How Will You Die?

Summary

This script explores the varying likelihoods of death, highlighting how life expectancy has risen from 31 to 71 years over a century. It contrasts historical causes of death like tuberculosis with modern ones like heart disease and cancer, influenced by medical advancements. The narrative also addresses unusual fatalities, the role of media in shaping our perception of death, and the impact of geography and lifestyle on mortality. It concludes with the advent of predictive software capable of forecasting death with remarkable accuracy, posing a philosophical question about the human desire to know one's end.

Takeaways

• 📊 Life expectancy has significantly increased from 31 years in 1901 to an average of 71 years, with developed nations like France and Canada seeing averages closer to 82 years.
• 🌍 Geographic location greatly influences life expectancy and common causes of death, with developing countries often facing different health challenges compared to developed ones.
• 🏥 Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in the United States, accounting for nearly half of all deaths, a shift from a century ago when tuberculosis and influenza were more prevalent.
• 💊 Scientific advancements, such as antibiotics and vaccines, have reduced deaths from infectious diseases like the flu and tuberculosis, and improved cancer survival rates from 50% in the 1970s to 68% today.
• 🏥 Prolonged hospital stays are common for those dying from heart disease or cancer, with 60% of hospital deaths attributed to these two causes.
• 🚑 Sudden deaths do occur, with over 136,000 people in the US dying from unintentional injuries or accidents in 2014, yet media portrayals can distort public perception of the likelihood of dying from rare events.
• 🦈 Media influence can skew perceptions of risk; for example, no one died from shark attacks in the US in 2014, but 38 people were killed by dogs, highlighting the need for a balanced view on mortality risks.
• 🚶 Walking as a pedestrian is statistically more dangerous than biking within a city, with more pedestrian fatalities compared to bike accident deaths.
• 🍺 Alcoholism is a significant cause of death, with 80 times more deaths attributed to it than from terrorist attacks in the western world.
• 🌎 Globally, terrorism is not a leading cause of death, with the majority of terrorist-related deaths concentrated in a few countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Syria.
• 🔮 Advancements in technology now allow for software that can predict the cause and timing of death with a high degree of accuracy, raising ethical questions about whether individuals would want to know such information.

Q & A

What was the average life expectancy in 1901?

The average life expectancy in 1901 was 31 years old.

How has the average life expectancy changed in developed nations over the past century?

In developed nations, the average life expectancy has increased significantly, with people in countries like France or Canada living close to 82 years on average.

What was the cause of death for 27 people in 2015 according to the script?

In 2015, 27 people died from selfie-related accidents.

What is one example of a strange cause of death mentioned in the script?

One example of a strange cause of death mentioned is a man who died of heart failure and exhaustion after playing Starcraft for 50 hours continuously.

How many people died in the US in 2014, and what were the two leading causes of death?

In 2014, over 2.6 million people died in the US, with almost half of these deaths caused by heart disease or cancer.

What impact have scientific advancements like antibiotics and vaccines had on death rates?

Scientific advancements have allowed for less frequent deaths from diseases like the flu or tuberculosis, and have even decreased the mortality rate from cancer.

What was the survival rate from cancer in the 1970s, and how has it changed today?

The survival rate from cancer in the 1970s was only 50%, but today it has increased to 68% with 15.5 million cancer survivors alive in the US.

What percentage of deaths in hospitals are attributed to heart disease or cancer, and how long do some individuals stay in the hospital?

60% of deaths in hospitals are attributed to heart disease or cancer, with 1 in 10 of those individuals being in a hospital for a month or more.

How many people died from unintentional injuries or accidents in the US in 2014?

In 2014, 136,053 people in the US died from unintentional injuries or accidents.

How does the media influence our perception of death from strange causes, as mentioned in the script?

The media can affect our fear and anxiety of death from strange causes by highlighting unusual incidents, such as more people being killed by dogs than shark attacks in the US in 2014.

What is the likelihood of dying from a terrorist attack compared to dying from alcoholism, according to the script?

For every 1 person that dies in a terrorist attack, 80 will die from alcoholism.

What does the script suggest about the future of predicting causes and timing of death?

The script suggests that in the future, we may not only live longer but also potentially know exactly how and when we'll die, with a computer software developed that can estimate this with 96% accuracy based on medical history and lifestyle factors.