> Basically, the only people that buy the whole load of nonsense are folks that desperately want to live forever
How about people who just don't think getting sick and frail looks like fun? People who don't want to lose loved ones, who think that 100-200k people dying each day is a tragedy, and who think that we and future generations should have a choice on the matter (you can refuse any therapies that are developed if you want, but shouldn't make the choice for others).
I bet you're not against finding a cure for cancer or malaria. Why would you think it's ridiculous to try to find a cure for the diseases of aging?
I'm not against it, I just find his predictions to be so optimistic as to be unrealistic.
Cancer is, effectively, a form of aging, which is why it's so damn hard to cure. Fortunately, it's what happens when one cell breaks down. Most other aging happens to all your cells, all at once.
De Grey's research is aimed at preventing cancer, not curing it. De Grey names his efforts "engineered negligible senescence". Senescence means the increase in your probability of developing a deadly disease within the next N years as you grow older. The probability of developing most cancers increases rapidly with age. The aim is to prevent that increase.
How about people who just don't think getting sick and frail looks like fun? People who don't want to lose loved ones, who think that 100-200k people dying each day is a tragedy, and who think that we and future generations should have a choice on the matter (you can refuse any therapies that are developed if you want, but shouldn't make the choice for others).
I bet you're not against finding a cure for cancer or malaria. Why would you think it's ridiculous to try to find a cure for the diseases of aging?