The Theory of Aging is, simply put, that the shorter the natural lifespan of the race not factoring in magical or technological extension, the further removed the race is from the original Paragon.
By the terms of this theory, that would make the Imp race (average natural lifespan: 25 years) and the Moogle race (average natural lifespan: 31 years) the eldest races on Sharna. Conversely, the Dwarf race (average natural lifespan: 425 years) and the Elf race (average natural lifespan: 475 years) would be the youngest races on Sharna.
There are three major flaws with the Theory of Aging:
- The theory is only based on the number of generations since the Paragon, meaning a race that reproduces faster would have a shorter lifespan even if they haven't been around as long as a race with a much slower rate of growth. This is believed to be why there is a difference in the lifespans of the Moogle and Imp race, even though they are predicted to be approximately the same age.
- The Taurian race is allegedly extremely old yet their lifespans are well beyond that of any standard Sharnan race, measured in hundreds of thousands of years. If the Theory of Aging would hold true to them, that would put the race as the most recent race by a large margin.
- The Kassandra race has lifespans increasing with each new generation of Kassandra, but since they are not a conventional race and caused by a virus, this may just be an exception to the theory.
