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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3404 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 12, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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What happens to human tribes or primate populations in the wild when the average age of the populations become too high? What kinds of social dysfunctions emerge in these societies? Do the young start to neglect or abuse the old? Do they get outcompeted by rival tribes? Is it simply something that never happens in the wild?

Wild guess: a hunter-gatherer’s life expectancy is severely constrained by dental health and a shortage of food that doesn’t require chewing, so the issue never arises.

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