13 replies to this topic

[brokenportal]

As far as you can see, or know, what do you think are the top things stopping anti aging projects from going full throttle?

If you would, please refrain from linking up to any articles or plans that outline this topic until some general ideas are posted first.

Im wondering if the people who come here generally have the same notion, or if they differ vastly.

[JonesGuy]

I would think that most people believe that the problem is not solvable, because it's too hard. Most people who 'don't think it could be done' would agree that it could be done with more intelligence and information.

If it's not solvable, then, there's no point trying.

So, I suspect it's a lack of faith in human intelligence or an actual intelligence deficit.

[olaf.larsson]

Stupid people who get "negative vibes" when they think about anti aging. Many have missunderstood the concept of antiaging and, think they will not stop aging but live for ever though they are aging, something that is impossible ofcourse.

[Karomesis]

truth be told, religion is a fundamental obstacle for those wishing to radically extend their lives. Its oftentimes insufferable proponents are prone to delusional thinking which is evident in their reluctance to reveiw the facts that do not concur with their phantasms. Make no mistake about it, proseletysers of such nonsense will suffer our ideas only until they diverge from their holy book, in which case they will oppose them to the bitter end. I personally have no problem with any religion, worship grass for all I care, but kindly refrain from imposing your flora worshipping ideas on me or passing laws to deem homage to anything but grass punishable by imprisonment.

Broken portal are you from the states? If so I would assume you are familiar with the "red" steates? Their belief in such nonsense as bushes infallibility lead one to the conclusion that they are unwilling or unable to correctly identify an imbecille when one presents itself, in which case they are delusional or imbecilles themselves. How long, and to what degree are we to suffer these fools? until more people die of diseases that could be assisted by the very technologies they oppose? While we have panels and other buerecratic bullshit debate endlessly about this or that "ethical" dillema, people die and suffer horribly.

Frankly, I tire of it all, and would not for even a second, hesitate to go offshore if I had the proper backing to start a lab with the likes of west and other pioneers to really see what we could accomplish, providing of course, they would agree.

[John Schloendorn]

Us not working hard enough.

[chubtoad]

I agree with John's comment. We could doing a lot more with our current resources but people (certainly myself) get busy with other things that are not helpful for fixing aging.

[brokenportal]

Q-
My idea on the concept that you think is a big problem, and pretty much wolfram too, and of course I could be wrong, let me know your ideas, but, it seems that most people think its not possible because people tell them it isnt. If that is one of the main things stopping the conquest of aging I think the answer is a comprehensive world wide media campaign that tells them that it is. The reason that succeeds and not our individual efforts to convince people is probably a combination of simple and complex psycological things like, people are more like to beleive what they see in writing, they are more likly to beleive it if you appear to be an official source, and they more often beleive things if theyve heard the same idea being put forth by 3 or more independent reliable sources.


Karomesis-
I am from the states, and If Im gathering what you mean I think your right, that when a person gets an idea pounded into their head, like the south is good, then they act on it. But like, say with me, I always thought burger king was a lame place to eat. Theyve recently started a line of interesting commercials (creepy king guy popping up in weird places excluded) and now Ive been eager to eat there more and more. Life extensions "fight the war from home, buy war bonds" day is coming. Minds will be changed when the minds of the people of life extension prevails. The beurocrats may seem undefeatable, but I really think they are. Well, its not really that we would defeat them, but ourselves, but not forcing life extension onto the platforms in a positive light through a world wide full media campaign. I dont think its really that they are against it, but just havent thought about it enough yet. If burger king can do it with a burger, we can do it with this.

John,
That is the encompassing idea of it all I suppose, more media, more institute structure, more solid peer review of anti aging plans, more solid and debated out plans, ... cant think of any more right now...

So if we're not doing enough, which I agree, and of course especially myself, what might be some stratagies for coercing ourselves into doing more?

[Anne]

In terms of strategies for self-coercion: I've found it is *extremely* motivating for me to remind myself that my destiny, and my lifespan, is largely my choice. Nobody has the luxury of sitting back and waiting for technology to develop to save them -- in some way, we should all be actively working toward furthering the very technologies we wish to partake of.

This can be scientific research or experimentation, if you have such resources. Or it can be financial, if you have those means. Or it can even be just doing plenty of reading and comparing arguments and learning about various scientific advancements -- at some point in your reading you may come to some fantastic insight yourself that could very well benefit all people who would live a long time if given the choice.

As for what I am doing...I've donated to the Mprize, written extensively about life extension in my blog (to share the perspective that it is, in fact, realistic NOT to live with the expectation that one is going to die), and started brainstorming about a simulation project that may be implemented in software to test the long-term effects of anti-aging interventions.

