I'd rather live in a Tolkien Shire.

[HiFlyer 9,363]

4 hours ago, martin-w said:

Sinclair believes, according to his research, that it will be a simple, cheap drug. In fact there is evidence that we may already have antiaging drugs on the pharmacy shelves. Some are researching the drug Metformin and there seems to be significant benefits. Same for Rapamycin and others.

As I get older and see more, my opinion of human nature, or at least the nature of those with the..... ambition to seek domination over others, is that even if the drug is/was cheap as dirt, "market forces", also known as greed and profit motive will conspire to make whatever it is as inaccessible and expensive as the masses can be forced to bear.

[ViperPilot 81]

On 1/30/2024 at 9:10 AM, birdguy said:

I agree.  I currently live in an old folks home I call the warehouse.  Our ages run from the early 70s to the late 90s.  We don't all agree on everything but one thing we almost all agree on...we lived in the best of times and are now entering the worst of times.  We almost all are confused and overwhelmed by all the new technology and what it is doing to society...especially i Phones.  It seems the later generations can't live without them on their person 24/7.  I have one but it never leaves my desk.

Perhaps most of us have lived too long.  We have nothing more of importance to contribute.  And all of this talk about robots and AI makes us feel impotent.

Can you imagine?  We still read books printed on paper pages!

There is an old Twilight Zone episode about euthanizing people who have become obsolete.  The principal character is a librarian who has become obsolete because there are no more books.  Will it ever come to that?  We who have nothing more to contribute but demand services to keep us alive as long as possible?  Think about it!

Noel

Your statement (italicized) was the premise of the classic SciFi novel Logan's Run.

The Young were more useful than the Adult. Mandatory Euthanasia at 21 (30 in the Film).

This Quote from an old TV show always stuck with me...

"To instantly transform a Society with Technology is not only Harmful, but Destructive."

The rapid (20 year) ascendance of Social Media into our daily lives and all of the ills it brought into Society at large lends credence to the above Statement, as does the 'drone' from the Pied Pipers of Technology spouting forth the wiles, allure and the potential that AI will bring...

Sounds like the Frakking Cylons to me; soon we'll be flirting with Toasters and Skinjobs at the local Pub?

[ViperPilot 81]

Please Delete all above except my Initial Post.

 

Yikes! Sorry about that!

[martin-w 3,239]

19 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

As I get older and see more, my opinion of human nature, or at least the nature of those with the..... ambition to seek domination over others, is that even if the drug is/was cheap as dirt, "market forces", also known as greed and profit motive will conspire to make whatever it is as inaccessible and expensive as the masses can be forced to bear.

 

True enough, but I feel that if a drug was available that could be concocted by a student in a kitchen and was known to be very cheap, then there would be a worldwide uproar if people were being ripped off all over the globe. In which case there would be a massive underground movement to manufacture the drug at the proper cost. I know you guys in the US get charged crazy prices for drugs, but that's not the case worldwide. As I say, there are drugs on the shelves now that seem to offer an antiaging benefit, so with further research, if they are proven to do so, they can hardly increase the prices to crazy levels when the entire world knows how much they are now and how easy to manufacture. I think it would be obvious criminality if they did so. 

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

On 2/17/2024 at 5:14 PM, LHookins said:

At one million dollars per dose.  Most of us won't have to worry about getting the treatment.

This might make for an interesting science fiction story, where "normal" people work hard their entire lives to make enough to get the treatment, only to find out in a twist ending that it has to be repeated every year.

Hook

Yes this is how I see it, the fountain of youth doesn't come cheap, never has never will. Also the earlier someone takes treatment the better the outcome, the later someone takes treatment will have differing outcomes, because a 20 year old getting treatment is working with that age, and a 70 year old has a 70 year old body that is trying to get it back to a younger age in some way, or prolonged themselves as a 70 year old. Therein lies the catch 22, the 20 year old can't afford it even though that is the ideal time, and the 70 year old can afford it from a lifetime of working but no longer the ideal time. Thus is life 

[martin-w 3,239]

7 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

Therein lies the catch 22, the 20 year old can't afford it even though that is the ideal time, and the 70 year old can afford it from a lifetime of working but no longer the ideal time. Thus is life 

 

The 70 year old can still extend their lifespan and healthspan. And of course, as the technology improves it may be a significant extension. 

 

Quote

The therapy delivered a trio of genes — Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4, together named OSK — that are active in stem cells and can help rewind mature cells to an earlier state. (Sinclair's lab used this cocktail to restore sight in blind mice in 2020.) The ICE mice's organs and tissues resumed a youthful state.

https://hms.harvard.edu/news/loss-epigenetic-information-can-drive-aging-restoration-can-reverse#:~:text=The therapy delivered a trio,tissues resumed a youthful state.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

23 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

The 70 year old can still extend their lifespan and healthspan. And of course, as the technology improves it may be a significant extension. 

 

I've heard you're views, I processed your views with lots of consideration, and I disagree, Human Kind was never Kind, I do appreciate your outlook, and this song is for you...

 

[martin-w 3,239]

1 minute ago, Matthew Kane said:

I've heard you're views, I processed your views with lots of consideration, and I disagree,

 

That's perfectly fine Mathew. One of us is right... or the truth might be somewhere in the middle. 👍

[LHookins 3,103]

On 2/23/2024 at 4:27 AM, martin-w said:

 

That's perfectly fine Mathew. One of us is right... or the truth might be somewhere in the middle. 👍

https://xkcd.com/2898

Be sure to read the mouse-over text as well.

Hook

Edited February 24 by LHookins

[Cpt_Piett 4,713]

On 1/31/2024 at 9:16 PM, Fielder said:

On the other hand Carl Sagan (I could mention a couple of very well known others) enthuse(d) greatly about the brave new world. Dreamers. True believers. And of them with more faith than me. 

Interestingly (and not many people are aware of this), because of the miracles of modern science, Carl Sagan continues to live on in an AI-controlled world known as the Matrix.

 

[Fielder 3,683]

The number of cuts is 42. No more, no less.

[Fielder 3,683]

Dr. Sagan would have made a fortune as an hypnotist! Imagine that  voice saying, "you are getting sleepy....".