was not accurate enough. I know a few girls who would go out with 40 year olds, but they do that as a business only, not as a social encounter.

But what you are saying is more interesting. How does social life get better? I assume you didn't say that because of the business aspect of it.
 
What kind of infections would have the power to kill a whole man at age 25 for example? (Really curious.)

Parasites wear a body down fast.

Iirc, fungal infections were among the worst culprits.

Remember when talking about thos stuff that infant mortality is usually figured in.

That ice mummy with the axe was in his forties.

Forty wasn't unusual for those who survived to adulthood at all.
 
You're saying that rival "gangs"(groups perhaps, or whatever you want to call them) haven't fought until recently?

I am proposing, that when the overall number of people is fewer at an area, turf wars must be weaker too. So yes they did, but not to this level.
 
Parasites wear a body down fast.

Iirc, fungal infections were among the worst culprits.

Remember when talking about thos stuff that infant mortality is usually figured in.

That ice mummy with the axe was in his forties.

Forty wasn't unusual for those who survived to adulthood at all.

So what if we propose this then, a 40 year old prehistoric guy grew to that ("old"?) age with his social surrounding's support. Today, we grow to that and older ages with dwindling government benefit support, and there is no hiding under some common family/tribal shelter.
 
Yes, high school. Actually, I was not accurate enough. I know a few girls who would go out with 40 year olds, but they do that as a business only, not as a social encounter.

But what you are saying is more interesting. How does social life get better? I assume you didn't say that because of the business aspect of it.

No business is not "social life". Your social life is what you make of it, it is an investment in yourself (along with investing in others to accompany you whether that be for the long term or the short).

If you continue to pursue what you enjoy doing then it does not fade, comppared to HS my social life has gotten much bettrer, and compared to my 20's it has as well, and my 30's were great, and here I am just past 40 anbd it is still great. I would not trade my current social life for the social life I had in HS for anything (and in HS your social life was all that mattered). Today I have better friends, better relationships, better sex, better travel, and still enjoy many of the same leisure activities I did when I was younger (and in some cases more often than when i was younger) - and I have a slew of activities and pursuits above and beyond my HS days that I have acquired along the way as well.

There is no comparison to the social life of today, or the social life of the last 20 years versus that of my High school days. It has been good, and continues to be good, and somehow keeps getting better and better as I go.

I am sure not all can say that, but as I started this post out by saying, a social life is an investment, in many cases what someone wants or expects from their social life changes. and often they invest in other areas.. for example children can easily become the focal point of their parents and they then choose to sacrifice their social life to invest their time and energies to their children. Some lose sight of their social lives and toss it away chasing a dollar or a career. Many people do continue to balance their lives and continue to have a very rich and very rewarding social life though. From my experience incomparably better than what I thought was a "social life" in HS.
 
I see. This also seems to point to an uncompromising attachment to one's own life. This seems more general today than in prehistoric times. Is that natural?
Oh, I'm quite attached to my own life, and wouldn't want to have seen it end at age 25. Yes, I believe that is natural. Without a will to live, it is likely that species homo sapiens would have become extinct by now.
 
I wonder if I could get a better understanding here. In my experience, a girl in my school told me that she would never go out with a man as old as 40. So, if you are 40, how do you get a social life?

You hang with other adults, defined as over 40, and don't try to socialize with the wet behind the ears crowd. They're pretty boring anyway.
 
I am proposing, that when the overall number of people is fewer at an area, turf wars must be weaker too. So yes they did, but not to this level.

Keep in mind that there wasn't a state or social structure - to prevent these crimes - as developed as our current one. I'm really doubting the level of gang violence was much lower at all.
 
...and a big ass gun for things that go bump in the night. **** rocks and sticks. Propelling lead at 2000 ft./second is awesome.

Being in QUEST FOR FIRE with a Bren Gun would have been some major hoots

Defending the castle walls from the infidels with a Gatling Gun-damn you'd rule the known world
 
A little short, but think about this, how absolutely horrible it must be to live twice that age as we do today, what can you do at 50? No sports, no women/men, no sex, no job market, no money, no life, but you still can't die. An absolute sentence in hell on earth. I can't even imagine 40, but 50 must absolutely suck. What can one do with his life without anything?



Holy crap, how old are you, fifteen? What's wrong with your older family members or acquaintances? You think being forty-something or fifty-something means no sports, no sex, and no money?

What cave are you living in?? No offense but DAYUM.


I'm forty six and I'll step into the ring with you any time, and you wouldn't be the first youngster who's got the shock of a his life than some "old man" is NOT a feeble derelict with one foot in the grave.

I can and do run, climb, jump and swim. There actually isn't all that much I can't do now that I could do at 25.... granted it is harder, but I can still do it.

My Dad could work most teenagers into the ground when he was in his 60's, my Mom ditto into her 70's.

I have a Great-Aunt who is 81 and still runs a farm and could probably beat you handily at long-distance walking. I have a Great-Great Aunt that is 98 and still drives her car.


I'm sorry, but you have NO idea whereof you speak!
 
What kind of infections would have the power to kill a whole man at age 25 for example? (Really curious.)


Holy crap, the list is endless. Without antibiotics and other modern medical advances, you can die of an abcess tooth (I almost did at 24), the flu, an infected wound (or even splinter), all kinds of things!
 
I see. This also seems to point to an uncompromising attachment to one's own life. This seems more general today than in prehistoric times. Is that natural?


I dunno. Go stand on a train track and see if you find within yourself a natural inclination to GET OUTTA THE WAY when the train comes!

Holy ****...
 
