THE HUMAN LIFE IN NUMBERS

We are what we are

 Independently of the degree of transcendence that each person has left in its passage through the life, trial that will be in charge of history, always will be interesting, or at least curious, look at life from a purely materialistic point of view: the one of the  coldness of the numbers. It is not intended to make an exhaustive analysis of all numeric data that can be associated with human existence, a matter that would occupy a large area of paper and probably would cause the tedium of many readers, but yes to expose some of the most significant that, for their particular features, can provide greater interest and help make reading more enjoyable and entertaining. This is, ultimately, the only objective pursued.

   Although the parameters what we will analyze vary very significantly between different populations of people, and even within each of them also suffer significant alterations, for its intended purpose, which is none other than curiosity, the figures presented, understood as mean, can fulfill this task satisfactorily.

The strength of the statistics

 Throughout our earthly life, our mortal body, formed by the astronomical figure of about one hundred billion cell, energy use, generates waste, and performs functions  essential to our very existence, as well as other derived and necessary for everyday life. If we accept, as a starting data, one of the latest statistics as life expectancy in Europe (average between males and females), which yields a value of about 80 years, we can approximate the following: 

<>We live about 700.000 hours, of which, approximately, one third of them are dedicated to sleep, which leave us a remnant for conscious life of little more than 460.000 hours. If we subtract those required for other necessities such as training, work, food, grooming, etc., which, at least, occupy 75% from the previous figure, at the end, to our disposal, we remain, at best cases, if other circumstances beyond our control do not prevent it, no more than 115.000 hours. As we all know what gives him an hour, we can conclude that life is little more than a sigh. Although Seneca used to argue that our existence is not  brief, but we use it in  things without importance, the reality is that "Tempus fugit" and that, almost without realizing it, we passed into history with the famous epitaph of "Requiescat in pace”.

<> During our existence, our heart has to pulsate, at least, and without interruption, about  2.900 million times and move a blood flow about of  232 million of liters; cycle that, without maintenance shutdowns, would involve all a challenge for any  device made for the man.

<> Our lungs, with about 750 million alveoli for gas exchange between air and blood, must process a minimum of 170 million liters of air (standard conditions), to absorb a minimum of 11 million liters oxygen and the expulsion of about 9 million liters of carbon dioxide.

<> The kidneys, which, ultimately, are not more than a complex filter composed of more than one million nephrons, have to filter blood each day in an amount ranging between 1.600 and 2.200 liters, and have to process, along life, one blood volume of more than 47 million liters, eliminating, simultaneously, about  44.000 liters  of waste in the form of urine.

<> To maintain active all systems and subsystems that integrate and operate the complex and complicated biological machine that is our body it is necessary a control center: the brain (a complex system consisting of about 100,000 million neurons), and an external energy input. In this case, the one we extract from the food we eat.  Is not the purpose of this brief comment submit the data of operation human brain, issue that would take us to overcome the limits planned for the same, but yes the energy we need to keep things running normally.  Apart from proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc., our basal metabolism requires an energy input equivalent to a kilocalorie per kilogram of weight and hour, which represents, for a person of 70 kg weight, a minimum daily intake of 1.680 kilocalories.  If we add the energy required for one moderate activity, which involves multiplying the previous figure by a factor of 1,5, we will get about 2.500 kcal / day. With this data, the total energy consumption throughout our life is around 73 million kilocalories, or, which is the same, 84.491 kWh; the equivalent of a 120 watt bulb lighted throughout our life.

  Besides the above, our daily life leads us to primary energy consumption by an average of 1.800.000 kWh approximate, with major differences between different countries of the Earth, which, in relative terms, represents an amount  21 times higher than needed to meet our basic needs.

The excessive food

  With regard to food consumption, based in data of developed countries, we can reach and even exceed the figure of 60 tonnes, of which are excreted, by various ways, about 13 tons, generating, at the same time, an amount of waste (garbage) by a value greater than the 44 tons.  Although consumption of 60 tons over the life of a person, may seem a trivial figure and lead to think that is just the chocolate of parrot, what's important, what  really counts, is that we are more than 7.000 million of parrots simultaneously eating chocolate, and, at the rate we are going, there will be not chocolate for all; in fact, there are already many parrots sentenced to a strict and rigorous diet.   As for waste, in this case, apart from the quantity, we will not mention any other thing, is a matter of sufficient importance and significance that can not be summarized in a brief comment. Probably, in another time, we could talk about it.

C. Díaz Fdez.
Oviedo, january 25, 2012