Cocoon
January 12, 2023 10:56 PM Subscribe
Old mice grow young again in study. Can people do the same? - "In Boston labs, old, blind mice have regained their eyesight, developed smarter, younger brains and built healthier muscle and kidney tissue. On the flip side, young mice have prematurely aged, with devastating results to nearly every tissue in their bodies."
The Doomed Mouse Utopia That Inspired the 'Rats of NIMH' - "Dr. John Bumpass Calhoun spent the '60s and '70s playing god to thousands of rodents."
“We believe it’s a loss of information — a loss in the cell’s ability to read its original DNA so it forgets how to function — in much the same way an old computer may develop corrupted software. I call it the information theory of aging.”
- The Sinclair Lab - "Reprogramming cells to be young again."
- Loss of epigenetic information as a cause of mammalian aging - "By manipulating the epigenome, aging can be driven forward and backward."
- Loss of Epigenetic Information Can Drive Aging, Restoration Can Reverse It - "Study in mice implicates changes to way DNA is organized, regulated rather than changes to genetic code itself."
- Can aging be cured? Scientists are giving it a try [ungated] - "Cutting-edge technologies are revealing the intricacies of human aging and sparking research into drugs to slow it, or even reverse it."
- New research points to a way to reverse aging. But don't expect a miracle drug overnight. [ungated] - "Sinclair and his coauthors acknowledge they don't understand precisely how the gene therapy was able to reset the biological clock in mice, though they believe they activated a kind of 'back-up copy of epigenetic software' that reprogrammed cells."
- Scientists Have Reached a Key Milestone in Learning How to Reverse Aging - "Beyond that, the implications of being able to age and rejuvenate tissues, organs, or even entire animals or people are mind-bending."
- Remarkable science: Why aging might be reversible - "Evolution doesn't care about us as individuals, unfortunately."
The Doomed Mouse Utopia That Inspired the 'Rats of NIMH' - "Dr. John Bumpass Calhoun spent the '60s and '70s playing god to thousands of rodents."
I can think of very few things more destructive than billionaires, but immortal billionaires are definitely one of them.
If I don't manage to outlive fucking Rupert Murdoch I am going to die seriously annoyed.
posted by flabdablet at 11:22 PM on January 12, 2023 [71 favorites]
If I don't manage to outlive fucking Rupert Murdoch I am going to die seriously annoyed.
posted by flabdablet at 11:22 PM on January 12, 2023 [71 favorites]
"... in much the same way an old computer may develop corrupted software. I call it the information theory of aging"
Far be it from me to try and out-science a professor of genetics, but that's not really how a computer - or, more specifically, software - works. Maybe they misquoted and he means hardware? Cause - sure - over time, hardware just goes *kaput*. Dust, bugs, thermal paste fades, etc.
All very fascinating stuff, but I couldn't resist a quick moment of snark.
posted by revmitcz at 11:41 PM on January 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
Far be it from me to try and out-science a professor of genetics, but that's not really how a computer - or, more specifically, software - works. Maybe they misquoted and he means hardware? Cause - sure - over time, hardware just goes *kaput*. Dust, bugs, thermal paste fades, etc.
All very fascinating stuff, but I couldn't resist a quick moment of snark.
posted by revmitcz at 11:41 PM on January 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
re: immortal billionaires -- Contributions to History [CW: LCK (on death)]
posted by kliuless at 11:42 PM on January 12, 2023
posted by kliuless at 11:42 PM on January 12, 2023
Mice just seem so amenable. Starving makes them live longer. Feeding them protein makes them live longer. Messing with their DNA. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that booting them around the lab every day makes them live longer. It never transfers to humans.
My guess is that mammals have several ‘settings’ that determine their lifespan. Mice have all the knobs turned to 1: almost anything might jog one of them up a bit. Humans already have all the dials at 10, we’re already as long-lived as a mammal our size can get.
posted by Phanx at 2:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [13 favorites]
My guess is that mammals have several ‘settings’ that determine their lifespan. Mice have all the knobs turned to 1: almost anything might jog one of them up a bit. Humans already have all the dials at 10, we’re already as long-lived as a mammal our size can get.
posted by Phanx at 2:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [13 favorites]
I did not know Henry Kissinger was a rat!
