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Comment by switchbak | Hacker News Reader

The people in this space talk a lot about not just life span, but health span. I don't know anyone who wants to suffer for a long time, of course we'd want to live well.

I know for myself, I'd love to be around to watch my kids grow up. Even better if I can do that while being old-man jacked and physically capable enough to still enjoy life. I don't think this has to mean that you're putting off enjoying life in the current moment though.

It seems like a funny question to ask who's "interested in living longer"? Taken to an extreme that's a pretty depression question.

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Survival instinct is deeply hard wired into all animals, including humans. It's natural to want to continue living.

Anti-aging is picking up now because there's a growing belief that significantly extending the healthy human lifespan is within scientific/technological reach.

> Survival instinct is deeply hard wired into all animals, including humans.

Survive and reproduce...

So if/when one has the reproduction bit out that of the way, the survival bit as such may not seem to be quite as vital.

You know your genes are going to survive, meaning you don't personally have to. Which is the whole point of evolution, right?

"Which is the whole point of evolution, right?"

Pretty much the entire point of civilization is not to be at the mercy of natural forces, including evolution.

> Pretty much the entire point of civilization is not to be at the mercy of natural forces, including evolution

The parent to my comment did bring up "survival instinct" (!)

Sex, hunger, sleep are all instincts, but civilization tries to make their satisfaction nicer, safer, cheaper, more reliable.

I don't know that we have evidence that survival instinct goes away after reproduction. It's still valuable to our species to survive after reproduction in order to protect and nurture offspring, for example.

There's no evolutionary reason that survival instinct would turn off after a certain age.

> There's no evolutionary reason that survival instinct would turn off after a certain age

Umm, without wishing to get too clinical or morbid, it's clear that once your offspring have reached adulthood there will always come a point beyond which you rely on them more than they rely on you, right?

Evolution is not a motivational poster or a speech from your therapist. It's just the outcome of a physical and biological process. It just is.

I personally would prefer to survive longer. If you don't, that's your business.

> I personally would prefer to survive longer. If you don't, that's your business.

Ideally I'd die in my sleep 75-80 +/- a few years having seen some grandkids. Doing daft stuff now to push that number further out just seems pointless.

The next generations will have enough problems to deal with without having one more cranky 90+ year-old constantly popping pills claiming he can live forever.

And voting.

I'd trade length of lifespan for quality in a heartbeat. Getting old is not very pleasant. I'm already starting to feel the creaks and decline merely in my mid 40. I'd love to have more time now but do have to work and when/if I will be able to retire I will be too worn out and lacking the desire to do the things I'd do know with that time. I'd be content to live healthily till say 65-70. My mom who is at that age is saying that she used to say the same thing when she was young but she no longer things like that. I guess we all do have some survival instinct kicking in no matter what we rationalize prior.

Why does quality and lifespan have to be a dichotomy? In fact the more I think about it, living a quality lifestyle often leads to longer life (eating healthy, keeping fit, having meaningful friendships).

Both my wife and I have signed the papers to decline extended life in a vegetative state and have confirmed our desires with our kids.

The aging process will have the final word, but it’s a process. Nobody is healthy one day and in vegetative state the next.

It’s a good idea to live a healthy life, but you are merely shifting the odds. Many a health nut has hit 60 and found themselves with new problems every year, and each one is a small thing, but it adds up.

I'm 67, and I'm sure as hell not ready to go yet. Of course, anybody could go at any time, so live while you can!

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