The reframing reveals that rapid aging evolved when extrinsic mortality was high—genes enhancing early reproduction spread even if they compromised late maintenance. Humans reduced extrinsic mortality through culture, but carry genomic legacies of shorter-lived ancestors.Long-lived species like bowhead whales and bats didn't evolve better versions of human repair genes—they evolved different regulatory networks optimized for extended maintenance over millions of years.Testable predictions:1. Rapid-aging lineages accumulated more damaging mutations in longevity pathways2. Experimental evolution for longevity reactivates ancestral patterns, not novel mechanisms 3. Long-lived species show more conservation of ancient stress response pathwaysImplication: Interventions like calorie restriction and rapamycin may work by reactivating ancestral maintenance pathways that rapid-aging species downregulated.