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The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

nytimes.com

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Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#61

Post by gxigzigxigxi »

chumali wrote: post #57
yters wrote: post #55

Another thing we should try is learning to not be afraid of death. If we aren't afraid of death, then getting old is not such a big deal. Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Religious people only have to fear death if they are living in a way they know is wrong. So, best bet is to live consistent with the majority of lasting world religions, and either there is nothing or there is bl…

This is effectively a restatement of Pascal's Wager and therefore suffers from the same problems as the original formulation. The promise of a blissful afterlife is an insufficient basis for a morally authentic life, and the individual adopting theistic morals on that premise is acting in bad faith.

That only matters if the deity in question cares for the cause of your morals. Which surely a class of theoretical deities would, but not all imaginable ones.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#62

Post by adrianN »

yters wrote: post #55

Another thing we should try is learning to not be afraid of death. If we aren't afraid of death, then getting old is not such a big deal. Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Religious people only have to fear death if they are living in a way they know is wrong. So, best bet is to live consistent with the majority of lasting world religions, and either there is nothing or there is bl…

I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of senescence. Being old really sucks. Everything hurts, your brain rots, eventually you're nothing but a burden on other people.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#63

Post by yters »

adrianN wrote: post #62
yters wrote: post #55

Another thing we should try is learning to not be afraid of death. If we aren't afraid of death, then getting old is not such a big deal. Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Religious people only have to fear death if they are living in a way they know is wrong. So, best bet is to live consistent with the majority of lasting world religions, and either there is nothing or there is bl…

I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of senescence. Being old really sucks. Everything hurts, your brain rots, eventually you're nothing but a burden on other people.

That also seems a matter of perspective. It is unfortunate in our culture that the elderly are looked down upon, instead of as an excellent source of wisdom about how not to die early and live a happy life.

It seems effort is more efficiently spent in changing perspective in ourselves and those around us, rather than trying to fight off inevitable old age and death.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#64

Post by adrianN »

yters wrote: post #63
adrianN wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of senescence. Being old really sucks. Everything hurts, your brain rots, eventually you're nothing but a burden on other people.

That also seems a matter of perspective. It is unfortunate in our culture that the elderly are looked down upon, instead of as an excellent source of wisdom about how not to die early and live a happy life. It seems effort is more efficiently spent in changing perspective in ourselves and those around us, rather than trying to fight off inevitable old age and death.

Having taken care of someone who succumbed to dementia, I can say with some authority that it's not a matter of perspective. The last years of life are an absolute horror show for a depressingly large fraction of the population.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#65

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

reasonattlm wrote: post #31

If a even a small fraction of the effort spent on trying and failing to cope with the realities of degenerative aging was spent on the current crop of plausible approaches to build medical biotechnologies that can reverse degenerative aging, then the world would be a much better place. Aging has an monstrously high economic cost, and is probably the only area of medicine in which the ratio of that cost to the amount…

To be fair, some of the accepted "realities of degenerative aging" basically boil down to lifestyle diseases related to poor diet and lack of exercise throughout life. This certainly seems to be the case here in the west, at least.

Perhaps people should take more responsibility for their own wellbeing instead of gambling on there being some massive medical breakthrough.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#66

Post by Nursie »

yters wrote: post #55

Another thing we should try is learning to not be afraid of death. If we aren't afraid of death, then getting old is not such a big deal. Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Religious people only have to fear death if they are living in a way they know is wrong. So, best bet is to live consistent with the majority of lasting world religions, and either there is nothing or there is bl…

> Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing.

This is somewhat trite, IMHO.

I don't fear the state of being dead, I fear getting there (death is unlikely to be fun) and I deeply fear not existing any more, and my time coming to an end. I like being.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#67

Post by ilamont »

mikekchar wrote: post #35
dawhizkid wrote: post #13

I wonder how many people think about longevity...for me that is less so about living to 100+ but more about doing as much as I can now to make sure old age is not filled with chronic illness. I’m a “millennial” and already very mindful of lifestyle choices that I hope help maximize my longevity i.e. fasting, low carb, exercise, no drugs, no smoking, less alcohol.

I've entered my 50's and I have lots of friends in their 60's and 70's. As in all things, there is penny wise, pound foolish. For me, here are the "pound" issues: - Saving enough money - Lack of stress - Avoidance of injury - Regular exercise The rest seems to be tweaking. If you get the above right, then you will probably be fine. I would especially like to warn about taking on too much stress in order to get the mo…

Not far behind you. An uncle had a major bypass heart operation in his 60s, after which he started daily 4-mile walks and he's still doing pretty well 15 years later. Inspired me to start daily walks earlier in life (usually about a mile) and a few sessions of exercycle and karate every week.

The other ingredient which I have only been recently aware of (thanks in large part to reading "Why we sleep") is getting a full night's sleep. That's hard for me, because I am naturally a "night owl" and light sleeper with kids who need to get up early, but I am aware of the need and try to get 7 or 8 hours as best I can.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#68

Post by yters »

adrianN wrote: post #64
yters wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That also seems a matter of perspective. It is unfortunate in our culture that the elderly are looked down upon, instead of as an excellent source of wisdom about how not to die early and live a happy life. It seems effort is more efficiently spent in changing perspective in ourselves and those around us, rather than trying to fight off inevitable old age and death.

Having taken care of someone who succumbed to dementia, I can say with some authority that it's not a matter of perspective. The last years of life are an absolute horror show for a depressingly large fraction of the population.

It still is a matter of perspective. Should a person who is unhappy and a burden for others be discarded by society, or should society do their best to make the person feel welcome? If society can do the latter then everyone is in a better place.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#69

Post by yters »

ryukafalz wrote: post #56
yters wrote: post #55

Another thing we should try is learning to not be afraid of death. If we aren't afraid of death, then getting old is not such a big deal. Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Religious people only have to fear death if they are living in a way they know is wrong. So, best bet is to live consistent with the majority of lasting world religions, and either there is nothing or there is bl…

>Atheists have no reason to fear death, because then there is nothing. Well, I'm not afraid of being dead. I sure do like being alive though, and would prefer that to continue!

Once you are dead you won't be aware life is no longer continuing. The only sticking point is the time leading up to death when one's fear of death makes them miserable. If the person can do away with the fear then they'll maximize their happy moments in the short time we have in this world.

Since death is inevitable due to the eventual heat death of the universe, then from an operations research perspective it makes much more sense to focus effort on getting rid of the fear of death than trying to end death itself.

Re: The Future of Aging Just Might Be in Margaritaville

#70

Post by Tor3 »

adrianN wrote: post #64
yters wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That also seems a matter of perspective. It is unfortunate in our culture that the elderly are looked down upon, instead of as an excellent source of wisdom about how not to die early and live a happy life. It seems effort is more efficiently spent in changing perspective in ourselves and those around us, rather than trying to fight off inevitable old age and death.

Having taken care of someone who succumbed to dementia, I can say with some authority that it's not a matter of perspective. The last years of life are an absolute horror show for a depressingly large fraction of the population.

Dementia is a terrible thing, I've seen it first-hand more than once - and I'm currently in the middle of two cases. But then again I've also seen the opposite several times, people living to a very old age (95+, and, in a couple of cases, 100+) with all their faculties fully functioning and no health issues to complain about until it was suddenly and quietly over. It's not a given that we all (and our caretakers) will suffer in the end.
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