Posted 17 December 2011 - 04:15 AM
Thanks for posting that. I was surprised to find that those in the negative position actually had some decent arguments. From the primate experiments that are ongoing, and from human biomarkers, I was under the impression that at the very least, an increase in healthspan was quite likely. I have never understood the widespread obsession with Max LS, as opposed to Average LS. By definition, your odds of reaching Max LS are 1/7,000,000,000 and getting worse, since it's a moving target. On the other hand, your odds of reaching Average LS are quite good. For virtually everyone, an increase in the average is a win, while an increase in Max with no change in average is a win for almost no one. Interventions that increase average LS without increasing max are derided by many as "merely curve squaring". Today, if you purport to be an immortalist, curve squaring is a tremendous win, since that makes it more likely that you will be around long enough to benefit from the eventual interventions that will extend maximum LS.