Nature Has a Formula That Tells Us When It's Time to Die

I just read an article by Robert Krulwich, in which he suggested that there is a mathematical formula as to when organisms will die.  He mentions that death is related to size.  The mathematical formula suggests that if the size of the organism is known then the lifespan of that organism can be calculated. They do mention that there are some factors that do effect the formula.  Factors such as disease and organisms killing each other. 

Now that you get the gist of the article, it's time for me to share my opinion.  To be completely honest, I do not believe it. I do not believe that the span of our life can be calculated through a mathematical formula.  Does it make sense? Yes, I would agree that it makes sense that larger animals live longer than the smaller animals.  Obviously, I think we can all agree that an elephant is going to live longer than an ant.  However, my issue comes in when they start to claim that we, basically, have a limit to the number of heart beats and once we reach our limit then we die.  They do mention factors, such as illness, that effect the prediction.   If we take out all those factors, then the formula could predict when an organism will die.  This sounds absolutely crazy to me.  I believe in fate, destiny, and God's plan for us and, therefore, I cannot believe that mathematicians can put my heart beat into a calculator and tell me when my time is up.  It is probably because of the religious side of me, I do not like to think that my life is nothing but a set amount of heart beats.  

I often have a hard time grasping scientific theories and, as a teacher, I also find them hard to explain, especially to younger students.  Science is often very abstract and hard to visualize or explain.  However, it is articles like these that are important to read because they really make us think.  They force us to have an opinion and to be able to back up the opinion with more information.  Being a teacher, it is articles like these that I would like to include in my science curriculum.  This article would provide some very interesting and thought-provoking discussion in the classroom.


Krulwich, R. (2013). Nature has a formula that tells us when it's time to die. NPR. 
https://lms.bvu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=7AE7F8CFB2A047C3A449F9F9651ABABC