Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing • Hacker News Board

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#141

Post by sjg007 » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:21 AM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #59

komali2 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In his AMA Bill Gates said if he could buy anything he would buy immortality.

In one of his AMAs he said something a bit different: Q: What do you think about life-extending and immortality research? A: It seems pretty egocentric while we still have malaria and TB for rich people to fund things so they can live longer. It would be nice to live longer though I admit. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2tzjp7/hi_reddit_im_b...

Rich men have been seeking the holy grail for some time now.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#142

Post by ThomPete » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:33 AM UTC

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #89

pointytrees wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes talk about wanting to live forever and get weird stares. Are you joking me?? I want to hike every trail in the world. I want to climb every mountain. I want to play every video game. I want to beat the hardest raids in every expansion of WoW. I want to learn multiple langauges. I want to spend several years living in every biome. I want to learn all of the programming languages. I want to go back to schoo…

Thankfully death comes along and sorts through the wants from the willing. It has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. There's nothing wrong with your thinking. In my humble opinion it shows your personal desires without much concern for everyone else. I guess this is the rub I get from most people that extol the Silicon Valley dream of extending the…

This strikes me as an odd argument.

Basically you are saying that it's better we die so that a new generation can come and then die for others come around just to die to make way for others.

Whats the purpose of that for the individual? Why is that by any metrics desirable for humans to die for other humans to come along to just die for yet others?

But what is the purpose of that?

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#143

Post by dkarapetyan » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:34 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #134

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully death comes along and sorts through the wants from the willing. It has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. There's nothing wrong with your thinking. In my humble opinion it shows your personal desires without much concern for everyone else. I guess this is the rub I get from most people that extol the Silicon Valley dream of extending the…

>>[Death] has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. On the other hand, humanity loses out on a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience with each death. Imagine if Einstein were alive today, for instance. Or Richard Feynman. Or Carl Sagan.

Those were lives well lived and a lot of the meaning and wisdom now derived from their lives is because they are gone. Same can not be said for the multitude that just wants more time.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#144

Post by dennisgorelik » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:37 AM UTC

a13n wrote: post #80

dcposch wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just death, but the gradual loss of physical and mental capabilities you used to have. That feels scarier to me. Imagine you could chose to die on your 75th birthday, but in return keep your full 20-something health until then. I'd do it right away.

Sure but if you've maintained your 20-something health until 75, why choose to die? That's just suicide...

The choice is to live healthy life until 75 and pay the price of death at 75.

If it is possible to live healthy life past 75 - that would be even better.

Unfortunately none of that is possible to accomplish in the timeframe that would benefit us personally.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#145

Post by anabis » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:41 AM UTC

pointytrees wrote: post #65

a13n wrote: post #56

I'm not a billionaire and I'm not old, but I am so excited about anti-aging. I know Hacker News is super negative, but who doesn't want to live longer?! Of all the pain points humans experience, you'd think death lies pretty high on the list. Why are people fighting this?

I sometimes talk about wanting to live forever and get weird stares. Are you joking me?? I want to hike every trail in the world. I want to climb every mountain. I want to play every video game. I want to beat the hardest raids in every expansion of WoW. I want to learn multiple langauges. I want to spend several years living in every biome. I want to learn all of the programming languages. I want to go back to schoo…

You can probably exhaust trails, mountains, biomes.

But probably not human created stuff like raids and video games, because new ones will be made. Well languages maybe, because of consolidation.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#146

Post by dennisgorelik » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:49 AM UTC

api wrote: post #19

ucaetano wrote: post #3

Funny how as billionaires get older, they start backing anti-aging and life-extension initiatives.

Most actually don't. The field is dramatically under-funded.

Life extension industry is too early. It is much more productive to work on other problems (e.g. solving more immediate problems and do scientific research to help solving these immediate problems).

Then later, when technology is robust enough - meaningfully invest into actual anti-aging efforts.

Unfortunately the time for meaningful anti-aging research may come in ~100 years when we all would be already long dead.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#147

Post by mirekrusin » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:56 AM UTC

ThomPete wrote: post #142

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully death comes along and sorts through the wants from the willing. It has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. There's nothing wrong with your thinking. In my humble opinion it shows your personal desires without much concern for everyone else. I guess this is the rub I get from most people that extol the Silicon Valley dream of extending the…

This strikes me as an odd argument. Basically you are saying that it's better we die so that a new generation can come and then die for others come around just to die to make way for others. Whats the purpose of that for the individual? Why is that by any metrics desirable for humans to die for other humans to come along to just die for yet others? But what is the purpose of that?

It's called life, evolution, it's been like that since day 1 but you sound surprised?

Questions about life's purpose are silly, just like asking "what's the purpose of Mount Blanc?" is silly.

Living longer wouldn't change the notion of "purpose" or anything around it anyway.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#148

Post by ThomPete » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 2:07 AM UTC

mirekrusin wrote: post #147

ThomPete wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strikes me as an odd argument. Basically you are saying that it's better we die so that a new generation can come and then die for others come around just to die to make way for others. Whats the purpose of that for the individual? Why is that by any metrics desirable for humans to die for other humans to come along to just die for yet others? But what is the purpose of that?

It's called life, evolution, it's been like that since day 1 but you sound surprised? Questions about life's purpose are silly, just like asking "what's the purpose of Mount Blanc?" is silly. Living longer wouldn't change the notion of "purpose" or anything around it anyway.

I think it's safe to say you are missing the point.

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#149

Post by atomical » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 2:13 AM UTC

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #89

pointytrees wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes talk about wanting to live forever and get weird stares. Are you joking me?? I want to hike every trail in the world. I want to climb every mountain. I want to play every video game. I want to beat the hardest raids in every expansion of WoW. I want to learn multiple langauges. I want to spend several years living in every biome. I want to learn all of the programming languages. I want to go back to schoo…

Thankfully death comes along and sorts through the wants from the willing. It has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. There's nothing wrong with your thinking. In my humble opinion it shows your personal desires without much concern for everyone else. I guess this is the rub I get from most people that extol the Silicon Valley dream of extending the…

You sound like a nihilist, except for the part about appearing to have "concern for everyone else."

Re: Anti-Aging Startup Raises $116M With Bezos Backing

#150

Post by solipsism » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 2:22 AM UTC

ThomPete wrote: post #142

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully death comes along and sorts through the wants from the willing. It has a nice way of making space for a newer generation of thinkers. Old prejudices die, new thinkers arrive. There's nothing wrong with your thinking. In my humble opinion it shows your personal desires without much concern for everyone else. I guess this is the rub I get from most people that extol the Silicon Valley dream of extending the…

This strikes me as an odd argument. Basically you are saying that it's better we die so that a new generation can come and then die for others come around just to die to make way for others. Whats the purpose of that for the individual? Why is that by any metrics desirable for humans to die for other humans to come along to just die for yet others? But what is the purpose of that?

You're actually starting a conversation on HN about what the purpose of life is?

Good luck...