9 replies to this topic

[Forever21]

http://www.practical...r-on-aging.html

[Lazarus Long]

This should get on the front page.

I will at least pin this topic for the time being.

[Mind]

A nice small packaged version of many other pro-life extension writings and media. I put it in under the forum discussion section.

Many people fear that a longer life would result in boredom and a gradual loss of meaning. This would be more likely if one was a solitary Methuselah. But in a world where many of those close to us also lived longer, the greatest source of human well-being – deep human relations – would remain intact and arguably grow richer as that network expanded across generations.

There is little empirical support that longer good life loses meaning. Research shows that life-satisfaction remains relatively stable into old age. One survey of 60,000 adults from 40 nations discovered a slight upward trend in life-satisfaction from the 20s to the 80s in age

With the advent of human enhancement– enhancement of cognitive powers, physical abilities and control of mood – this is likely to be even less of a problem.

The challenge is to create longer and better life. But that too is within our grasp. We should aim for drugs to prevent normal memory decline, interventions to keep us physically and mentally active. Viagra is a good example. It deals with one effect normal human aging. 20 million men in the US find it of benefit and it no doubt contributes to meaning in their lives in some way.

And surely it is up to individuals to decide whether their lives come to lack meaning. For our part, we would take the longer life.

[forever freedom]

Great article. It is a pity that death is still widely accepted.


If only we could find a way to replicate in humans this proccess the Turritopsis nutricula goes through. I guess it's still easier to beat aging through merging with machines or extremely efficient maintenance of the body..

Edited by forever freedom, 05 February 2009 - 08:18 PM.

[brokenportal]

Great article. It is a pity that death is still widely accepted.

This reminds me of the quote, "It is better to light a candle than it is to curse the darkness."

All we have to do is keep telling people, keep spreading the message. If we have to talk to them one by one then lets do that, if you can get your hands on a billboard then paint it, if you can get this into the news then do that. Like MLK jr. said, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run the walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

Look how quickly civil rights worked. Look how fast a lot of things happened. Look how quickly we went from no computers to home computers with internet. Look how quickly old people became assimilated to technology, "Oh I would never mess with them fancy new button phones, rotary is all you need, now the kids are getting cell phones? What is the world coming to?"

Now grandmas standing in line at starbucks programing her tivo with her blackberry. People pick up on this stuff when you get it out there. We just have to keep getting the info out there. There will be a war on aging. Look at this article, you would be hard pressed to find a random article like this 5 years ago, now you see them everywhere and they are only growing in number, and exponentially at that. You know, this kind of thing: (sorry, family tree was the only example I could find)  forking_graph.gif   14.76KB   11 downloads

Dont worry, there is no stopping the life extension train, none. Where there is a mountain top, there is a way to it, and we are on our way there. It is only a matter of time now. Whether we will get there in time for our parents our us or our kids, we dont know, but the faster we get there the more people we will save. So keep shoveling that coal, we need to get as much of this train as we can out of the abyss, its closing in around us fast.

So lets keep shoveling that coal,  shovel_coal.jpg   53.95KB   0 downloads

and get the hell out of here,  getting_the_hell_out_of_there.jpg   34.76KB   0 downloads

because we've got a plane to catch.  plane_to_catch.jpg   254.17KB   1 downloads

[harris13.3]

I'm sorry to be the bad guy here but why do we need a "war" on aging?

The "War on Cancer", the "War on Poverty", and the "War on Drugs" have gone on for decades without any clear-cut victories. We've still got cancer. We've still got poverty. And we've still got drugs. Two of these "wars" have faded into relative obscurity whilst the latter has gone on to become a perpetual Cold War-style stalemate situation and more importantly, an inefficient bureaucratic and financial burden. How do we know if the "War on Aging" won't turn out to be the same?

I don't want the quest for the scientific conquest of aging to join the likes of the many other so-called failed "wars" of the last century. Don't get me wrong, I agree it's a pity that death is widely accepted. I agree that people should have control over the length of their own lifespans. And I fully support any scientific research that will put us closer to this important goal. However, aging is a very complex thing and hence, I believe that such a "war" is automatically bound to fail.

Edited by Condraz23, 04 October 2009 - 11:44 AM.

[Mind]

I don't want the quest for the scientific conquest of aging to join the likes of the many other so-called failed "wars" of the last century. Don't get me wrong, I agree it's a pity that death is widely accepted. I agree that people should have control over the length of their own lifespans. And I fully support any scientific research that will put us closer to this important goal. However, aging is a very complex thing and hence, I believe that such a "war" is automatically bound to fail.

Common theme: the "War on..." is always a government invention. That is why it fails. Real innovation and real change almost always occurs at the edge of society.

[manofsan]

My father is dead. He died of stomach cancer. He was in a lot of pain. He died alone in the middle of the night.

I miss him. I can't get him out of my head.

This is why we need a war on aging.

[rephore]

My father is dead. He died of stomach cancer. He was in a lot of pain. He died alone in the middle of the night.

I miss him. I can't get him out of my head.

This is why we need a war on aging.

I agree. They need to freeze all funds of the drug war and re route it to the biological research companies.

[Alex Libman]

Bah, humbug!

Asking the government to cure aging is like asking a fox to guard your hen-house!

I agree. They need to freeze all funds of the drug war and re route it to the biological research companies.

The war on drugs needs to be stopped, and so does all other government spending. When left in private hands, that money is very likely to be spent on health products and services, which will obviously require biological research to make them perpetually competitive - fighting aging and death is important to everyone!

Edited by Alex Libman, 13 May 2010 - 09:52 PM.