3 ms·

A massive amount of longevity research is crowdfunded by a small community of longevity enthusiasts. Lifespan.io and SENS are both crowdfunded. Unfortunately,

A massive amount of longevity research is crowdfunded by a small community of longevity enthusiasts. Lifespan.io and SENS are both crowdfunded. Unfortunately, death is a difficult topic for people to discuss and think about. It is mental hazard that induces existential dread, so it is very difficult to hold anyone's attention long enough to garner support for longevity initiatives. People convince themselves that death is in some indefinite future, and that they are okay with dying, but on the deathbed that fear and horror of the eternal void is always there. But if offered on their deathbed to give up everything they have for a chance to live longer, most people would take it at that moment without hesitation. However, we are immature beings, without a propensity for long-term planning, so most people neither donate nor advocate for longevity research. I think massive strides in longevity are possible today with enough research. The problem is funding. The problem is garnering social support. We spent trillions of dollars fighting COVID, which will affect a select few, but we cannot spend a minuscule fraction of that on aging, which has the same end result, but for everyone. It's shortsighted and sad.

phtrivier 5y ago
I suspect you might be reading a little bit too much into people's skepticism about anti aging research. Sure, death and aging are hard topics. But not having any more data about what funding bodies have to say, I would go for the sad and simpler explanation : all proposed "cure for aging" in the history of mandkind have turned out to be ineffective (either disappointing or scams) (Whereas "cure for fatal disease" have kind of a track record.) This, I believe, will end the day we have a tech that's "promising enough", but "enough" will be hard to reach. I don't find it unfair to have a higher bar to clear for "elixir of youth" than for "covid-19 vaccine".
- xvector 5y ago
  I would agree with you on the cause of skepticism, for one caveat - there is no substantial public funding whatsoever when it comes to anti-aging research. This shows that people are more content with ignoring the horror of death than actually trying to fix it. It's one thing to not fund an organization you've never heard of, that is making claims you're unsure of. It's another thing to not even try to solve a pressing problem with public funding and/or initiatives. Clearly, people find death problematic, given the lengths we go to avoid it when it comes within striking distance. We moved the world to deal with the imminent threat of COVID. But when death is not near us, we tend not to think about it at all - we actively avoid thinking about it, even. I think future historians will find this general shortsighted behavior quite interesting - how can a species that so profoundly fears death collectively ignore the issue of aging so as to not even dedicate a noticeable fraction of money, time, and effort into solving aging?
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  In all likelihood, the first products of the longevity research will not "cure aging", but reset the internal clock of the body slightly back. For example, five years. That would still be a major boost to health of said individual. Most of such improvements will probably be invisible. If they manage to reduce skin age, too, they will wallow in money.
  - phtrivier 5y ago
    Your last line made me wonder if there is any serious R&D in the cosmetics industry (or if all money goes to hiring better-looking celebrities to advertise products that do the same nothing as they have done in the past - which sounds like a much saner business plan than "actually trying to fix aging").
    - inglor_cz 5y ago
      This is what I know of: https://www.oneskin.co/ https://www.oneskin.co/
KirillPanov 5y ago
> It is mental hazard that induces existential dread No, some of us simply conclude that anything beyond the usual exercise, eat healthy, etc has negative payoff. In other words: devoting oneself to a lifelong quest for longevity can be expected to consume far more years of life than it will add. And those years consumed will be younger, healthier, more alert years than any to be gained.

phtrivier 5y ago

I suspect you might be reading a little bit too much into people's skepticism about anti aging research. Sure, death and aging are hard topics. But not having any more data about what funding bodies have to say, I would go for the sad and simpler explanation : all proposed "cure for aging" in the history of mandkind have turned out to be ineffective (either disappointing or scams) (Whereas "cure for fatal disease" have kind of a track record.) This, I believe, will end the day we have a tech that's "promising enough", but "enough" will be hard to reach. I don't find it unfair to have a higher bar to clear for "elixir of youth" than for "covid-19 vaccine".

xvector 5y ago
I would agree with you on the cause of skepticism, for one caveat - there is no substantial public funding whatsoever when it comes to anti-aging research. This shows that people are more content with ignoring the horror of death than actually trying to fix it. It's one thing to not fund an organization you've never heard of, that is making claims you're unsure of. It's another thing to not even try to solve a pressing problem with public funding and/or initiatives. Clearly, people find death problematic, given the lengths we go to avoid it when it comes within striking distance. We moved the world to deal with the imminent threat of COVID. But when death is not near us, we tend not to think about it at all - we actively avoid thinking about it, even. I think future historians will find this general shortsighted behavior quite interesting - how can a species that so profoundly fears death collectively ignore the issue of aging so as to not even dedicate a noticeable fraction of money, time, and effort into solving aging?
inglor_cz 5y ago
In all likelihood, the first products of the longevity research will not "cure aging", but reset the internal clock of the body slightly back. For example, five years. That would still be a major boost to health of said individual. Most of such improvements will probably be invisible. If they manage to reduce skin age, too, they will wallow in money.
- phtrivier 5y ago
  Your last line made me wonder if there is any serious R&D in the cosmetics industry (or if all money goes to hiring better-looking celebrities to advertise products that do the same nothing as they have done in the past - which sounds like a much saner business plan than "actually trying to fix aging").
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    This is what I know of: https://www.oneskin.co/ https://www.oneskin.co/

KirillPanov 5y ago

> It is mental hazard that induces existential dread No, some of us simply conclude that anything beyond the usual exercise, eat healthy, etc has negative payoff. In other words: devoting oneself to a lifelong quest for longevity can be expected to consume far more years of life than it will add. And those years consumed will be younger, healthier, more alert years than any to be gained.