Dunno if this belongs in the health forum, but I’m more interested in the implications for lifestyle issues than in discussing the technology itself.
It seems that medical science is striding ahead with all kinds of funky ideas, and I have to ask myself whether I’m really going to die at the same sort of age as my grandparents. If the doctors can keep finding ways to prolong life then how long are we going to live? What quality of life can we look forward to in old age? And how do we pay for all this?
Here’s a couple of interesting stories:
grow new teeh - technology that may be available in as little as five years. ‘print’ new organs - a bit longer to make this one available, but exciting all the same.
And I guess ultimately the question we have to ask is “If it was possible to clone a new young body for you, and transfer ‘you’ into it when you are old and decrepid, would you do it?”
My wife travels to Japan once or twice a year. (She formerly attended college and graduate school there.) There are a lot of Japanese old people, and interestingly enough, they are very much aware of the fact that they outlive their friends and associates who moved to western countries and adopted western lifestyles.
Their suggestions for long life? Eat more fish, vegetables, and seaweed. Take regular hot spring baths. Drink tea. Take long walks.
They will be fighting over my corpse to study to find out how I made it as long as I did.
Smoking and drinking like a true Taiwan expat doesn’t help, but I had a dream about 25 years ago that was one of those sort of seminal dreams where I realized that I would perish at 57.
Fate cannot be tempted.
Of course it is not a serious calculation, but I will be honest that the clock ticking away like that made me realize how much time I was wasting. I think that it is a good way to recognize that times slipping away and we should all make the best of our time here.
Of course it is not a serious calculation, but I will be honest that the clock ticking away like that made me realize how much time I was wasting. I think that it is a good way to recognize that times slipping away and we should all make the best of our time here.[/quote]
I’m scheduled for 2059. Sod that. I’m going for 2100 .
What???[/quote]
Kidney disease. I’ve been having problems (off and on) since 1992-93. They’re failing and that’s one reason I moved here to Bali. A number of people have suggested I go to China for a transplant…but believe it or not, I’m not into mistreating prisoners.
Not interested…time, money, etc. One of my mother’s uncles went through this and I’m not following his footsteps. I’d rather go with a cold Bintang in hand while I’m still goodlooking.
My dad once told me that if he had the choice between dialysis, a transplant, and dying of kidney failure, then he would go for the first option, even though it would mean spending 1-2 hours per week hooked up to a machine.
But KNOWING that you’ve only got 12-16 months. That must be horrible. It suddenly seems like 12 seconds. I’d probably go the coward’s way and get all the treatment I can. Even if that only means I’d be kidding myself. Gasp.
