Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful; for thou art not so…. And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die! —John Donne (1573-1631) The consequences to ourselves and our society of greatly extended human life span are sure to be far reaching. An extended life span does not […]
In fact, in some experiments the animals are vigorous and, to all outward appearances, youthful until just a few hours before death, when they succumb suddenly. In our society, there may be a problem in those organizations where seniority is very important, such as corporations, unions, philanthropic organizations, and governments, allowing officeholders to hold power […]
All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. —T. E. Lawrence, The Seven […]
How ironic, that writers often refer to people being ‘freed’ by death!—when in fact death is the complete, the absolute absence of freedom, since both power and will are reduced to nil. —R.C.W. Ettinger, Man into Superman Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; […]
Read more An Appointment with Death; or, Why Some People Prefer to Die
… high as a kite, if you want to faster than light, if you want to Speeding through the universe thinking is the best way to travel. —Mike Pinder, The Moody Blues, “The Best Way to Travel” We have good reasons for believing that the near future holds even more rapid progress in the prevention […]
Longevity is only desirable if it increases the duration of youth, and not that of old age. The lengthening of the senescent period would be a calamity. —Alexis Carrel, Man the Unknown (1935) Nothing is too wonderful to be true. —Michael Faraday Many people fear that an extended life span would mean even more time […]
What are some specific benefits and costs to consider? Benefits include: (1) improved appearance, vitality, health, and abilities now, and (2) a possibly longer overall life span. In the following posts, we’ll show you how you can improve your resistance to infections, look younger, increase your muscular strength and stamina, and even be more intelligent […]
Some people try to achieve immortality through their offspring or their works. I prefer to achieve immortality by not dying. —Woody Allen In order to decide intelligently between different possible life extension methods, you require knowledge of the benefits and the costs of a range of life extension choices. Benefit-versus-cost information is ultimately judged in […]
“Cheshire Puss,” she [Alice] began . . . “would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. —Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland There isn’t just one aging process, and there isn’t just one way to retard […]
In human females, menopause occurs after a period of steadily increasing probability of defective reproduction (the chances of a woman bearing a Down’s Syndrome baby, for example, increases sharply after age thirty-five). The shutdown of reproduction in humans does not mean the end of life, however. Evolutionary factors which may have resulted in this extended […]