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The Island Where People Forget to Die

nytimes.com

51–60 of 74 posts

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#51
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseto_effect Wow, that is patriarchal oppression and stifling familial roles.

I know you said you're being sarcastic, but the only way something like that work on any scale is when a social equilibrium is in place, and those are pretty fragile. I guessing wildly here, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ikaria is the kind of place young people leave, so there's hardly any pressure of social change. Obviously, the oppression and stifling isn't felt, that's the equilibrium, but I would guess that you…

>> lost world of the past

It's not like the past won't become the future again.

Getting off-topic for me here, but...

From "The Fate Of Empires" 1978, by John Glubb, who was Lieutenant General and commander of Jordan's Arab Legion:

"The works of the contemporary historians of Baghdad in the early tenth century are still available. They deeply deplored the degeneracy of the times in which they lived, emphasising particularly the indifference to religion, the increasing materialism and the laxity of sexual morals. They lamented also the corruption of the officials of the government and the fact that politicians always seemed to amass large fortunes while they were in office.

The historians commented bitterly on the extraordinary influence acquired by popular singers over young people, resulting in a decline in sexual morality. The ‘pop’ singers of Baghdad accompanied their erotic songs on the lute, an instrument resembling the modern guitar. In the second half of the tenth century, as a result, much obscene sexual language came increasingly into use, such as would not have been tolerated in an earlier age. Several khalifs issued orders banning ‘pop’ singers from the capital, but within a few years they always returned.

An increase in the influence of women in public life has often been associated with national decline. The later Romans complained that, although Rome ruled the world, women ruled Rome. In the tenth century, a similar tendency was observable in the Arab Empire, the women demanding admission to the professions hitherto monopolised by men. ‘What,’ wrote the contemporary historian, Ibn Bessam, ‘have the professions of clerk, tax-collector or preacher to do with women? These occupations have always been limited to men alone.’ Many women practised law, while others obtained posts as university professors. There was an agitation for the appointment of female judges, which, however, does not appear to have succeeded.

Soon after this period, government and public order collapsed, and foreign invaders overran the country. The resulting increase in confusion and violence made it unsafe for women to move unescorted in the streets, with the result that this feminist movement collapsed. "

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#53
post #17

Let's assume every claim in this article is true. Let's say that if you follow a certain diet, move to a certain island, make certain friends, and have certain genes, you will live to the age of 100. So what ? Best case, you get an extra decade or two of life. This may seem amazing, but to be honest, it's ineffectual life. This extra time will be spent being old . Whether you're 70 or 100, you will be frail, dim-witt…

> but to be honest, it's ineffectual life. This extra time will be spent being old. Whether you're 70 or 100, you will be frail, dim-witted[1], and unattractive. I have seldom read such an amazing load of (sorry, to say it this way) bullshit and disdain of the old/being old. I am in my thirties and I really am in awe the live, the doings, the stories of a lot of elders around me. Sorry, but how young are you? Getting…

[deleted]

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#54
The proliferation of co-working/co-living spaces is a positive trend I'm seeing that could lead to longer, happier lives. I'm hoping to see communities like this pop up all over the world - instead of everyone growing their gardens and vineyards, we'll be growing our startups or lifestyle businesses while being surrounded by a community of friends.

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#55
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Getting older and eventually dying is imho, what defines our humanity. Maybe, but is that a good thing? To simply "expire out of existence" is a big issue for "humanity". It's the main reason why there's no proper answer to "what's the meaning of life" - whatever you do during your 50/70/120/.. years of life you'll eventually end up just as dead as the guy right next to you. Congratulations! Being immortal would al…

>20? Maybe. but How about being in the body of a 30- or 40-year old again? I can't imagine any 70-year olds not wanting to have a more "hassle-free" body, all other things being equal. Nobody is going to pay for your pension forever. Do you really want to spend your entire life working?

>>Nobody is going to pay for your pension forever.

What? I don't know where you are from,but in EU state pensions are absolutely paid until death.

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#56
post #35

> It’s easy to get enough rest if no one else wakes up early and the village goes dead during afternoon naptime. It helps that the cheapest, most accessible foods are also the most healthful — and that your ancestors have spent centuries developing ways to make them taste good. It’s hard to get through the day in Ikaria without walking up 20 hills. You’re not likely to ever feel the existential pain of not belonging…

Not sure how you can describe frozen pizza as "tasty". I would never want to eat a frozen pizza through choice.

