The Actuaries Know
(From the Times Online). Of all the people in the world, actuaries have the greatest immediate financial incentive to truly understand the likely future progression of healthy life extension medicine. Vast sums are at stake, which is why archly conservative actuarial culture is actually not too far behind the leading edge of mainstream science in terms of futurism. "For more than 80 years the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) has supplied mortality tables that showed how lifespans were lengthening and how they might continue to improve. Yesterday, the CMI acknowledged after the release of its latest set of tables that there was so much room for error it was no longer sensible to offer a single set of predictions. It said that projections of future mortality had not been done with the latest tables 'because of the uncertainty surrounding future improvements.'" Recent actuarial conference presentations make for interesting reading.
Link: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-2297057,00.html