“When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”
The human body is a meat robot. There’s no reason, in principle, why it couldn’t be maintained in working order indefinitely. Whether we’ll see that in our lifetimes, that’s a completely different question. His argument basically boils down to “it’s a complicated problem and there’s a bunch of snake oil salesmen in the field, therefore it’s impossible to solve”. Debunking bullshit is of course praiseworthy, but to claim that the problem will never be solved seems to me like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Especially now, with AI getting better every day. There have been advances in multiple areas that each make progress in other fields more likely.
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” - Lord Kelvin.
I think there’s a very reasonable probability that, if you’re under 60 now, you might live to 200 – and who knows what else medicine and engineering can do 140 plus years in the future.
If you can afford it…
Developed nations have pretty huge incentives to keep their population able to pay taxes, so I think this won’t be too expensive. Maybe for the first few years, until the prices will inevitably come down.
I guess working to pay for live saving treatment can be taxed (insulin prices). Not attacking you, but I sure hope you’re right
The USA might be the outlier here, but EU countries or Japan handle healthcare differently.
Progress happens one funeral at a time, and new generations need the space to grow and find themselves without the tutelage or control of the elderly. Even a lifespan of 200 years would be catastrophic socially - and probably physically, too.
It’s been bad enough over the past forty years with leadership failure to move over and allow ideas that are better adapted to the reality of a changing planet. Humans typically gain political and financial power as they age, and this would result in a gerontocracy, as if we don’t effectively have one already.
What a silly take on a very practical medical matter.