Lots of people do though. He went with the majority instead of what outliers think.

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#57
post #2

As the side note says: "The key to Ikarian longevity is not simply a healthful diet; daily socializing may be just as crucial." And taking a daily nap and drink vine. This is probably true and helps a lot. But who created the statistics? The pension system there is widely misused. People keep their death parents "alive" on paper to receive their pension for many years. It was so widespread and the loss so great in Cr…

>This is probably true and helps a lot. But who created the statistics? The pension system there is widely misused. People keep their death parents "alive" on paper to receive their pension for many years. It was so widespread and the loss so great in Creek (and some other EU countries) that the European Union intervened.

That's actually BS based on urban legends (and inflated by the Greek government at the time for political reasons).

On actual life, this involved a small number, in the hundends, (literaly around 400-500 cases) of people using false certificates for stuff like disabillity pensions which happened in a specific prefecture.

Most of those instances were about bending the law to cover some poor person with pension that didn't really qualify for, but couldn't get any other way (e.g. getting a "blind man disability pension" to some seeing old man who without that would have become homeless or be unable to pay for his healtcare). In cultures were such social help is valued above legality, this is something that happens, exploiting laws or holes in the law, etc.

Of course this bending is counted as "corruption" (the same way that turning a blind eye in a poor families use of electricity when they don't pay their power company bill would), but its impact is negligible and is mostly a way to short-circuit ineffective social care policies in small societies. For actual corruption we have far better (and more impactful) examples in the higher echelons.

It wasn't legal, but it wasn't a "get rich quick scheme" either -- and it was far from "widespread" nor was the loss "so great". If we're talking Amdahl's law this is insignificant as far as the debt is concerned - but being a nice example against Greek corruption in general, it was blown out of proportion and used as an representative example.

Don't believe the hype. The same way the right wing blows some non-representative cases of people getting welfare in the US out of proportion.

In any case, Ikaria, the island in TFA, is not one of those places.

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#58
post #57
post #2

As the side note says: "The key to Ikarian longevity is not simply a healthful diet; daily socializing may be just as crucial." And taking a daily nap and drink vine. This is probably true and helps a lot. But who created the statistics? The pension system there is widely misused. People keep their death parents "alive" on paper to receive their pension for many years. It was so widespread and the loss so great in Cr…

> This is probably true and helps a lot. But who created the statistics? The pension system there is widely misused. People keep their death parents "alive" on paper to receive their pension for many years. It was so widespread and the loss so great in Creek (and some other EU countries) that the European Union intervened. That's actually BS based on urban legends (and inflated by the Greek government at the time for…

I'm glad that at least you didn't get downvoted to hell based on some BS articles like I did.

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#59
post #47

Olives, hummus, and sourdough bread. Herbal teas, coffee and wine. Goat's milk and honey. Wild greens, beans, and olive oil. Work in the fields, gathering it all. A nap in the afternoon, and plenty of sex. This is a recipe for a long life.

Don't forget lots of socializing and a tight-knit community. And a lack of access to commercial processed foods. Temptation is a powerful thing!

socializing is not part of the recipe. There are plenty of monks who live a life of solidute but follow the recipe above and still live to tell the tale

Re: The Island Where People Forget to Die

#60
post #17

Let's assume every claim in this article is true. Let's say that if you follow a certain diet, move to a certain island, make certain friends, and have certain genes, you will live to the age of 100. So what ? Best case, you get an extra decade or two of life. This may seem amazing, but to be honest, it's ineffectual life. This extra time will be spent being old . Whether you're 70 or 100, you will be frail, dim-witt…

    > The real solution is to make frailty and death voluntary. 
    > If this achievement seems ridiculous, remember how many 
    > technologies were once placed in the same category of improbability.
I agree. This is a solvable problem. More serious effort needs to be made to slow and reverse aging, rather than this resigned march to death that your downvoters exhibit. The human potential that is lost to aging is staggering.

It is fashionable to show how sophisticated and intelligent you are, to discount or even deride people who have the goal of extending human lifespan. That's too bad.

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