It is probably wise to take Thiel’s idea of an end to aging (or at least its radical postponement) seriously.
It does not seem that long ago that the Beatles could plausibly portray geriatric redundancy as beginning at an age sometimes referred to as young these days. “Will you still need me,” they asked, “Will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?”
That was, in fact, a while back — in 1967. But such is the mist cast by advancing years that it is hard to believe we stand close to a half-century from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Since then life spans have grown dramatically in an acceleration of the process that has seen longevity double in developed countries over the past 150 years. In 1850, half of England’s population was dead by 45. Today, according to Sarah Harper, a British gerontologist, half the English population is alive at 85.
But these advances brought on by antibiotics, vaccination programs, improved sanitation and better medicine (not to mention dietary supplements and the treadmill) are peanuts compared to what may lie in store. The brave new world of regenerative medicine is upon us. This is the term of art for the various techniques and technologies (including cell therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering) that will, its advocates say, allow the body to slow, halt or even reverse aging by enabling the regeneration and repair of damaged organs, cells and tissues. Talk of routinely living to 120 or even 200 no longer lies in the realm of cranks and fantasists.
Indeed, the buzz around radical life extension is such that the dot-com gurus who brought us the likes of Google and PayPal now find themselves laser-focused on an Age of Longevity, as if transforming our lives was not enough whereas doubling them through moonshot thinking would be an incontrovertible contribution to human progress. Connectivity was O.K., but conjuring super-centenarians will be better. Larry Page, the chief executive of Google, and Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire, early investor in Facebook and co-founder of PayPal, are among those who, in separate ventures, have aging in their cross hairs.
“If people think they are going to die, it is demotivating,” Thiel told me. “The idea of immortality is motivational.” He described his ideas as “180 degrees the opposite” of Steve Jobs’s, who once said: “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
It is probably wise to take Thiel’s idea of an end to aging (or at least its radical postponement) seriously.
The Latest on: Longevity
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The Latest on: Longevity
- The secret to Chinese civilization’s longevity? Exams and bureaucracy.on May 14, 2024 at 8:48 am
China is the world’s oldest continuous civilization, and in ancient times was a leader in technology. “In The Rise and Fall of the EAST,” Yasheng Huang probes why.
- Manulife/John Hancock Enters Five-Year, Multimillion Dollar Research Collaboration with MIT AgeLab to Drive Longevity Innovation and Researchon May 14, 2024 at 7:30 am
John Hancock, along with its Toronto-based parent company Manulife (NYSE: MFC), today announced a five-year, multimillion-dollar research collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
- Retirement Planning, Longevity & Health: Does it Make Sense to Plan to 95?on May 14, 2024 at 5:40 am
Planning for clients to live to age 95 has become a little questioned industry rule of thumb. With 95% of Americans older than 60 having at least one chronic condition, HealthView Services' new report ...
- ‘I Spent 36 Hours At A Longevity Summit. Here’s What I Learned About Life…And Death’on May 14, 2024 at 2:00 am
That all changed with the birth of my son, when I realized that if he waited as long as I did to have children, I’d be 72 at the birth of my first grandchild, and I’d have to live until 90 to see that ...
- John Hancock Starts Five-Year Longevity Research Project With MITon May 13, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The retirement and insurance provider is dedicating millions in funding for a collaboration that will include a longevity preparedness index. John Hancock and its parent company Manulife announced ...
- Rory McIlroy's impressive longevity on full display amid return to Valhalla seeking first major since 2014on May 13, 2024 at 9:26 am
PGA Championship could serve as the perfect exclamation point to McIlroy's incredible run over the last decade ...
- Healthy longevity: How F&B can tap into this ‘new realm of opportunities’on May 13, 2024 at 1:46 am
As ageing population numbers rise in Europe, an opportunity is opening in food and beverage. How can industry best tap into the ‘healthy longevity’ trend?
- Increased longevity will bring profound social changeon May 12, 2024 at 9:00 pm
This startling statistic comes from a remarkable new book, The Longevity Imperative, by Andrew Scott of the London Business School. He notes, too, that a newborn girl in Japan has a 96 per cent chance ...
- Extreme sports don't take a toll on longevityon May 10, 2024 at 9:45 am
Athletes who push themselves to maximum performance don't appear to pay a price when it comes to their longevity, a new study says.
- A longevity businessman says he gained 10 pounds of muscle in 1 year with a simple protein equationon May 10, 2024 at 9:19 am
Longevity businessman Peter Diamandis said he prioritized his body composition over everything else last year.
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