"Hey Bill Nye, What's the Evolutionary Advantage of Grandparents?" #TuesdaysWithBill | Big Think

What's the Evolutionary Advantage of Grandparents?" #TuesdaysWithBill

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There are many species on Earth whose lifespans extend only long enough for each individual to do their part in propagation. Why, then, have humans developed over the years to live well beyond our reproductive years? According to Bill Nye, our ever-expanding longevity can be attributed to the remarkable usefulness of tribal elders: patriarchs, matriarchs, grandparents, and mentors. We've evolved to live beyond our reproductive years because, as the saying goes, it takes a village.

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BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY:

Bill Nye, scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Making science entertaining and accessible is something Bill has been doing most of his life. In Seattle Nye began to combine his love of science with his flair for comedy, when he won the Steve Martin look-alike contest and developed dual careers as an engineer by day and a stand-up comic by night. Nye then quit his day engineering day job and made the transition to a night job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle's home-grown ensemble comedy show “Almost Live." This is where “Bill Nye the Science Guy®" was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central, originating at KING-TV, Seattle's NBC affiliate. While working on the Science Guy show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five children's books about science, including his latest title, “Bill Nye's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs." Nye is the host of three currently-running television series. “The 100 Greatest Discoveries" airs on the Science Channel. “The Eyes of Nye" airs on PBS stations across the country. Bill's latest project is hosting a show on Planet Green called “Stuff Happens." It's about environmentally responsible choices that consumers can make as they go about their day and their shopping. Also, you'll see Nye in his good-natured rivalry with his neighbor Ed Begley. They compete to see who can save the most energy and produce the smallest carbon footprint. Nye has 4,000 watts of solar power and a solar-boosted hot water system. There's also the low water use garden and underground watering system. It's fun for him; he's an engineer with an energy conservation hobby. Nye is currently the Executive Director of The Planetary Society, the world's largest space interest organization.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Julie: Hi Bill. My name is Julie and I’m in my 50s so my reproductive years are behind me. Yet I expect to live for about 40 more years. So my question is why? What is the evolutionary advantage to living way beyond the years it takes to see your children born and raised? How has that been selected for and why does that happen? Thanks.

Bill Nye: So Julie, I’m sure you’ve heard this many times. Julie, Julie, Julie. No you have great value to the tribe as an elder. Every tribe, every human tribe around the world has elders. They look to elders for guidance, for experience. Furthermore what is every bumper sticker in certain neighborhoods about? Grandchildren. Grandkids love grandparents. Grandparents have a great role and how many times have you, Julie — I don’t know you — heard your mother’s words coming out of your mouth? It’s frustrating, I know. But you’ve heard it. It’s like, "I can’t stop it; my mother is speaking through me." I know. So you have great worth as an elder in the tribe. Don’t set that aside. And furthermore, I’m delighted that you expect to live 40 more years but until recently nobody lived all that long. So I mean not to be dismissive of 50, way to go. I’ve been there for years. But to get into the 90s is — a lot of people are doing it now, but they didn’t used to. So enjoy it. Carry on. Offer your advice.

Furthermore now I don’t know if this is people working backwards to get the answer they expected or if they really made the discovery here, but there’s a very reasonable claim that our brains change as we get older and we are not as excitable. We don’t fly off the handle as readily and this is the word that you would use in English is your judgment becomes tempered or managed or evened out......

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