I’ve some hesitancy with using the above analogy when referring to how we age and our bodies fight disease, but in terms of making such a complicated scenario simple, it does the job. If you pretend, of course, each — cops and criminals — fit in to their literal definitions of conduct. And you’re in no way swayed by reality;
“Imagine that within your body is an ongoing battle between cops and criminals. And, in general, the cops are winning. They patrol randomly through your body, and when they happen to come across a criminal he is promptly removed. The cops can always defeat a criminal they come across, unless the criminal has been allowed to sit in the same spot for a long time. A criminal that remains in one place for long enough (say, one day) can build a “fortress†which is too strong to be assailed by the police. If this happens, you die…”
This article, “Your body wasn’t built to last: a lesson from human mortality rates,” is fascinating…