Category:Longevity myths

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The category longevity myths is needed for the various myths of longevity that exist in disparate cultures. By bringing together seemingly separate ideas, we find that in reality longevity myths have been universal throughout human history. Even in Western culture, they were needed until relatively recently, when science began to explain longevity from a testable hypothetical perspective.

Longevity myths may involve one person or a group of people. For single individuals, any claim to age 130 or over is generally considered to be a myth. Claims from age 110-129 that have not been verified are considered to be longevity claims because there is a small possibility the age may be true. Longevity myths are considered scientifically impossible, and the reasons for their existence generally involve religious or folk beliefs.

However, the distinction between the two may vary: if a claim is based on religious belief and there is no reason to believe the case otherwise, it may be considered a myth. It should be noted that nearly all secular longevity claims are also false, but often the reason for the age exaggeration involves some other motivation (such as pension fraud, avoiding military service, etc).

Note that if a case has been 'debunked' (shown to be false) it may be categorized as a 'longevity myth' as well. Hence, there are two sub-categories of longevity myth: those that are religious-based and those that have been shown to be false.