I wonder if I could get a better understanding here. In my experience, a girl in my school told me that she would never go out with a man as old as 40. So, if you are 40, how do you get a social life?



With other forty year olds of course!!!



sillyface2.jpg


My head is about to explode...
 
A little short, but think about this, how absolutely horrible it must be to live twice that age as we do today, what can you do at 50? No sports, no women/men, no sex, no job market, no money, no life, but you still can't die. An absolute sentence in hell on earth. I can't even imagine 40, but 50 must absolutely suck. What can one do with his life without anything?


Lookie here..........Granted this guy is not the norm....

Jack LaLane ...."1. In 1954, at the age of 40, LaLanne swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140lbs of weight fixed to his body (including two air tanks), setting an “undisputed” world record.

2. In 1955, at the age of 41, LaLanne said “Cuff me, mother****ers!” and swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf—something that even desperate Alcatraz prisoners couldn’t do without dying from hypothermia or getting eaten by sharks.

3. In 1956, age 42, LaLanne shows up on Art Baker’s show “You Asked For It,” and proceeds to do 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes. Even when I was in Kempo-Goju Karate as a young chap, and forced to do push-ups on my knuckles, I could never dream of such a feat. No big deal for LaLanne, though.

4. In 1957, age 43, LaLanne tows a 2,500 cabin cruiser across the Golden Gate Channel. The ocean currents made what should have been a 1 mile swim, 6 1/2 miles.

5. In 1976, at age 65, LaLanne towed 65 boats carrying 6,500 pounds of Louisiana Pacific pulp while handcuffed and shackled near Tokyo.

6. He married a woman named Elaine, leaving her with the terrible but comical name Elaine LaLanne.....:lol:
The Feats of Jack LaLanne | Death and Taxes


.....but there is no requirement to be unfit, fat, celibate or broke because a person reaches a certain age. The aforementioned conditions can occur at any age. Self discipline, desire and effort are all that is needed....:)
 
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So what if we propose this then, a 40 year old prehistoric guy grew to that ("old"?) age with his social surrounding's support. Today, we grow to that and older ages with dwindling government benefit support, and there is no hiding under some common family/tribal shelter.

Prehistoric people weren't really tribal and had no government, so I'm not sure how you're making the comparison there.
 
What kind of infections would have the power to kill a whole man at age 25 for example? (Really curious.)

One condition is called "stupidous maximus" it can even change the appearance of the person so afflicted...
1d2aw5B15D.jpg
..:lol:
 
This may be a no-brainer, but really. We work more hours than the prehistoric man hunted. We work in artificial environments that stretches our social/family ties, the prehistoric man did all his activities with the involvement of his social/family environment. The prehistoric man was "separated" from the animal kingdom by inventing that the weakest member of his horde was worth enough to support, we eagerly write off everybody who is not competitive enough.

And what do we gain for these sacrifices? We can drive more expensive cars to take an even remoter job. We can buy more expensive houses that we hardly have any time to spend in. We can get hefty investment account balances that evaporate in one swoop at any stock market/credit dip/crash or at any structural unemployment experience. What is the difference between slavery and controlling the prices of all trades by cornering the markets? They teach in school that slavery was the step-ahead that advanced civilization out of the prehistoric age. But was it really a progression or a regression? Is our world today a progression?

Since our whole economy is built on people spending more than they earn, we aren't better off than many generations before us. I agree with much of what you've said.

I helped people buy homes 50 miles from work because that's where they could afford their first home -- a McMansion. That they couldn't afford to furnish. Single couples buying homes in the sticks for bragging rights. Driving 2-1/2 hours to/from work every day. Bought 'em w/no money down because they wanted instant gratification. "I want to live in a better home than my parents," they said. If one of them lost their job? They were on the verge of being homeless...first paycheck missed.

Have kids?? Yep. And thirty days later, mom's back at work leaving their child in the hands of strangers so she can get right back on the job to try to save "the wonderful lifestyle" they've created for themselves.

I've watched couples get married with a combined student loan debt of $40,000. Nice way to start out a marriage, yes? Both of them with car payments. And the McMansion besides.

We've been sold a bill of goods about what constitutes happiness in this country, and I'm afraid there's no going back.
 
Holy cow this thread is based on a premise that is laughable. Alright, pre-history refers to a time before the written record, and coincidentally, free from all of the things that would make the author feel comfortable. Let's see how our OP likes to die off from something we can put an end to right now, free from the ability to find food so easily, to feel warm almost whenever he wants to, finding a means to get cool when it is scathing hot, and so on and so forth.
 
Since our whole economy is built on people spending more than they earn, we aren't better off than many generations before us. I agree with much of what you've said.

I helped people buy homes 50 miles from work because that's where they could afford their first home -- a McMansion. That they couldn't afford to furnish. Single couples buying homes in the sticks for bragging rights. Driving 2-1/2 hours to/from work every day. Bought 'em w/no money down because they wanted instant gratification. "I want to live in a better home than my parents," they said. If one of them lost their job? They were on the verge of being homeless...first paycheck missed.

Have kids?? Yep. And thirty days later, mom's back at work leaving their child in the hands of strangers so she can get right back on the job to try to save "the wonderful lifestyle" they've created for themselves.

I've watched couples get married with a combined student loan debt of $40,000. Nice way to start out a marriage, yes? Both of them with car payments. And the McMansion besides.

We've been sold a bill of goods about what constitutes happiness in this country, and I'm afraid there's no going back.


Sure, there are problems with our culture, but that's no reason to go back to hunting lions and buffalo with a pointy stick!
 
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