Medical Correlations

In another story from Instapundit, education is a leading determiner of longevity. It swamps health insurance and a many other factors. For Insty:

I'm not sure that the causal relationship is there. It may just be that idiots are more likely to drop out of school, and also to die young as a consequence of idiotic behavior. As John Wayne said, life is tough, and it's tougher when you're stupid.

Education correlates well, not because it increases life span but more likely because people with the determination and foresight to favor education also have the determination and foresight to eat right, exercise, etc.

There is a similar old saw in the self defense world: you are your best defense. This isn't because with training you can equal a commando or assassin or what-have-you. It is because ultimately hired security or whatever aren't going to be around every moment of the day. They aren't for the Queen of England, so they sure won't be for you. You and what you have on hand are the only defenses which will be present every second of every day. Wherever you go, there you are.