The currently fashionable theory about the evolutionary purpose of the menopause is that it is to provide grandmothers - or rather a grandmothers wisdom, experience & assistance in caring for small children, with no danger that she might suddenly be distracted by having one of her own to care for
What might be the purpose, if any, of the other aspects of ageing? The fading of faculties, loss of acuity in reading & hearing, general slowing down?
Obviously one is receiving fewer sense impressions at a slower pace. Possibly this drops gradually from a very young age - just think of the rate at which young babies explore their world , at least while they are awake
But if one is taking fewer in, one has more time to consider, reflect upon, synthesise the meaning of all those zillions of experiences you have had already
To gain wisdom
If we are all living longer, does the amount of wisdom in the world increase? Or is it like a parabola, reaches a peak & then falls off in each individual
In either case it is, just like the light from a distant star, the sense impressions of years ago that the elderly are synthesising into wisdom, so they do need to die off & allow others with knowledge of a more recent world to take their place. Otherwise the progress of wisdom will just judder to a halt
