More Thoughts on Priorities
From In Search of Enlightenment, more to go along with a recent Fight Aging! post on misplaced priorities: "Of all the incredible things that humans have accomplished, our ability to think rationally and consistently about an uncertain and unpredictable long-term future is not one of our strongest attributes. For the vast majority of human history we had a short life expectancy (under 30 years) and thus the cognitive capacities we have inherited from our Darwinian past reflect the reality that, historically, it was much more important to think clearly about short-term goals (like finding food and a mate) than the complex long-term goals facing societies in the 21st century. ... When I reflect upon the issues of what constitutes a harm for humans (as both individuals and collectively as a society), and what it may be possible to do this century if we invest in certain areas of knowledge and innovation, one particular issue stands out far above the rest - global aging. ... these harms are a 100% certainty if we do not modify the aging process. We don't need computer models to accurately predict that middle aged people today will age and become frail." Yet comparatively little attention is given to the rapidly evolving science of aging and enhanced longevity - so there is comparatively little done.
Link: http://colinfarrelly.blogspot.com/2009/09/folly-of-our-times-part-two.html