Live data from Hacker News

NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

blog.newlimit.com

51–60 of 141 posts

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#51
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arguably worse since old people have stubborn thought processes, especially politically. Usually the only way societies get change is once all the "boomers" die off. I think it sad but death is evolved for a real reason and we should not forget Chesterton's fence, even if it was not designed but rather converged on by almost all species except for trees.

Change isn’t always a good thing. Having your elders all die before they can pass on their knowledge, culture, and values isn’t the panacea you’re describing.

I agree. I was just providing some contrast. I am not pro-death.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#52
post #3

There is something dystopian, childish, naive, desperate, arrogant, sad and tragic about billionaires founding and funding longevity companies and projects. They think that they've got it all, but deep down there's still this gaping hole of meaninglessness. They can control evertything. Everything but death. If only they can find a way to live longer, maybe even a way to never die of natural causes, everything will b…

Increase in human lifespan (and longevity of "youth") is the most obvious sign of the success of modern civilization. We have doubled the average life expectancy in just about a century, so by your reasoning, past humans would likely call us "arrogant" when on average we live better, more fuller lives than they ever did. There will be unintended consequences of humans living longer, of course but those are problems w…

There is no "by your reasoning" here at all. That is miles away from what he actually said.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#53
post #41
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not against research to better understand aging and diseases that are a consequence of aging such as dementia and various cancers. But when I read this announcement I feel an air of arrogance that fucking annoys me. Your feeling of arrogance seems to be a product of a cultural programmed reaction. There's no shortage of movies, cultural works, and tv shows that tell us that immortality is unwanted, unattainable,…

> I applaud the pursuit of longevity and health so long it is paired with the egalitarian outcome in that everybody will be entitled and receive it, regardless of who they are and what they did. And therein lies the crux. I don’t believe that’ll be the actual outcome.

We are already doing the unegalitarian distribution of medicine with horrifically expensive drugs for fighting cancers.

We are also seeing relatively egalitarian drugs like mRNA vaccine against COVID being distributed to the population at large, only that some refused it. Meanwhile, the third world just lag behind in vaccination.

Some of which can be solved through better social cohesion and better systems, but a lot of the challenge will be simply in getting the cost of technology down or finding cheaper way to do something.

Therapies for longevity is unlikely to be a single drug or treatment, more likely a whole series of them. I also don't know if they're going to be expensive or cheap.

However, the best and most effective medicine in the world are often very cheap or relatively so, such as mRNA vaccines(~25 USD or so) and they saved countless lives. I am hopeful that more effective medicine will be cheap and affordable, or at least basically 'self-funding' in that lives saved will dramatically affect the economic balance sheet of countries for the better.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#54
Imagine you are "filthy rich", what would be your main worry? Having money without having time is meaningless. Consider also that "crypto millionaires" are often sophisticated "lottery winners", they didn't get their money like Bezos or Musk. The bright side is that society as a whole will profit from this also.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#55
post #32
post #3

There is something dystopian, childish, naive, desperate, arrogant, sad and tragic about billionaires founding and funding longevity companies and projects. They think that they've got it all, but deep down there's still this gaping hole of meaninglessness. They can control evertything. Everything but death. If only they can find a way to live longer, maybe even a way to never die of natural causes, everything will b…

I'm not against research to better understand aging and diseases that are a consequence of aging such as dementia and various cancers. But when I read this announcement I feel an air of arrogance that fucking annoys me. Your feeling of arrogance seems to be a product of a cultural programmed reaction. There's no shortage of movies, cultural works, and tv shows that tell us that immortality is unwanted, unattainable,…

> I applaud the pursuit of longevity and health so long it is paired with the egalitarian outcome in that everybody will be entitled and receive it, regardless of who they are and what they did.

Aren't Americans struggling getting diabetes medicine? And chemo? Is it a reasonable expectation that this treatment, whatever it is, will be any different?

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very egocentric view of the whole endeavor of life. Part of the game is the renewal process of it. If for once find it way more creepy to have centennial billionaires that are hoarding land and resources, because they have the illusion that things belong to them, when in reality it was never theirs to begin with.

Don't call it renewal, call it rot. Some things, we let rot. We shouldn't let people rot.

Some people call it stasis, when you're in equilibrium with the system you're in.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#57
post #3

There is something dystopian, childish, naive, desperate, arrogant, sad and tragic about billionaires founding and funding longevity companies and projects. They think that they've got it all, but deep down there's still this gaping hole of meaninglessness. They can control evertything. Everything but death. If only they can find a way to live longer, maybe even a way to never die of natural causes, everything will b…

There's very little funding of longevity research apparently. Probably because of people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral. But this is not right, we've severely underestimated the biological dangers of our overpopulated-overconnected world. We find ourselves needing to fight a pandemic with similar methods as in 1917, because we ve not prepared for that. Biotech should be an imperative for…

> Probably because of people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral

That's not what I said at all.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No if we lived to a 1000 years, almost all of our problems here would be solved -- as people would finally take responsibility for their futures.

The dystopian take on this being that longevity will always be gated, limiting it to the wealthy. They would continue to externalize the actions as being the result of lesser people. The way the wealthy will take responsibility is by taking up the mantle of human zookeeper, restricting lesser people's locations and movements. Just look at where the toll roads are near you, it's already happening. Then the negative ac…

There's a reason we keep coming back to fiction that elevates the obscenely wealthy as being beyond the law, beyond the control of governments, and eventually physically beyond the world in floating cities.

There's a reason for that. It makes for entertaining fiction. Why would anyone reads utopian novels anyway? They're boring.

It's also a not a good idea to base your model of society on fiction. Fiction is not evidence for anything.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#59
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's very little funding of longevity research apparently. Probably because of people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral. But this is not right, we've severely underestimated the biological dangers of our overpopulated-overconnected world. We find ourselves needing to fight a pandemic with similar methods as in 1917, because we ve not prepared for that. Biotech should be an imperative for…

> people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral. People share this opinion until they're on their deathbed. If offered a pill to be restored to youthful longevity in that moment, most people would give up everything and endure just about anything for a mere chance at it. People are remarkably shortsighted and don't take the time to comprehend what the horror at the end of the tunnel will really f…

> most people would give up everything and endure just about anything for a mere chance at it

I feel like you just make assumptions here.

Re: NewLimit: a company built to extend human healthspan

#60
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's very little funding of longevity research apparently. Probably because of people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral. But this is not right, we've severely underestimated the biological dangers of our overpopulated-overconnected world. We find ourselves needing to fight a pandemic with similar methods as in 1917, because we ve not prepared for that. Biotech should be an imperative for…

> people sharing your opinion that stopping aging is selfish/immoral. People share this opinion until they're on their deathbed. If offered a pill to be restored to youthful longevity in that moment, most people would give up everything and endure just about anything for a mere chance at it. People are remarkably shortsighted and don't take the time to comprehend what the horror at the end of the tunnel will really f…

Although I don't disagree, I think that's a very narrow way to look at it.

I think it's more about the fear of dying than about actual death. If you just died tomorrow in your sleep, what would it matter? Assuming you didn't have a terminal illness or are of old age, you probably didn't fear immediate death. And you didn't suffer one bit.

Sure, it would suck for your friends and family, but for you, it wouldn't matter.

Post reply on HN