I started getting interested in this topic when I debunked a couple of papers in Nature and Science about extreme ageing in the 2010s. In general, the claims about how long people are living mostly don’t stack up. I’ve tracked down 80% of the people aged over 110 in the world (the other 20% are from countries you can’t meaningfully analyse). Of those, almost none have a birth certificate. In the US there are over 500 of these people; seven have a birth certificate. Even worse, only about 10% have a death certificate.
The epitome of this is blue zones, which are regions where people supposedly reach age 100 at a remarkable rate. For almost 20 years, they have been marketed to the public. They’re the subject of tons of scientific work, a popular Netflix documentary, tons of cookbooks about things like the Mediterranean diet, and so on.
I always assumed blue regions were a real thing. Seems like they are not...
It would be funny if some of this just had to do with the East Asian tradition of counting newborns as 1, rather than 0 like we do in the West.
Even I doubt it's that dumb, but sometimes researchers miss really obvious things.
reply
Haha, that'd be dumb, but never rule out stupidity to explain things :)
Fun fact, if you're born in December in Korea, you'll be 1 at birth and turn 2 on the first of January. A 1 month old will be two years old.
reply
What a world!
reply
My friend from South Korea explained that to me. It's wild.
If researchers are just using government stats, they might be finding a completely meaningless 1.5 year difference in life expectancy.
reply
Interesting what happens in Greece and Italy. In Spain, if you are old enough, banks may ask for a certificate from a doctor to say you are still alive.
reply
Even if it's untrue that japanese or people on Corsica live to the oldest age you can still go there and see that remarkably old people look remarkable healthy and fit.
To me, that's kind of even more desirable than actually becoming really old. Being fit enough at 100 to still walk around is more important than becoming the oldest human ever by being in bed until 120
reply
Nina Teicholtz (author of the great book The Big Fat Surprise) has a video on how the whole Blue Zone thing is a load of lies:
reply
Ita couldn't be true
reply
Another evidence that governments manipulate everything for their own benefit.
The human development index as an indicator is another of the absurdities of governments. Schooling levels, life expectancy, infant mortality, GDP, all as part of this indicator to deceive the masses, the saddest thing is that there are scientists lending themselves to the game, AH I REMEMBER, IN ALL GROUPS THERE ARE STUPID PEOPLE.
Sad how everything is manipulated to harm others, THE GOVERNORS ARE BANDITS
reply
136 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 15 Sep
Some of you people are such weirdos.
It's a post about aging, health and that in 1910 there are insufficient records. What exactly has this to do with you rageposting about politics and the governemt?
It's like you're not awake. Tunnel vision rageposting about your favorite topics no matter what the post was about. Please wake up, please be serious.
reply
Over the last fews weeks, I've been reading some Austrian economics stuff, and I've been coming to the conclusion that government is not just the opposite of the people, it's also the enemy of the people, by the people, and for the people. Every single act of the government has never been and will never be for the good of the people, especially the individual. The government is like a glutonic greedy beast that all it knows is how to take, sucking the energy and life of all the masses. And truly, "THE GOVERNORS ARE BANDITS.
reply
People find better solutions the sooner they recognize this.
reply