Groups of people, such as the Hunzas, Vilcabambas, Okinawans, and Abkhasians have routinely lived beyond 100. Research shows that it is a combination of foods they eat, the kind of water they drink, and a stress-free life.
For the rest of us, we are many years away from actualizing all the strategies for extending life: From regrowing our organs to reducing damage to our mitochondria to slow, arrest, or reverse the aging process..
The question is, why would we want to extend human life by 100’s of years? It could present a new set of problems. Would we extend our healthy years or simply prolong frailty towards the end of life? It may result in a low quality of life. The earth would be crowded with the elderly, who may or may not be productive. If they are productive, they may be crowding out the field for the up-and-coming youth.
Maybe society would benefit from an increased level of knowledge that can come from age and experience. But that is the only up-side I can see. The desire for life extension may come from a fear of death because we are so identified with our bodies we think that death is the end of us.
One consequence of life extension, as mentioned above, is overpopulation and strain on our resources. If more people live longer, it would cause an increase in the total population. This would increase even more if people could bear children at older ages because of newly youthful reproductive systems. Our overall standard of living might decrease depending on how resources are allocated, and the impact of resource use on the environment.
At any rate, it will be only those who can afford the life-extension techniques that will be able to avail themselves of them. This imbalance in our global society may not be in the planet’s best interest.
For the rest of us, we are many years away from actualizing all the strategies for extending life: From regrowing our organs to reducing damage to our mitochondria to slow, arrest, or reverse the aging process..
The question is, why would we want to extend human life by 100’s of years? It could present a new set of problems. Would we extend our healthy years or simply prolong frailty towards the end of life? It may result in a low quality of life. The earth would be crowded with the elderly, who may or may not be productive. If they are productive, they may be crowding out the field for the up-and-coming youth.
Maybe society would benefit from an increased level of knowledge that can come from age and experience. But that is the only up-side I can see. The desire for life extension may come from a fear of death because we are so identified with our bodies we think that death is the end of us.
One consequence of life extension, as mentioned above, is overpopulation and strain on our resources. If more people live longer, it would cause an increase in the total population. This would increase even more if people could bear children at older ages because of newly youthful reproductive systems. Our overall standard of living might decrease depending on how resources are allocated, and the impact of resource use on the environment.
At any rate, it will be only those who can afford the life-extension techniques that will be able to avail themselves of them. This imbalance in our global society may not be in the planet’s best interest.
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