this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (22 children)

In all seriousness, human elderlies are actually evolutionary anomaly, because if Darwinian tenet of "survival of the fittest" applies 100% of the time, they would not be the norm. But the fact that old people are prevalent in human society is the proof that we are compassionate and loving creatures that transcend cold evolutionary programming. We care for others and the vulnerable.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There are other species which have elderly members, namely whales and elephants.

It’s postulated that having grandmothers helps in a species where young take a long time to mature.

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 1 points 1 month ago

The thing is, for it to be an evolutionary advantage it can't be common. That's one theory behind why grandmas aren't more common in species.

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