(Wait yes I did)
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:48 AM on January 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
(Wait yes I did)
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:48 AM on January 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
that's not really how a computer - or, more specifically, software - works. Maybe they misquoted and he means hardware? Cause - sure - over time, hardware just goes *kaput*. Dust, bugs, thermal paste fades, etc.
Software is stored on hardware though, so if e.g. the magnetism on your hard disk platters starts going, you will end up with corrupted software (along with all your other data).
posted by Dysk at 2:49 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Software is stored on hardware though, so if e.g. the magnetism on your hard disk platters starts going, you will end up with corrupted software (along with all your other data).
posted by Dysk at 2:49 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Cocoon is one of those movies you won't find on any streaming services because the license for the soundtrack has, um, expired. Of course, if you can't find a physical copy there arrrrrre other ways.
You can watch a 15 minute synopsis here.
posted by adept256 at 3:55 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
You can watch a 15 minute synopsis here.
posted by adept256 at 3:55 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Phanx - my hope is not that we can significantly increase lifespan, but rather than these sorts of studies can significantly increase healthspan: the timeframe in which you remain healthy, across your life. If you live to 100 but spend the last 25 years in assisted living, unable to do anything and not able to remember your family? Not good, and for a lot of people that’s where we are today. But what if you were able to keep doing everything (or nearly everything) you enjoy, up until the last 2-5 years or so? The burden of aging falls on society and your extended family, as you become less and less able to be self-sufficient, more prone to injury, and less able to heal. Even if all we can do is address that, even by a little, the positive benefits would be literally world-changing.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:19 AM on January 13, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by caution live frogs at 5:19 AM on January 13, 2023 [16 favorites]
If you want to increase the appeal of assassination just ensure that horrible people will never die of natural causes.
Anyway I'm sure this will be great for our species. We're definitely mature enough to deal with the challenges of immortality, yessir.
posted by emjaybee at 5:20 AM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Anyway I'm sure this will be great for our species. We're definitely mature enough to deal with the challenges of immortality, yessir.
posted by emjaybee at 5:20 AM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Phans, there's a plausible theory that the less an animal is like a prey animal, the longer it lives. If you're just going to get eaten, there's no point in having a potential lifespan which will only be lost.
Anti-prey traits include size, flight, poison, armor, and communal living-- they can't all be maximized at the same time. Your theory about settings makes sense.
Meanwhile, if this experiment pans out for humans, I think it's worth looking at the effects at different costs. It sounds like it would only be needed once per decade at the shortest, and it might be more like once per forty years.
The effects if it costs 100 million dollars (I think this is unlikely) are one thing, and quite another if costs 10K or possibly can be automated down to 1K.
I agree that it's a serious problem if there's no inevitable turnover of people at the top.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 5:35 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Anti-prey traits include size, flight, poison, armor, and communal living-- they can't all be maximized at the same time. Your theory about settings makes sense.
Meanwhile, if this experiment pans out for humans, I think it's worth looking at the effects at different costs. It sounds like it would only be needed once per decade at the shortest, and it might be more like once per forty years.
The effects if it costs 100 million dollars (I think this is unlikely) are one thing, and quite another if costs 10K or possibly can be automated down to 1K.
I agree that it's a serious problem if there's no inevitable turnover of people at the top.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 5:35 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
i'm excited by the idea that these advances mean i can't retire until i'm 150
posted by mittens at 5:38 AM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by mittens at 5:38 AM on January 13, 2023 [14 favorites]
If you want to increase the appeal of assassination just ensure that horrible people will never die of natural causes.
Their potential heirs might help take care of that!
posted by trig at 5:40 AM on January 13, 2023
Their potential heirs might help take care of that!
posted by trig at 5:40 AM on January 13, 2023
i'm excited by the idea that these advances mean i can't retire until i'm 150.
Welcome to MetaFilter, Senator Feinstein.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:47 AM on January 13, 2023 [22 favorites]
Welcome to MetaFilter, Senator Feinstein.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:47 AM on January 13, 2023 [22 favorites]
Well, until we are all juiced up to live forever, can we in the US please at least reduce the Medicare age to 60? Some of us are already starting to wear out.
posted by darkstar at 6:02 AM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by darkstar at 6:02 AM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
Can Blood Transfusions Reverse Aging?
