RSS
Home
Death: a thing of the past?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
I come today to spread cheer amid all the gloomy news emanating from leading economists, the Middle East, and American Idol. According to debatably responsible research on my part, the specter of death may, after untold millennia, be finally disappearing from the human landscape. Too good to be true? You be the judge. After all, can statistics lie?
My research began with the earliest written records of humanity, from cuneiform tablets and ancient obelisks right on through the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and early printed works. Countless individuals are referred to in these works, and without exception, every last one of them is now dead. We’re talking about a 100% mortality rate. You could look it up.
This pattern of universal mortality continues in an unbroken line until sometime in the late 19th century of the Common Era. At that point, we begin to see a few scattered individuals who are alive, against all the odds. As we move into the 20th century, the trend continues generally upward, with more and more people being alive as we examine each passing year. Yes, there are a few dips here and there in the graph, but these seem mostly attributable to such forces as warfare and pandemic disease.
As we approach the present date, we see the trend swinging ever upward, hurtling beyond the 60%, 70%, and 80% barriers without pause. It is fair to note that these numbers still vary significantly between countries, although, among children born in the past year, the single greatest cause of death is clearly Infant Mortality. Beyond that occurrence, the worldwide survival rate is nearing 100% for newborns. This is perhaps a clue as to what is going on here – it seems that surviving infancy greatly increases one’s chances of living to a ripe old age.
Causes and Effects
Defining the causes of this unprecedented development is no easy task, as the trend seems impossible to localize. People from every culture, geographic area, ethnic background, and socio-economic station have benefitted from this trend, so it seems reasonable to exclude such factors as diet and sanitary conditions as causative factors. In the search for answers, I must frankly admit defeat and leave this question for researchers who possess tools and insights that I do not. I will content myself with being apparently the first to document this phenomenon, and leave it to others to stand upon my shoulders and continue the work.
The implications of this trend’s possible effects are far-reaching and merit serious discussion by the world’s economic, political, and spiritual leaders. A huge segment of the economy seems poised to suddenly disappear – from the makers and sellers of caskets, to the embalming trade, to the makers and sellers of floral displays and grave markers. Add to that the great unknown of how we as a race will deal with the absence of mourning over the death of a loved one – it is an ingrained element of every culture, without which we will have to find a new definition of what it means to be human. Part of this too is the end to that greatest mystery of all: What happens to us when we die? Once again, I will refrain from offering pat answers; in doing so, I would only run the risk of discrediting myself, and the last thing I want to do here is come across as foolish.
Some have asserted that the effect I have described is naïve, illusory, or the result of bad statistical analysis. Illusory? Really? Try this little experiment for yourself: Walk up to a neighbor and have a little chat with them, sufficient to verify that they are in fact alive. OK, now have a chat with Woodrow Wilson, or Catherine of Aragon, or Pliny the Elder. What’s that? You can’t? BECAUSE THEY’RE DEAD?? Illusory, my foot!
Short of discrediting my research entirely, others have asserted that those of us who are alive now will die “eventually,” thus joining those who have gone before us and nullifying the apparent trend I have described. If you ask one of these doubters to back up their sweeping assertion with facts (e.g., precisely when will Wallace Shawn die? Or Archbishop Tutu? Or you? Or I?), you find that they have no answers to go with their baseless claims. Their response will either be guilty silence or more double-talk. One is reminded of the charlatan fortune teller’s trick of making general, vague claims and allowing the credulous listener to make the connection themselves. Please! Let us aspire to a higher level of discourse.
In the end, I suppose I must admit that I have little to contribute other than my observations and statistics. In the search for the actual mechanisms at work here, or any higher meaning, I too must fall silent. The numbers do not lie any more than our most trusted public officials would lie to their constituents, so I will leave the next level of insight to be divined by those who are wiser than I.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
