Do we really live longer than our ancestors?

Re:Do we really live longer than our ancestors? by coldtea on Thursday October 04, 2018 @06:14AM (#18138548)

>On the other hand, because I live in rural Japan and am only really friends with the people who live near me, almost all of my friends are over 70 (I'm 50). While this is of course selection bias (as well as being anecdotal), people I associate with don't end up in nursing homes -- at least long term.

That's not what selection bias is -- that's just an accurate reporting of what you see around you. It would be selection bias if you additionally claimed that this must be the case elsewhere too.

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Re:Do we really live longer than our ancestors? by mikekchar on Thursday October 04, 2018 @06:45AM (#18138702)

I just mean that I don't hang out in nursing homes, so all of the 70+ people I know are those who aren't in nursing homes. This may cause me to believe that older people don't normally live in nursing homes. Probably I could have explained that better :-)

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Re:Do we really live longer than our ancestors? by kbutler on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @11:36AM (#18176805)

It is absolutely selection bias, in precisely the context the grandparent stated - he recognized that his data sample may not be representative of the entire population.

Perfect disclaimer on the limitations of his analysis because of the selection bias inherent in the data sample.

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