Why Do People Fall For Things That Don't Work?
MedLife Crisis
Dr. Rohin Francis is on the faculty at Essex in the UK and takes a critical look at many claims in the anti-aging medical field. The first link treats the mouse experiment Sinclair mentions, and the second link is a very deep dive into medical bias and drawbacks common to practitioners in the field. He's very good a parsing clinical trials. He also examines the Wim Hof method and other treatments on his YouTube channel.
posted by effluvia at 6:57 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Why Do People Fall For Things That Don't Work?
MedLife Crisis
Dr. Rohin Francis is on the faculty at Essex in the UK and takes a critical look at many claims in the anti-aging medical field. The first link treats the mouse experiment Sinclair mentions, and the second link is a very deep dive into medical bias and drawbacks common to practitioners in the field. He's very good a parsing clinical trials. He also examines the Wim Hof method and other treatments on his YouTube channel.
posted by effluvia at 6:57 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Today we're burying my mother-in-law, who had advanced Parkinson's. The article's description of rejuvenating the retinal ganglion of the blind mice gives me hope for a cure for people with Parkinson's in the future. Parkinson's is basically the atrophy of the part of the brain that produces a chemical that is used for voluntary movement, as I understand it. If a few stem cells can be injected and turned on to regrow that bit of brain matter, problem solved. It should be doable!
Regarding "Rats of NIMH," reading this post which quotes Alex Jones going on and on with his fantasies about eating his neighbors made me think of the NIMH study of Universe 25, where the thriving rats divided into the Cannibals, Amazons, Pretty Ones, Hikikomori, Thugs, etc. Maybe Jones thrived a bit too much for a while.
posted by jabah at 7:03 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Regarding "Rats of NIMH," reading this post which quotes Alex Jones going on and on with his fantasies about eating his neighbors made me think of the NIMH study of Universe 25, where the thriving rats divided into the Cannibals, Amazons, Pretty Ones, Hikikomori, Thugs, etc. Maybe Jones thrived a bit too much for a while.
posted by jabah at 7:03 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
but that's not really how a computer - or, more specifically, software - works.
Software *systems* do change over time, even if your hardware is 100% reliable. Windows modifies itself every time you install something. Over time little problems accumulate - a missing file is still referenced somewhere it shouldn't be, or a file still exists but isn't referenced. These small issues can eventually cause noticeable problems. A reinstall can fix that.
Or consider a long running program. at the start, if you're lucky, all memory was initialized to a known good value, and you have no memory leaks, no file handle leaks, no bad pointers. But over time you will eventually get some weird input that causes something to get out of whack, which impacts something else, and soon you have buggy behavior that a simple restart will fix.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 7:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Software *systems* do change over time, even if your hardware is 100% reliable. Windows modifies itself every time you install something. Over time little problems accumulate - a missing file is still referenced somewhere it shouldn't be, or a file still exists but isn't referenced. These small issues can eventually cause noticeable problems. A reinstall can fix that.
Or consider a long running program. at the start, if you're lucky, all memory was initialized to a known good value, and you have no memory leaks, no file handle leaks, no bad pointers. But over time you will eventually get some weird input that causes something to get out of whack, which impacts something else, and soon you have buggy behavior that a simple restart will fix.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 7:10 AM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
When it comes to a restart, we've gotten pretty good at the 'turn it off' part for people, but the 'and on again' has only succeeded once, and that only apocryphally a bit over 2000 years ago.
Resuscitation is more like a warm reboot, where you don't shut the whole thing down completely but leave some bits still running, so it's not an entirely clean slate.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 7:24 AM on January 13, 2023
Resuscitation is more like a warm reboot, where you don't shut the whole thing down completely but leave some bits still running, so it's not an entirely clean slate.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 7:24 AM on January 13, 2023
I have not looked at any of TFAs yet, but came here to say "Effective anti-aging therapy in today's world is a recipe for the end of all hope." The only people who would get it are the people who already own almost everything, and by the time they'd had it for a hundred years, they would own everything and everybody, with no possibility having it taken away (except by a more predatory member of their own order).
