Human lifespan in Trek

[Timo]

I don't see why Robert would hurry with kids if he had reason to think he'd still be up and running and perfectly capable of raising a kid at fifty, or seventy, or ninety. As said, the actual conception would be no problem even today - being an able-bodied parent would. But that's explicitly not a problem in the 24th century any more.

The issue would be whether 24th century medicine would guarantee safe maternity for Marie at an age above forty. But by the looks of it, Marie could have been several decades Robert's junior, removing the need for medical advances directly related to childbearing here as well. And Marie could have been an able-bodied parent without miracle medication even if Robert grew old and frail at sixty. So, not an unusual arrangement even in today's terms.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Sci]

Again, I'd point out the probability that 24th Century medicine repairs many of the genetic errors that accumulate in cellular division that produce the effects we call "aging" -- at least for the first century or so of life. Enough that a 100-year-old Human can probably still live a healthy, active lifestyle.

 

[Cheapjack]

Howcome they've bumped into at least a dozen species that have offered to extend the human lifespan to a thousand, but haven't taken up the offer?

 

[Finn]

^They did? When?

 

[Anwar]

They already have encountered races AND accepted their help. Admiral Jameson was given a drug that would've reversed his aging from an 80-year old to a young man of 30.

 

[Pauln6]

Human life span is about 70 judging by the number of crew who have either one or no parents left alive! Obviously, if people put off having children until they are 60 then 90 seems about right. Picard looked rather frail for a 90-year old I thought.

 

[SpyOne]

Yeah, that was kind of weird to me. Kirk was suffering depression and felt his career was over when he was in his 50s in WOK, but Picard was in his 60s when we first met him and he seemed to be doing just fine. So what was with Kirk at the time?

They took his ship away.

Really, it's that simple: without a ship, Kirk felt he had no purpose in life.

 

[SpyOne]

Human life span is about 70 judging by the number of crew who have either one or no parents left alive! Obviously, if people put off having children until they are 60 then 90 seems about right. Picard looked rather frail for a 90-year old I thought.

Yeah, that one's a bit weird:
Life in the Federation is pretty safe, and the human lifespan runs over 100 years, and yet Geordi is the only main character who still has both his parents:
Picard: both parents dead
Riker: mother dead
Crusher: both parents dead
Troi: father dead
Worf: both parents dead
Yar:both parents dead
Wesley: father dead.

Oh, and Geordi's mom dies during the show.

 

[Sci]

Picard: both parents dead
Riker: mother dead
Crusher: both parents dead
Troi: father dead
Worf: both parents dead
Yar:both parents dead
Wesley: father dead.

Oh, and Geordi's mom dies during the show.

Of course, Geordi's, Wesley's, and Troi's parents died because they were Starfleet officers killed in the line of duty, Yar's parents were killed because of all the violence and social unrest and anarchy on her homeworld, and Worf's biological parents died because they were victims of the Khitomer Massacre.

Worf's adopted Human parents are still alive and well, though, including one former Starfleet officer.

 

[Timo]

...As for the frail Picard of "All Good Things..", he was the victim of a creeping ailment - one of the many that apparently were part of his genetic makeup. Mark Jameison also felt that nature had played a cruel trick on him, and that in normal circumstances he'd be a healthy and active starship captain at eighty.

In TAS "Counter-Clock Incident", the mandatory retirement age for line officers was suggested to be 75. And the episode ended on a note of Commodore April striving to move that further back.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Deks]

Problem is that the writers and creators of shows never really followed up on the fact with Humans reaching the age of say 150 in the 24th century.

Look at Voyager's Engame ... the crew was essentially in their 20-ies, 30-ies, and possibly 40-ies (in-universe wise) when the show began ... come 'Endgame' with an odd 30 years into the future and they look like they are about to come apart.
Well ... Janeway certainly didn't look frail, but the hair being all grey was overdoing it to the extreme.

