3 Minute Intro to Longevity

Gabriel -

This is a fast-paced field and even highly educated people get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information.

So here's the quick easy-to-digest intro to longevity that I would've wanted for myself a couple of months ago. No PhD required.

Reversing Aging

First things first: Aging is a Disease. But don't worry. We'll be able to cure it soon enough. How soon?

Well, according to top longevity expert Aubrey De Grey, there's a 50% chance we'll hit escape velocity by 2036.

This means, in less than two decades, we might already be at the point where aging will be a thing of the past.

Now, this is obviously an optimistic outlook, but a few things are worth noting regardless of whether your reaction to this is excitement or 'no way'.

• Aubrey's view of aging being a solvable problem almost like a math problem
• It's not if, but when we solve aging. Since this is time-sensitive, the sooner the better
• There are no zero sum games - all outcomes are better than the status quo

Let's look at a couple of potential outcomes.

WORST CASE
• Able to successfully treat most common cancers
• Detect cardiovascular diseases earlier
• Reduce lifestyle risk for strokes enormously

Now, those three bullet points also happen to be the major causes of death in the West.
It's fair to say that the worst case scenario alone will lead to an increased healthspan for many.

BEST CASE
• Able to cure all cancers for good
• Cure Alzheimer's and Dementia - fully alert even in old age
• Custom Organ printing - replace broken parts when needed
• Live to 150+

Man, I'm getting excited writing this. The sky is the limit in this scenario.
These measures could either add another couple of healthy decades to your life or, if you're still young in 2021, they could potentially enable you to live to 200.

Of course, the realistic case is somewhere in between. But even if we "only" increased average lifespan by 10-20 years, that would be huge.

Ultimately, the more people get into the space, the more funding will be available, the more research will be done and the faster we'll all defy aging.

Where Do You Go From Here? Next steps

• Longevity FAQs by Laura Deming  and José Luis Ricón
• Ending Aging by Aubrey De Gray
• Lifespan by David Sinclair

Also be sure to follow me on Twitter as I regularly post about this myself.

(Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash)