# Was Yoda long-lived because he was strong in the force? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718 "2004-07-06T00:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/1 "2004-07-06T00:20:02Z")
Was Yoda long-lived because he was strong in the force, or because his race was by nature long-lived? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/2 "2004-07-06T00:27:57Z")
I assumed from The Force, but I realize I have no real reason to think that over the long-lived race theory. Isn’t it kind of a mystery in the Star Wars community exactly what his race is? ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/3 "2004-07-06T00:42:26Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Isn’t it kind of a mystery in the Star Wars community exactly what his race is? Yes, and from what I hear, George plans on keeping it a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/4 "2004-07-06T01:08:47Z")
Long lived he was. Why we know not. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/5 "2004-07-06T02:48:22Z")
Like Obiwan, he lived long enough to see that young Skywalker fulfill his destiny. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/6 "2004-07-06T02:52:42Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Like Obiwan, he lived long enough to see that young Skywalker fulfill his destiny. :eek: Yeah, because didn’t the Oracle tell him he would live long enough to see the One? Oh wait… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/7 "2004-07-06T03:26:40Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Like Obiwan, he lived long enough to see that young Skywalker fulfill his destiny. :eek: [Very suspicious that is.](http://www.brunching.com/lukeside.html) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/8 "2004-07-06T10:36:10Z")
I sthere not some suggestion from his own words, that he owes his longer life to the Force? to whit: Luke: Master Yoda, you can’t die! Yoda: Strong am I with the Force…but not that strong. So it can extend life, but not indefinitely? Or did Luke really say “you can’t dye”, which would explain why all Yoda’s clothes were basically swamp-coloured 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/9 "2004-07-06T11:13:43Z")
_Yoda lived nine hundred years Yoda lived nine hundred years But who calls that livin’ When no gal will give in To no man that’s nine hundred years_ ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/10 "2004-07-06T11:49:51Z")
If you keep asking these questions, eventually Lucas will make three movies about this, and entirely ruin Yoda for you, forever. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/11 "2004-07-06T18:06:39Z")
No kidding. Lucas’ secret vision of Yoda’s origin probably involves him being a robot or the 5th linear descendant of Jane Fonda’s clone. F’ing George Lucas. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/12 "2004-07-06T18:43:19Z")
Slight hijack - In _Knights of the Old Republic_ for Xbox, there’s a Jedi on Dantooine that’s the same race as Yoda. I think his name is Vrook. Anyway, Vrook has no speech impediment. For some reason, I always thought that Yoda’s “inside-out” way of speaking was somehow linked to his race. Apparently not. I realize that the game has no real connection to the movie except for the name. However, IIRC, all of the post-_Star Wars_ books had some stipulations to adhere to. I presume the game had the same guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/13 "2004-07-07T03:14:57Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Like Obiwan, he lived long enough to see that young Skywalker fulfill his destiny. :eek: You know, Obi-Wan wasn’t that old when he died. In Episode 1 he looked like he was about 20 years old. Episode 2 takes place ten years later, so Obi-Wan would be around 30. Episode 3 will take place about two or three years after Episode 2, so Obi-Wan will be in his early thirties. Episode 4 takes place 20 years after Episode 3. So Obi-Wan was in his fifties when he died. Kinda makes you wonder about that “Surely he must be dead by now” statement. Altho’ it’s easy enough to dismiss that comment. Governor Tarkin probably never met Obi-Wan, and is probably assuming that he was much older. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/14 "2004-07-07T06:29:40Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I realize that the game has no real connection to the movie except for the name. However, IIRC, all of the post-_Star Wars_ books had some stipulations to adhere to. Yeah, there is a database of information and slew of rules that the books have to stick by. It’s basically there to ensure continuity and keep the Star Wars feel consistent (IE, no swearing in the books). I don’t know if the same holds true with the games, although I can’t imagine why not. As to the OP, I’m not really certain if it was The Courtship of Princess Leia or not, but I seem to recall a passage where Luke (I think) noticed it was odd for Yoda to have lived so long because he thought smaller creatures tended to have shorter lives. The impression I got from that was that Yoda’s species was long-lived. Ultimately, I’d say it was a mixture. Yoda was probably destined for a relatively long life by virtue of his species, but being strong in the Force\* extended it even more. \*That’s another one of the rules - “the Force” is always capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/15 "2004-07-07T14:52:26Z")
You’d think a guy so long-lived and wise would have the time and intellect to master the syntax of English grammar. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/16 "2004-07-07T16:34:27Z")
Indeed, think that you would. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/17 "2004-07-07T17:58:52Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > You’d think a guy so long-lived and wise would have the time and intellect to master the syntax of English grammar. Mmm, gave him mucho mojo, he thought. All on him, the ladies were. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/18 "2004-07-07T18:09:00Z")
Personally, I figure that the grammar thing is a deliberate affectation. He’s shown a few times that he can use normal English (excuse me, Basic) syntax, he just usually doesn’t. The “fear leads to anger” bit had perfectly normal word order. But wise it makes him seem, and to his mystique it adds. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yoda-long-lived-because-he-was-strong-in-the-force/253718/19 "2004-07-07T19:18:39Z")
You are all missing the obvious connection here. Yoda has lived longer because he has saved up his life force, through skipping tedious rules of grammar, syntax, and prepositions. Just think of all the energy that’s saved him over his lifetime. Emulate him, we should. NOT.