Same thing with the crew in TNG in the last 2 episodes ... their future selves (apart from perhaps Geordi) looked extremely old (and they shouldn't have).

I suppose they wanted to visually convey the 'getting old' aspect, but truth be told, they messed it up most of the time, royally.

 

[Crewman47]

Problem is that the writers and creators of shows never really followed up on the fact with Humans reaching the age of say 150 in the 24th century.

Look at Voyager's Engame ... the crew was essentially in their 20-ies, 30-ies, and possibly 40-ies (in-universe wise) when the show began ... come 'Endgame' with an odd 30 years into the future and they look like they are about to come apart.
Well ... Janeway certainly didn't look frail, but the hair being all grey was overdoing it to the extreme.

Same thing with the crew in TNG in the last 2 episodes ... their future selves (apart from perhaps Geordi) looked extremely old (and they shouldn't have).

I suppose they wanted to visually convey the 'getting old' aspect, but truth be told, they messed it up most of the time, royally.

I was watching DS9's The Visitor last night and it had Bashir and Dax in old age makeup (which itself was unrealistic) but becuase the setting was around 50 years from the present then they'd only have been in there 80's and should've looked a good bit better that they the make up made them out be.

On another note, after 50 years I was surprised that Jadzia and Julian were only Commanders, I would've thought they would get at least a low Admiral position in there specific fields?

 

[Anwar]

Back in TOS and TAS I don't think anyone had considered that medical technological advances would extend the human lifespan, so they tried to keep those things like retirement age as close as possible to what they were in the 60s. By TNG they had rethought the idea and decided to extend the lifespan to 140 or so. Seeing how people are living to 120 these days if they live alright and have good genes, they weren't being too outlandish with lifespans.

Picard's mental illness in AGT? It can be assumed he got that from mental contacts he had with alien lifeforms over his life. Borg assimilation, the "Inner Light" probe, perhaps Sarek passed on a variation of his mental illness when he mind-melded with Picard?

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

Additionally, there appears to be a cellular maximum age of about 200 years, if I remember my science right.

Sure, if you're to believe the Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy.

 

[RandyS]

Somewhere along the way I picked up on 150 year average. McCoy in Farpoint looked to me to be close to being on his last legs. Living to be 150 isn't that great if you spend 50 or 60 years as infirm.

I've been "infirm" all my life and plan to live at least til 150. I see it as a measure of how strong a person I am.

As to the topic, In one of the novels (I don't remember which), McCoy attributed his longevity to several surgeries he'd had, body parts and organs being replaced at various times. This helped him to live longer.

 

[T'Girl]

^ My comment was inappropriate, I apologize.

 

[RandyS]

^ My comment was inappropriate, I apologize.

Accepted, but uneccessary. Wasn't fishing for an apology.

 

[SpyOne]

I was very amused by this theory for McCoy's longevity: on the Shore Leave planet, he was "killed" and fixed by the systems there. Maybe they fixed him too well.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Picard: both parents dead
Riker: mother dead
Crusher: both parents dead
Troi: father dead
Worf: both parents dead
Yar:both parents dead
Wesley: father dead.

Oh, and Geordi's mom dies during the show.

Of course, Geordi's, Wesley's, and Troi's parents died because they were Starfleet officers killed in the line of duty, Yar's parents were killed because of all the violence and social unrest and anarchy on her homeworld, and Worf's biological parents died because they were victims of the Khitomer Massacre.

Worf's adopted Human parents are still alive and well, though, including one former Starfleet officer.

And we don't know that Geordi's mother died - just that her ship was lost (which in turn means that even if she *is* dead, it wasn't down to natural causes or life expectancy)

 

[Stardate]

The trek view on human lifespan is just old fashion mentality. We know now that human genetic engineering can slow down the human aging. So the 70 years human living in 23th century should look like human in his prime. If any humans should have smillier lifespan as the vulcans.