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> Keep in mind, when looking at these images, that the average life expectancy for Afghans born in 1960 was 31, so the vast majority of those pictured have like
by Dewie 13y ago
> Keep in mind, when looking at these images, that the average life expectancy for Afghans born in 1960 was 31, so the vast majority of those pictured have likely passed on since.
... lies, damned lies and statistics. Why do people keep on using the mean for lifespan, when so many interpret it the wrong way?
- antocv 13y agoI suspect there is a point or ideological agenda to the lie "People earlier in more 'primitive' cultures were lucky to live to see their 30th birthday", its the old "life was brutal without civilization and a state to keep you safe and well" which then suggests we should also be lucky today to have all this modernism and be thankful to have "progressed" so far as to live to 31.
- derleth 13y ago> "life was brutal without civilization and a state to keep you safe and well" It was. Children died in infancy, which is why the life expectancy was so low. If that isn't brutal, you need to redefine the term.
- TeMPOraL 13y agoSomebody once told me something along the lines that using mean means that if you integrate it over time, you'll get actual population numbers. It might be a useful measure in that case, but it's definitely misleading in discussions like these. I do strongly believe we should stop using it.
- mikeash 13y agoPeople use it because they interpret it the wrong way.