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Jeanne Calment, mentioned in the OP, lived to be 122. But yes, I think most people in the field agree that 120 is roughly our shelf life.


Could there be some deeply ingrained idea, possibly derived from Genesis, that leads to dimished care for people as they approach 120, and hence increases mortality? I doubt it, but I wonder if this possibility has been explored.


It seems quite unlikely to me. Without any affirmative evidence, I would assume not. It certainly wouldn't come from Genesis, as that book not particularly relevant to the vast majority of the world's population. (Even among Christians, few have the kind of familiarity needed to even know about that passage, and most people don't actually know that 120 is the age that both Genesis and modern medicine agree on.)


Fundamentalists working in care homes perhaps? Jeanne was spared for 2 years due to factions forming over whether Man referred to species or gender.




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