On the way I noticed @revmitcz saying
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:34 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
On the way I noticed @revmitcz saying
Far be it from me to try and out-science a professor of genetics, but that's not really how a computer - or, more specifically, software - works.Don't think about what happens when a computer first boots up. Think about the state of the internal system data structures after say 10,000 hours of uptime. Extended uptime bugs are a well-known thing. People don't reboot.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 8:34 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh I see, so if we can find the component of the McAfee gene which makes it immortal, perhaps we can imbue other genes with that property.
posted by adept256 at 8:35 AM on January 13, 2023
posted by adept256 at 8:35 AM on January 13, 2023
I can think of very few things more destructive than billionaires, but immortal billionaires are definitely one of them.
To this end, Zardoz your god gave you the gift of the gun. The gun is good.
posted by gwint at 8:56 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
To this end, Zardoz your god gave you the gift of the gun. The gun is good.
posted by gwint at 8:56 AM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, until we are all juiced up to live forever, can we in the US please at least reduce the Medicare age to 60?
Or you know, zero like any other wealthy country.
posted by Mitheral at 9:27 AM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
Or you know, zero like any other wealthy country.
posted by Mitheral at 9:27 AM on January 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
I guess I'll be ok with turning into a young mouse. I was kinda hoping for more from Science, though.
posted by Chitownfats at 9:30 AM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 9:30 AM on January 13, 2023 [15 favorites]
If I don't manage to outlive fucking Rupert Murdoch I am going to die seriously annoyed.
Frankly, I'm going to be seriously annoyed about dying regardless of who else is or isn't dead at the time.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:48 AM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Frankly, I'm going to be seriously annoyed about dying regardless of who else is or isn't dead at the time.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:48 AM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
jabah, I'm so sorry for your loss.
I'm not afraid of dying nearly as much as I am of living too long to function. If they can find a way to prolong memory, vision, hearing, and muscle strength, that would be far more valuable than prolonging longevity, in my opinion.
posted by Mchelly at 10:32 AM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm not afraid of dying nearly as much as I am of living too long to function. If they can find a way to prolong memory, vision, hearing, and muscle strength, that would be far more valuable than prolonging longevity, in my opinion.
posted by Mchelly at 10:32 AM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Great, so scientists have figured out how to turn old mice into young mice. Big deal.
What I what to know is when they'll be able to turn old men into young mice.
posted by mikeand1 at 10:42 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
What I what to know is when they'll be able to turn old men into young mice.
posted by mikeand1 at 10:42 AM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
size, flight, poison, armor, and communal living-- they can't all be maximized at the same time
Not with that attitude, they can't!
posted by praemunire at 11:02 AM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Not with that attitude, they can't!
posted by praemunire at 11:02 AM on January 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Dr Strauss said dont be so superstishus Charlie. This is sience. I dont no what sience is but they all keep saying it so mabye its something that helps you have good luk. Anyway Im keeping my rabits foot in one hand and my luky penny in the other hand with the hole in it. The penny I meen. I wish I coud take the horshoe with me to but its hevy so I'll just leeve it in my jaket.
posted by exlotuseater at 11:50 AM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by exlotuseater at 11:50 AM on January 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
Why wait, pre-empt the gajillionaire-anecrocracy now! Tests (in mice) suggest the effectiveness of pitchforks and torches to reverse the effects.
On a more serious note: bored and terminally out of touch immortal billionaires with semi-autonomous intelligent machines using generations of poor humans as toys in a world whose habitable zones are shrinking and well... congratulations science, you did it, you saved the village by destroying it.
posted by anecdotal_grand_theory at 12:04 PM on January 13, 2023
On a more serious note: bored and terminally out of touch immortal billionaires with semi-autonomous intelligent machines using generations of poor humans as toys in a world whose habitable zones are shrinking and well... congratulations science, you did it, you saved the village by destroying it.
posted by anecdotal_grand_theory at 12:04 PM on January 13, 2023
Just a quick note that aging and longevity aren't necessarily the same thing.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:04 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:04 PM on January 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Dysk "so if e.g. the magnetism on your hard disk platters starts going, you will end up with corrupted software (along with all your other data)."
That's exceedingly apt based on the conjecture that loss of epigenetic modifications promotes aging. They're, like, functional physical *apostrophes that tag certain positions of the chromosome. These are physical tags and can be involved in changing the organization of DNA chromosomes - which one could considerconceptually as balls of yarn.
