Is Middle Age Evolution's Crowning Achievement? 140
Hugh Pickens writes "Reproductive biologist David Bainbridge writes that with the onset of wrinkles, love handles, and failing eyesight we are used to dismissing our fifth and sixth decades as a negative chapter in our lives. However recent scientific findings show just how crucial middle age has been to the success of our species and that with the probable existence of lots of prehistoric middle-aged people, natural selection had plenty to work on. 'We lead an energy-intensive, communication-driven, information-rich way of life, and it was the evolution of middle age that supported this,' writes Bainbridge, adding that middle age is a controlled and preprogrammed process, not of decline, but of development. 'When we think of human development, we usually think of the growth of a fetus or the maturation of a child into an adult. Yet the tightly choreographed transition into middle age is a later but equally important stage in which we are each recast into yet another novel form' — resilient, healthy, energy-efficient and productive. 'The middle aged may not have been able to outrun the prey, but they were really good at working out where it might be hiding and dividing up the spoils afterwards.' Although some critics say that middle age is a construct of the middle aged, Bainbridge asserts that one key role of middle age is the propagation of information. 'All animals inherit a great deal of information in their genes; some also learn more as they grow up. Humans have taken this second form of information transfer to a new level. We are born knowing and being able to do almost nothing. Each of us depends on a continuous infusion of skills, knowledge and customs, collectively known as culture, if we are to survive. And the main route by which culture is transferred is by middle-aged people showing and telling their children — as well as the young adults with whom they hunt and gather — what to do.'"
Re:Hmm... (Score:3, Funny)
Boomer "science". :-)
"Look! We're still the center of the unverse! The reason for human existence!"
Calm down, Grandpa.
Middle Ages (Score:2, Funny)
For a moment, I thought this was a libertarian article about the Middle Ages being the crowning achievement of human evolution, or civilization...
I hope I am not giving them an idea...
Re:How is that different from simply old age? (Score:5, Funny)
It's a match made in, er, evolution:
Little children love to hear the same story repeatedly, over and over, using exactly the same words.
Old folks repeat the same stories over and over, and if they get the words wrong, the children correct them.
Perfection.