Q&A: Statistics
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Statistics
Question
Is it true that in terms of the number of human beings in the world (all the more so when taking mass killing into account), it doesn’t make sense that humanity emerged only 5785 years ago?
If so, based on the numbers, when would make sense? Has anyone dealt with this question at all?
Thank you.
Answer
I don’t know. I haven’t checked.
Discussion on Answer
Do you mean that the biblical Adam and Eve really were 5785 years ago?
Yedai, there are so many scientific problems—genetic, archaeological, historical, linguistic, or from any science that deals with the human species—with the assumption that humanity emerged only 5785 years ago, that this is your smallest problem. Personally, I prefer the assumption that the one who emerged 5785 years ago was the first human in the intellectual sense—that is, the person who had a human intellect capable of understanding intellectual and moral ends, as Maimonides formulates it, and not merely demons using their intellect for murder and killing in accordance with our ape heritage.