# What is the average lifespan of various races in star trek **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851 "2015-02-28T13:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/21 "2015-03-01T14:01:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This is so obvious that I didn’t bother to state it. The question was whether there was any inconsistency between having Klingons mature at a young age, and being long lived. I pointed out that, biologically speaking and based on what we know of Earth, there is (although I also said there were exceptions even on Earth). > > It’s clear that the writers of Star Trek didn’t particularly care about biological reality. It’s an absurdity that intelligent species that evolved on different planets look so similar to humans, and a practical impossibility that they be interfertile (especially if they were so different as to have green blood). This doesn’t mean that it can’t be mentioned that this is not, in fact, consistent with biology. But the various intelligent species in TREK didn’t evolve as independently. It’s canon that Terrans, Klingons, Vulcans/Romulans, and Cardassians all were manipulated in the primordial soup stage by a precursor species to resemble it and thus each other, and implicit that the same is true of most other bipedal intelligent peoples. That’s 1/3 of the reason I say that Trek “evolution” is actually Intelligent Design. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/22 "2015-03-01T14:52:45Z")
:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/23 "2015-03-01T14:53:56Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > :dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/24 "2015-03-01T15:02:54Z")
I’ve always thought that the way Star Trek handled medical issues and aging was the least realistic part of the whole milieu. We’ll have vastly extended lifespans and the ability to pretty much do anything we want with the genetic code long before we have faster than light travel and transporters. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/25 "2015-03-01T15:03:09Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The Ocampa have a lifespan of only 9 years, with females only able to become pregnant once at age 4 or 5. I hope they have litters, because that seems to be the least effective combination of r and k strategies out there. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/26 "2015-03-01T16:54:37Z")
No, each couple mates for life, and they only ever have one child. Somehow the population remains stable. This is the most implausible thing in all of Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/27 "2015-03-01T17:01:37Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But the various intelligent species in TREK didn’t evolve as independently. It’s canon that Terrans, Klingons, Vulcans/Romulans, and Cardassians all were manipulated in the primordial soup stage by a precursor species to resemble it and thus each other, and implicit that the same is true of most other bipedal intelligent peoples. That’s 1/3 of the reason I say that Trek “evolution” is actually Intelligent Design. They did evolve independently. Each race incorporates genetic material\* and a history of evolutionary pressures unique to its home world. Panspermia is not really intelligent design, at least not in the full sense. - Thus the genetic commonality between Voth and humans, but not between Voth and other humanoids. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/28 "2015-03-01T18:51:30Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > They did evolve independently. Each race incorporates genetic material\* and a history of evolutionary pressures unique to its home world. Panspermia is not really intelligent design, at least not in the full sense. This is much more than a mere common origin. Even granting some level of evolutionary convergence, it’s extremely implausible that these species would end up so ridiculously similar. It can _only_ be explained if we assume that someone either pre-programmed or guided the development of sentient life. Common origins might well make them biochemically compatible at a very basic level, but it won’t make them develop along similar lines. There is unrelated life, and it’s radically different in form and biological function. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/29 "2015-03-01T18:58:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But the various intelligent species in TREK didn’t evolve as independently. It’s canon that Terrans, Klingons, Vulcans/Romulans, and Cardassians all were manipulated in the primordial soup stage by a precursor species to resemble it and thus each other, and implicit that the same is true of most other bipedal intelligent peoples. That’s 1/3 of the reason I say that Trek “evolution” is actually Intelligent Design. What’s the “primordial soup stage”? Even if manipulated, it’s nearly inconceivable that species with such drastically different blood chemistry as Vulcans and humans (copper-based and iron-based respectively) or with their other physiological differences would be able to produce viable offspring. Among terrestrial organisms, this is a phylum-level difference, not species level. But again, this just indicates that Star Trek writers were not concerned with biological plausibility. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/30 "2015-03-01T18:59:16Z")
Sure, there has to be a “programming” element. The ancient humanoids were clearly adept at very fine genetic manipulation (including the embedding of fragments of the Message, presumably with some mechanism to protect them through eons of revisions to the active parts of the genome). But there is no suggestion of post-seeding guidance, and there _are_ references to planet-specific evolution. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/31 "2015-03-01T19:04:48Z")
Horta hibernate. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/32 "2015-03-01T19:20:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What’s the “primordial soup stage”? > > Even if manipulated, it’s nearly inconceivable that species with such drastically different blood chemistry as Vulcans and humans (copper-based and iron-based respectively) or with their other physiological differences would be able to produce viable offspring. Vague memory: There was a mention that Sarek and Amanda required extensive genetic engineering/manipulation (or maybe it was on the embryo or egg and sperm) to produce viable offspring. I don’t remember the source, novel or behind the scenes book. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/33 "2015-03-01T20:45:40Z")
That was one of the plot strands in [Spock’s World](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock%27s_World). However, some episodes have shown inter-species couples conceiving naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/34 "2015-03-01T20:52:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No, each couple mates for life, and they only ever have one child. Somehow the population remains stable. > > This is the most implausible thing in all of Trek. I would have said the most _stupid_ thing in Trek - who ever came up with that clearly failed biology 101. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/35 "2015-03-01T21:33:12Z")
They were taken care of by the Caretaker, tho. Likely that would change things in their favor. At least for a while. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/36 "2015-03-01T21:41:41Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > They were taken care of by the Caretaker, tho. Likely that would change things in their favor. At least for a while. For 500 generations. Before that, they had some sort of mental powers. So, there is some mystery surrounding exactly what gives with them. . ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851/37 "2015-03-01T21:49:06Z")
Memory Alpha also says twin and triplet births are not uncommon, but that appears to be a retcon in novels, never onscreen. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-various-races-in-star-trek/713851.md?page=1)