Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests • Hacker News Board

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#21

Post by busterarm » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

codegeek wrote: post #4

I always think about the scenario that I have outlived everyone I ever knew. Not sure if that is a good thing necessarily. I wonder how many new people you can meet or make friends after say 80 especially if you are not very healthy.

The year that I was 26, over two dozen people that I knew died. All separately. I was a wreck that year but learned early that everything is fleeting and precious.

That said, I noticed diminished capability in life shortly before turning 40 and my mom is really struggling at 80.

Longevity does not seem like a good deal to me.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#22

Post by lostinroutine » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:53 PM UTC

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #15

Aperocky wrote: post #2

That's why the fundamental solution to both the ageing problem and space exploration is not biological. Humans are fundamentally adapted to live/reproduce on the oxidizing and wet environment on Earth. Rather than bring out a mini Earth environ each time we go to space, we should start thinking about how we can just bring out our mind. It would be much more sustainable in the long run, maybe even on Earth itself.

Why do we even need to colonize space anyways? It's not like overpopulation is going to be a problem anymore, and someday in the future, we'll be able to solve problems like environmental degredation and climate change. There's just not any benefit to exploring space. Besides asteroid mining (which can be done with robots), there's not much up there worth our time, except scientific research.

Could you explain why overpopulation will not be a problem?

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#23

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

melling wrote: post #14

nscalf wrote: post #3

Last weeks article was 130. Clearly take this all with a grain of salt, and realize that bioengineering is having an explosion that will redefine everything we think about medicine and the human body.

Sure, it’s just a number. The point is that if we made the effort, there’s likely easy things we can do to extend life beyond 100. Studying Blue Zones, for example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Zone We really haven’t made an effort to study aging. Why do some people live well into their 90’s and appear to be in good health? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Van_Dyke

One thing to be careful with “Blue Zones” is that a lot of blue zones didn’t have that great record keeping, especially 50-100 years ago.

Unlike modern developed countries where we have pretty good records of the exact moment of birth for people, in a lot of areas in the past, there could be a lot of guesstimating about the actual age of someone.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#24

Post by throwawaygh » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

melling wrote: post #17

mgh2 wrote: post #11

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” -Genesis 6:3

120 years would be a great start. Imagine the world 120 years ago in 1900. The airplane hadn’t been invented. Cars were still a novelty. Special Relativity hadn’t been discovered.

The image in the article is of a woman who died at 122.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#25

Post by stfp » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:55 PM UTC

melling wrote: post #17

mgh2 wrote: post #11

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” -Genesis 6:3

120 years would be a great start. Imagine the world 120 years ago in 1900. The airplane hadn’t been invented. Cars were still a novelty. Special Relativity hadn’t been discovered.

Median scenario: so you grow up in that world, then go through 2 world wars, a few pandemics, the loss or death of most of your friends and family, gradually disconnect from the rest of society, just so you can see what amazing thing humanity will invent next (spoiler alert: it's more phones and huge cars and maybe a dozen folks living in tunnels on mars), while the forests are ripped out and the oceans boil and nature is paved over and your body turns to crap. Amazing, sign me up.

My grandma is 105 years old and is pretty much waiting for it to be over. If you live a full life it's not about how old you get, 90 is more than enough to experience the world and see your grand child grow up.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#26

Post by throwawaygh » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

melling wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, it’s just a number. The point is that if we made the effort, there’s likely easy things we can do to extend life beyond 100. Studying Blue Zones, for example https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Zone We really haven’t made an effort to study aging. Why do some people live well into their 90’s and appear to be in good health? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Van_Dyke

One thing to be careful with “Blue Zones” is that a lot of blue zones didn’t have that great record keeping, especially 50-100 years ago. Unlike modern developed countries where we have pretty good records of the exact moment of birth for people, in a lot of areas in the past, there could be a lot of guesstimating about the actual age of someone.

Yeah, places without great record keeping when people were born, but with fantastic age-contingent state pensions today. What actually unifies the blue zones is the ability and incentive to fudge numbers.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#27

Post by aero-glide2 » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #15

Aperocky wrote: post #2

That's why the fundamental solution to both the ageing problem and space exploration is not biological. Humans are fundamentally adapted to live/reproduce on the oxidizing and wet environment on Earth. Rather than bring out a mini Earth environ each time we go to space, we should start thinking about how we can just bring out our mind. It would be much more sustainable in the long run, maybe even on Earth itself.

Why do we even need to colonize space anyways? It's not like overpopulation is going to be a problem anymore, and someday in the future, we'll be able to solve problems like environmental degredation and climate change. There's just not any benefit to exploring space. Besides asteroid mining (which can be done with robots), there's not much up there worth our time, except scientific research.

Non-zero chance that an astronomical event could wipe out earth's human population. We can study effects of low-g environment on human body. Because its hard. And when doing a project which is hard, we could discover technology which helps others on Earth.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#28

Post by busterarm » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

lostinroutine wrote: post #22

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do we even need to colonize space anyways? It's not like overpopulation is going to be a problem anymore, and someday in the future, we'll be able to solve problems like environmental degredation and climate change. There's just not any benefit to exploring space. Besides asteroid mining (which can be done with robots), there's not much up there worth our time, except scientific research.

Could you explain why overpopulation will not be a problem?

Especially if we start expecting everyone to live to 150...

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#29

Post by narush » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:57 PM UTC

Taking this with a grain of salt, of course, but cool!

Worth pointing out the concept of "healthspan," which is pretty much like it sounds like: how long you stay healthy to do the things you want to do.

Long lifespan seems worthwhile if it's accompanied by a long healthspan as well.

Re: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

#30

Post by austinkhale » Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:59 PM UTC

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #15

Aperocky wrote: post #2

That's why the fundamental solution to both the ageing problem and space exploration is not biological. Humans are fundamentally adapted to live/reproduce on the oxidizing and wet environment on Earth. Rather than bring out a mini Earth environ each time we go to space, we should start thinking about how we can just bring out our mind. It would be much more sustainable in the long run, maybe even on Earth itself.

Why do we even need to colonize space anyways? It's not like overpopulation is going to be a problem anymore, and someday in the future, we'll be able to solve problems like environmental degredation and climate change. There's just not any benefit to exploring space. Besides asteroid mining (which can be done with robots), there's not much up there worth our time, except scientific research.

We are one large asteroid hitting earth or nuclear war from an extinction event. Being multi planetary is a hedge for the continuation of the species.