[Mkguild] Life Expectancy in MK universe

[Kit]

First, to answer your question: I was referring to the part where they said
he died of old age. The rest was showing why it wasn't evidence for sudden
death. That said, this point you bring up is a very convincing one. No one
really does die of old age, old age just makes a person weak enough to be
killed by stuff that wouldn't kill a younger person. In fact this argument
almost convinced me until I realize that these heart attacks and other
natural causes couldn't kill a person unless they are weakened by something
such as old age. Even if someone was killed by a heart attack, they'd be
considered to just drop dead and not of old age. The whole point of the AR
curse in many people's eyes is that victims don't start to get weaker with
age. A 90 year old kid would be just as energetic as a 15 year old one.
Granted childhood diseases could take out several and random chance and
violence several more, but those that don't have nothing to make them weak
enough as time goes on to be taken out by such 'natural causes'. Unless the
curse has some sort of inherent time limit (a case I'm willing to consider),
then something needs to happen to make them weak enough to be killed by
infirmities.

On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 6:20 PM, Stephen Tigner <stephen.tigner at gmail.com>w=
rote:

> I was thinking about this debate today when this idea came to me and I
> felt I needed to share it with the list. n.n
>
> It's only fairly recently (at least in relative terms) that medical
> science has advanced enough that we can actually give (and are
> rerquired to give now, I believe) concrete medical reasons for the
> death of someone. In those times, dying of "old age" could have been
> because of a host of natural causes, some of which may strike younger
> folks as well.
>
> For instance, causes of death such as a heart attack, stroke, etc. can
> and do kill those much younger than "old age" would normally cover,
> such as those in their 30s and even 20s in some cases.
>
> What I'm saying is that they say he died of "old age" in this story,
> but is that because he really did? Or because that's what they
> assumed, given what they knew of his actual age, and the cause was
> some natural reason, but that reason actually is one that isn't
> necessarily restricted to those who die of "old age"? For instance,
> heart attacks are often caused by buildups of cholesterol (plaques) in
> primary arteries, this occurs over time as a person lives, and even if
> their body was being kept young, it's still quite conceivable that
> said plaques could still be there, and build up over time as normal,
> causing someone to die of a heart attack. Said heart attack could be
> construed to be death from "old age".
>
> If this is true, then he didn't really die of old age, as we would
> term it now, but more like "natural causes", while still having a
> youthful body, and thus I would feel that the canonity of ARs dying by
> old age, if that is the only story where it was referenced, is not
> necessarily established. n.n
>
> I hope my logic here makes sense. ^_- I too would prefer ARs not to
> die of "old age", though they could certainly die, again, of "natural
> causes" that would be attributed to old age. So you could still have,
> if you wanted, people assuming ARs die of old age, it just wouldn't
> actually be the case.
>
> And for those who say that it's supposed to be a "curse" and that not
> dying by natural causes would be too much of an advantage, perhaps you
> have forgotten about ageism? It's not as much of a problem within
> Metamor Valley, but it could definitely be a problem for ARs wishing
> to travel outside the area. And then there's the problems with
> possibly outliving all your friends and family, everyone you grew up
> with, and spent your life with, dying before your eyes, while you keep
> going along through life in a prepubescent body (or at least one
> that's near the beginning of puberty). There's plenty of stories, both
> classical and modern, about those with eternal lifespans wishing to
> give them up.
>
> Also, let's not forget that curses don't have to be a disadvantage at
> *all* times, they can be turned to one's advantage in the right
> circumstances. For instance, the many TF'ed spies using their animal
> forms to spy on Metamor's enemies. To be the "fly on the wall," as it
> were.
>
> Now, that is my argument against the entire ARs dying of old age bit,
> given the evidence I have. n.n If I'm completely wrong, I have some
> flawed logic somewhere, or that part really isn't up for debate
> despite my counter-arguments, please let me know. ^_-
>
> Back on the subject of if they do die of old age, how it happens:
>
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 8:34 PM, Kit <stormkit10 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > In that story the body is never seen and the cause of death is 'old age=
'.
> > They said there are no wrinkles and whatnot to warn the person, but they
> > WOULD possibly show up at the last minute. If anything, this example is
> > perhaps evidence FOR my theory rather than against.
>
> Sorry, but I fail to see how it could be evidence for your idea. I
> concede that it may not be evidence against it, since we never see the
> body. But I fail to see how the comments about no signs of aging to
> warn you or any other part of that scene explicitly or implicitly
> supports your argument. n.n At most, I see it as neutral, supporting
> neither side of this debate.
>
> Could you please elaborate on how you feel that this example supports
> your idea? I would be interested in hearing your reasoning. n.n
>
> Thanks!
>
> -- Stephen
>
> P.S. n.n is an emoticon, similar to :), and ^_- is similar to ;), I
> point that out because not everyone is familiar with those emoticon
> styles.
>
> P.P.S. Sorry this email was so long.
>
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