[John Schloendorn]

In all the years I am pursuing life-extension projects, I have never, not even once been impeded in any way by a religious or otherwise non-immortalist person. On the contrary, I have collaborated with many persons who disagreed with the ultimate goal of fixing aging, but were nonetheless curious, diligent and very helpful.

[eternaltraveler]

In terms of strategies for self-coercion: I've found it is *extremely* motivating for me to remind myself that my destiny, and my lifespan, is largely my choice. Nobody has the luxury of sitting back and waiting for technology to develop to save them -- in some way, we should all be actively working toward furthering the very technologies we wish to partake of.

Couldn't say it better.

[rahein]

I agree that the problem is ignorance. Most people do not know of all the breakthroughs that are happening. People do not know that stems cells could mean immortality (escape velocity) very shortly. The people in power are brainwashed by the power and religion to hide that fact from the masses.

[john e]

I think the truth about ant-aging is that it is just a matter of good health and excersize. Life extention ie: living for 8 or 9 hundred years, is about being able to replace needed cells with new ones. And Immortality can only be accomplished in the spiritual realm.
~John

[gkokm21]

the most important thing in achieivng life extension is not the research.
the important thing is to make all people realize that all of them have to take part in this project.
when you have all people believing and willing to come together to cooperate.
our combined intellignece and skills will be used for this common aim and
then achieving it will be very possible.

for course when anti aging is achieved. there are other death causing events. so we have to continue cooperate to ensure our survival.

i dun know when there will be a paradigm shift in this issue, but i have read enuf psychology books, to understand that human are seriously highly irrational beings(cognitive biases).
that probably explains why there is no full cooperation in solving this problem, which for me seems obvious that we have to solve this first before doing any other things.

anaolgy.
lets say there exist an alien which we have to kill it or else it will lauch an attack on us.
so most people on earth dun believe this story and continue living their life.
those who believe in it. focuses their energy in developing method to kill off the alien.

no matter how intelligent they are, there is only so few of them thinking, say 0.01%.
if all people are helping out, then chances of killing it will increase by 100 divided by 0.01%.
ten thousands times.

[brokenportal]

Azalyn- As to reminding yourself that its your choice to make things happen and control your destiny, I try to remind myself that as much as I can too. Ive been working on putting together a collage that reminds me of it in the most forceful way possible. Thats one way to get ourselves to keep moving forward, but of course, but how do we get everybody else to see the same thing? Do you think that putting out more media that kicks people in the emotions with things about their destiny and life and all that is a key to moving forward with life extension faster or do you think there are other more important things that come first?

John S- Ive never been impeded by non life extensionists either. They only make me want to argue for it more. We've all Im sure had plenty of mind numbing experiences where we try to convince people to support life extension but they dont, Ive recently started to try to implement the idea of trying to act like the other person already beleives in life extension, or try to make it seem like the idea of life extension was theirs or mostly theres, have you tried this? I think getting them to help you with projects, even if they dont necessarily beleive in what your doing is a good means of getting them to think its their idea too.

Rahein- I woulnt necessarily say that the people in power are brainwashed against life extension, I would say its more like they havent been properly "brainwashed" into it. I think getting that message out there mainstream to people like them, who can help us take it more mainstream, is up to people like us. I think the main key is that we need to start advertising more. What do you think? I could be wrong of course. As for religion, like racism and other ignorances it seems to me like they are dying off, Ide say its due largely to the communications revolution.

John e- millions of people try to live alot longer, to like 8 or 9 hundred years by eating right and excerising, do you see any of those millions of experiments succeeding? Im pretty sure radical cellular and molecular therapy intervention is more practical.

qkokm21- So how do we get everybody to take part in the project? How do we get everybody to know that the aliens are coming, and its not hopeless, that they can help? I think its through advertising it in the right way. For example, for those that thought they couldnt help fight in ww2, they had posters that said things like, fight the war from home, buy war bonds, 5 war bonds equals the power of one soldier, conserve rubber, a town that saves a ton is equal to 10 soldiers, and stuff like that. There is life extension advertising, but I think there needs to be more of it, more focus on it, in more directed and clever ways. What do you think?

As for people being irrational beings and that being a major obstacle, I used to think along the same lines and think that a major part of getting life extension to go forth was figuring out how to cure human indifference. I no longer really thing that though because I have come to realize peoples susceptability to the power of media, suggestion, going with the crowd and things like that. It reminds of a quote, although the quote isnt dead on for what I mean, its:
“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise”