3 ms·

For example, polio was cured less than 60 years ago. We know much more about the effects of radiation (sunscreen, anyone?) than we did 40 years ago. Genome sequ

For example, polio was cured less than 60 years ago. We know much more about the effects of radiation (sunscreen, anyone?) than we did 40 years ago. Genome sequencing is becoming slightly more affordable (than even 10 years ago) due to tech advances; we can predict hereditary disease in some instances (BRCA mutations, etc). Steve Jobs is actually a terrible example. To quote wikipedia, "Despite his diagnosis, Jobs resisted his doctors' recommendations for medical intervention for nine months,[170] instead consuming a psuedo-medicine diet in an attempt to thwart the disease." Pseudo is Greek for "false." And if you want cancer solved by the time you get it, you probably have to pony up the money before your diagnosis. I'm not disagreeing that medical advances are relatively slow, but on the scale of human life, Page has probably at least another 40 years of advances left to see. And that's a lot.

melling 13y ago
Great, you pulled out one disease in the past 60 years. Really slow progress. In the next 40, we should see a few more advances, but if we really want to move the needle, we need to be more aggressive. 9 months is not much time. If Steve were just an average person, his condition probably wouldn't have been discovered as early as it was. He simply squandered the little extra time that he had. There's no guarantee that he it wouldn't have killed him in the long run even if he had gone under the knife earlier. Pancreatic cancer, in general, is pretty deadly: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/detailedguide/pancreatic-cancer-survival-rates http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/detailedguide/... Randy Pausch had pancreatic cancer and died at 47: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch Sure, it's great that we can predict with a higher accuracy what diseases we might get. Now it would probably be helpful if we could cure most of them.

melling 13y ago

Great, you pulled out one disease in the past 60 years. Really slow progress. In the next 40, we should see a few more advances, but if we really want to move the needle, we need to be more aggressive. 9 months is not much time. If Steve were just an average person, his condition probably wouldn't have been discovered as early as it was. He simply squandered the little extra time that he had. There's no guarantee that he it wouldn't have killed him in the long run even if he had gone under the knife earlier. Pancreatic cancer, in general, is pretty deadly: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/detailedguide/pancreatic-cancer-survival-rates http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/detailedguide/... Randy Pausch had pancreatic cancer and died at 47: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch Sure, it's great that we can predict with a higher accuracy what diseases we might get. Now it would probably be helpful if we could cure most of them.