3 ms·

Not totally true. There's a whole suite of social problems stemming from having a large elderly population in poor health. Insufficient pensions, how to pay for

Not totally true. There's a whole suite of social problems stemming from having a large elderly population in poor health. Insufficient pensions, how to pay for healthcare, staffing in caring professions. If 'studying the science of ageing' translates into 'keep older people healthier for longer', then those problems may be mitigated somewhat. Also, scientific advances can make treaments cheaper. E.g. modifying bacteria to produce insulin is cheaper than extracting it from pigs.

nicoburns 6y ago
True, but an ageing cure is also likely to cause a lot of problem around overpopulation.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  My worst expectation is actually people in lifetime offices (e.g. judges) sticking there much longer than today. A SCOTUS formed entirely of centenarians - what could go wrong?
  - esperent 6y ago
    Lifetime appointments are already a dumb idea. The obvious solution is term limits of ten years or so.
lm28469 6y ago
> 'keep older people healthier for longer', then those problems may be mitigated somewhat. Do you want to work until your very last breath ? Because this is where we're heading. This is exactly the kind of problem I'm concerned about when people start talking about "curing age". https://www.liveinhomecare.com/elderly-in-japan-are-wearing-exoskeletons-to-keep-working-past-retirement-age/information/ https://www.liveinhomecare.com/elderly-in-japan-are-wearing-... > Also, scientific advances can make treaments cheaper. E.g. modifying bacteria to produce insulin is cheaper than extracting it from pigs. Yes, but again, scientific advances without societal advances = doom. Look at the price of insulin in the US, it's the living proof health is much more complex than "X = Y, hence Z will be cheaper and everyone will live happily ever after" https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1431F/production/_105991728_optimised-insulin_1-nc.png https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1431F/production...
- melling 6y ago
  I wouldn’t mind working until the end if it was on something interesting. How about we all end up as scientists who work on discovery?
  - lm28469 6y ago
    Let's keep it real. With automation we should already work less and retire earlier, which was promised by 70s/80s politicians, it's not the case, at all. Working hours and retirement age are going up virtually everywhere, making us live longer won't change any of that in a good way

nicoburns 6y ago

True, but an ageing cure is also likely to cause a lot of problem around overpopulation.

inglor_cz 6y ago
My worst expectation is actually people in lifetime offices (e.g. judges) sticking there much longer than today. A SCOTUS formed entirely of centenarians - what could go wrong?
- esperent 6y ago
  Lifetime appointments are already a dumb idea. The obvious solution is term limits of ten years or so.

lm28469 6y ago

> 'keep older people healthier for longer', then those problems may be mitigated somewhat. Do you want to work until your very last breath ? Because this is where we're heading. This is exactly the kind of problem I'm concerned about when people start talking about "curing age". https://www.liveinhomecare.com/elderly-in-japan-are-wearing-exoskeletons-to-keep-working-past-retirement-age/information/ https://www.liveinhomecare.com/elderly-in-japan-are-wearing-... > Also, scientific advances can make treaments cheaper. E.g. modifying bacteria to produce insulin is cheaper than extracting it from pigs. Yes, but again, scientific advances without societal advances = doom. Look at the price of insulin in the US, it's the living proof health is much more complex than "X = Y, hence Z will be cheaper and everyone will live happily ever after" https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1431F/production/_105991728_optimised-insulin_1-nc.png https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1431F/production...

melling 6y ago
I wouldn’t mind working until the end if it was on something interesting. How about we all end up as scientists who work on discovery?
- lm28469 6y ago
  Let's keep it real. With automation we should already work less and retire earlier, which was promised by 70s/80s politicians, it's not the case, at all. Working hours and retirement age are going up virtually everywhere, making us live longer won't change any of that in a good way