Longevity: Extending Human Life

[VelesHomais]

This thread is for discussions about radical human life extension. Considering the ambiguity of the term life I stress that the discussions here may include post-biological existence as well. It is not, however, a thread for spiritual discussions of any sort. It is noteworthy to add that not everyone thinks that post-biological existence is possible.

In the recent history we have seen average life expectancy rise from 30 to 80 and medical breakthroughs are occurring at an accelerating pace, which leads many to believe that we will reach a point in this century, when the extension of human life expectancy will grow by more than any given amount of time. In other words, your life expectancy during 12 months will grow by more than 12 months.

You may touch upon the subject concerning possible implications of these processes in this thread, but the volume of the latter will determine whether it should be given a separate thread.

http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2...ghout-history/

[Ka-8]

Maybe it's not directly about the life expectancy, but surely related to: how the longer expected lifetime will influence the labour market and retirement, especially taking into account that more and more labour, especially in manufacturing is performed by robots...

[AltinD]

I think the "advances" in processed and GM-ed food, as well as the sedentary lifestyle, is keeping us back allot, like a decade or two.

[wjfox]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

In the recent history we have seen average life expectancy rise from 30 to 80 and medical breakthroughs are occurring at an accelerating pace

Only possible due to cheap and abundant fossil fuels.

[wjfox]

Life expectancy is actually declining for poor whites in the US -

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/pol...fe_e040058.php

[AltinD]

And it will become worse, before becoming better

[VelesHomais]

Originally Posted by wjfox

Only possible due to cheap and abundant fossil fuels.

Do you mean in terms of mass production of medications?

[VelesHomais]

Originally Posted by wjfox

Life expectancy is actually declining for poor whites in the US -

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/pol...fe_e040058.php

That is odd, but I suppose that specific groups (rural, no high school diploma, southern, white) may display odd tendencies from time to time. It doesn't impact the overall positive trends in the US and the world.

In NY we just had the opposite news:

New York Life Expectancy Rises to Record 81 Years, Mayor Says

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...ars-mayor-says

[CanadianDemon]

Lol, people that were born today. Have a predicted average life expectancy of 150 years. How's that for age.

[CanadianDemon]

Originally Posted by AltinD

I think the "advances" in processed and GM-ed food, as well as the sedentary lifestyle, is keeping us back allot, like a decade or two.

Nothing wrong with processed or GM food. You're just delusional. Anyone can also live however they want.

[wjfox]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

Do you mean in terms of mass production of medications?

Progress in general.

We're also raping the environment and borrowing from our children's future. This is clearly unsustainable in the long term.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/201...s-biocapacity/

[VelesHomais]

I have two problems with doomsday scenarios:

1. The renewables (fission, wind, solar, maybe fusion in the future) are becoming cheaper and in 10 years solar should be cheap enough for global ubiquitous proliferation of use. But we also need electric based infrastructure, especially in terms of automobiles. We are currently observing substantial progress in this regard in the U.S.

2. The ecological disaster scenarios are only looking at reactive measures of counteracting. I favor robust pro-active geoengineering interventions that would allow us to liquidate industrial polluting side effects without growth interference. We need decades of research and experimentation before it would be safe, as there are too many variables that today we cannot account for, but it is doable and beats shutting down the economy.

[dars-dm]

I think that in several decades medicine development will reach its peak, and the number of deaths may outgrow the numbr of births.(just because we won't be able to extend the life of those who could have died without the pacing medicine anymore)

[lowenmeister]

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-hon...085219961.html

[AltinD]

Originally Posted by CanadianDemon

Nothing wrong with processed or GM food. You're just delusional. Anyone can also live however they want.

If you think so, good for ya kid

[teddybear]

imho, what good is it if humans do not prone to crimes, wars, environment degradation and bad intentions?

[VelesHomais]

A short intro to Ray Kurzweil:

"Twenty years from now, our bloodstream will be filled with millions of microscopic robotic devices acting as caretakers for lagging red or white blood cells, programmed to fight off whatever ails us, and extending our lifetimes indefinitely."
http://www.thegridto.com/city/local-...ality-lecture/

[ramanujann]

In the future the whole-body transplantation (I mean brain transplantation) will be the most effective way of prolonging the life expectancy
However I wonder what's the time-life of a human brain? Aren't brain cells dying and their regeneration becoming less effective while we are aging? How to overcome this problem?

[MasonicStage™]

I'm against extending normal human lifespan.
Does anyone of you really want to live over 100?

[MetropolOZ]

If I was fully able and firing on all cylinders why not live past 100?