Hypothetical scenario: Human development and aging are accelerated

[BitVyper]

Over the course of a couple generations (evolution Hollywood style?), human biology changes drastically and irrevocably. We start to develop mentally and physically much faster, and our lifespans fall to the 30-40 year range. Infancy now lasts less than a year, and our children are well into the childhood stages by the time they're two. Sexual maturity is around ten. "Old age" is late twenties-ish, but we're generally physically and mentally more fit in our later years.

How do things go for society and humanity in general?

[Osterbaum]

I finally get to tap that young ass.

EDIT: Yeah and I guess we make even more short-sighted decisions, if that's even possible.

[Viridis]

I think we might start losing little bits of culture faster. Harder to pass down information if we don't live as long.

Basically, the overall effects would be pressing fast-forward on generations passing.

[Ecks]

So wait, all of that stuff is not happening already?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

I don't think much would change really.

[BitVyper]

I think it would affect the way we conduct politics pretty drastically. Currently, you can pretty much fit almost an entire political career in the time it takes for the latest generation to hit voting age. With a society that would be wanting to vote at age ten, this couldn't stay the same. Even old politicians would have to be more mindful of newer ideals.

Edit: Probably a smaller percentage of your life could be spent in retirement too.

[BloodyMage]

We'd have less time to do the things we love?

It probably wouldn't be much different from the medieval days when the life expectancy was about 30 or so. While that's just people dying younger and not really developing or ageing faster, the effects are probably the same: less time to do stuff and more motivation to do them sooner rather than later.

[krogothwolf]

Does this mean we'll have even more Favrism going on?

[bluestarultor]

I'd say it would put a huge damper on our progress, honestly. A lot of childhood is learning how to function in society, and with less time to develop communication skills, that would suffer. Also, education would be positively awful. Kids these days aren't learning so much as being crammed with info to regurgitate on tests, and this was BEFORE No Child Left Behind. With so much information to learn, school would need to be at least twelve hours a day, every day, possibly minus Sunday and even then if we tossed out religion somehow. The worst school systems would make Japan's current one look positively limp.

Then once people were grown up, they'd have very little time to advance science or even create entertainment. A single game or movie might be a lifetime endeavor. And scientific research would suffer immensely as all the most brilliant minds kicked the bucket before they could complete their work with little chance of a replacement.

Even worse, the "take care of it later" mentality could paradoxically get even worse as people realized that the problems of the world will never happen in their lifetimes. Climate change has enough problems now. Can you imagine how lazy people would be if the effects wouldn't finally manifest until their grandchildren were grown and they were long dead?




Basically, such a radical shift in human physiology would likely cause irreparable damage to our place in the world, society, and environment.

[Azisien]

We would drop the whole humans lingo, start talking really fast so as to not waste time, and call ourselves Salarians.