Comment by maerF0x0 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by maerF0x0 | Hacker News Reader

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I'm frequently frustrated by journalism on these topics which show their ignorance or just "not getting it". It's important to focus not just on lifespan, but healthspan.

Even if I do not live a single year longer, improving the quality of those years is of value to me. There might even be some calculus underwhich its actually desirable to live a _shorter_ life but with far higher quality. Right now it sounds appealing to me if someone said "You'll only live to 85" (about a 2 year expected loss), "but you'll have the health of a 18-25 year old male for the entire time" ...

And if it does enable longevity... Society has a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of ripple challenges to effect. Things like what happens when someone who looks 25 is actually 55? Who should they socially acceptably date? (~25 year olds? ~55 year olds who look 25? ~55 year olds who look 55?)

What happens when your voter base has internalized values from far in the past? If we make someone live to 120, then we need to contend with values lasting for ~120 years, rather than dying off and being refreshed sooner.

>Things like what happens when someone who looks 25 is actually 55? Who should they date?

Genuinely, who cares about sci-fi questions like this?

Why aren't you worrying about how fairly matching four-armed martial artists against two armed? Answer: because it's so unlikely to happen, it's not worth it. We're not getting 55 year olds with the body of a 25 year old, we're getting slim 55 year olds wearing make up and taking TRT. That's not youth! It's a dumb facsimile.

> Things like what happens when someone who looks 25 is actually 55? Who should they socially acceptably date?

I don't know man. There are already plenty of 55 year olds dating 25 year olds right now regardless of looks. Also, not as extreme, but looking like you're in your 30s throughout most of your later adult life is not that uncommon nor difficult. Barring any health issues, that's where most people's looks stabilize.

I often ignore Peter Attia these days (just like I also ignore Huberman), but I was listening to a fascinating pod he posted with two head/neck plastic surgeons who do both reconstructive & aesthetic procedures. It was the first time he's ever plainly admitted he knows not only far less than his guests about the subject, but also probably far less than the general public. For that reason alone, it was better than most of his pods.

One point stood out, though, when they started talking about evolutionary roots of things like facial fat pad thinning with age. That was this: historically, it was never important for humans to live beyond middle age because as soon as it stopped being possible to procreate, the job was done. With advances in technology having unlocked new methods of food production & preparation, safer shelters, better healthcare and more sophisticated information storing, retrieval and sharing, people are living far beyond their fertile years now, and this extension of both healthspan & lifespan is impacting how people are considering their approaches to healthcare (and crucially, lifestyle).

There is a strong correlation between living longer and being healthier. So going for one you pretty much get the other for free.

But "we can give you a 10% chance of living an extra 3-5 years" is possible. "We can make you feel and perform like a 25 year-old into your 80s" is not possible.

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