A gene needs to be exposed in order to be transcribed (read, get turned into a protein). If young chromosomes are well "balled up" and organized so that all the genes that that cell needs to express are available (or can be easily made temporarily available/ unavailable). In older chromosomes, loss or rearrangement of the epigenetic modifications caused the yarn ball to tangle up and genes that the cell needs isn't exposed at the appropriate times (like, when they're needed) and other genes are exposed that can accidentally get expressed, etc.
So in the HDD analogy, the transistors or magnetic domains (or whatever) that handle the MBR/ GPT gets physically corrupted, the software can't fully execute without errors and timeouts because those some bits are no longer available as expected.
But, that's probably not what the genetics prof understands.
posted by porpoise at 3:08 PM on January 13, 2023
That's exceedingly apt based on the conjecture that loss of epigenetic modifications promotes aging. They're, like, functional physical *apostrophes that tag certain positions of the chromosome. These are physical tags and can be involved in changing the organization of DNA chromosomes - which one could considerconceptually as balls of yarn.
A gene needs to be exposed in order to be transcribed (read, get turned into a protein). If young chromosomes are well "balled up" and organized so that all the genes that that cell needs to express are available (or can be easily made temporarily available/ unavailable). In older chromosomes, loss or rearrangement of the epigenetic modifications caused the yarn ball to tangle up and genes that the cell needs isn't exposed at the appropriate times (like, when they're needed) and other genes are exposed that can accidentally get expressed, etc.
So in the HDD analogy, the transistors or magnetic domains (or whatever) that handle the MBR/ GPT gets physically corrupted, the software can't fully execute without errors and timeouts because those some bits are no longer available as expected.
But, that's probably not what the genetics prof understands.
posted by porpoise at 3:08 PM on January 13, 2023
If Rupert Murdoch is immortal and still around when I'm old and about to kick the bucket, I'll take him with me
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:32 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:32 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I almost said "I hope that happens sooner rather than later"; but instead I'll hope somebody much older than you takes on that task.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:23 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:23 PM on January 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
"I can think of very few things more destructive than billionaires, but immortal billionaires are definitely one of them."
Soooo Altered Carbon, then.
posted by bitterkitten at 6:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Soooo Altered Carbon, then.
posted by bitterkitten at 6:41 PM on January 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well, until we are all juiced up to live forever, can we in the US please at least reduce the Medicare age to 60?
Or you know, zero like any other wealthy country.
Sure, but I’ve been hoping and voting for that for decades and it doesn’t seem to be any closer to reality. I’ll take whatever I can get, at this point.
posted by darkstar at 8:02 PM on January 13, 2023
Or you know, zero like any other wealthy country.
Sure, but I’ve been hoping and voting for that for decades and it doesn’t seem to be any closer to reality. I’ll take whatever I can get, at this point.
posted by darkstar at 8:02 PM on January 13, 2023
Once again I opine — I just don’t understand the desire to live forever. Or even live to be 100. Make the most of the time you have while you still have it.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on January 14, 2023
posted by Thorzdad at 4:29 AM on January 14, 2023
I'd guess a lot of us don't want to live longer than our normal life span, just avoid the worst effects of aging (infirmity, senility, etc.) as we get older so that we can "make the most" of our remaining time.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:02 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:02 AM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Make the most of the time you have while you still have it
People have been telling me my whole life that I'm not living up to my potential, and I cannot think of one single good reason to start doing so at this age.
I'm going to be seriously annoyed about dying regardless of who else is or isn't dead at the time
My own plan is to arrange for my last conscious emotional state to be ecstasy rather than irritation.
The look on my mother's face right after she died was one of mild astonishment. I hope to do at least as well as that.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
People have been telling me my whole life that I'm not living up to my potential, and I cannot think of one single good reason to start doing so at this age.
I'm going to be seriously annoyed about dying regardless of who else is or isn't dead at the time
My own plan is to arrange for my last conscious emotional state to be ecstasy rather than irritation.
The look on my mother's face right after she died was one of mild astonishment. I hope to do at least as well as that.
posted by flabdablet at 10:50 AM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
My own plan is to arrange for my last conscious emotional state to be ecstasy rather than irritation.
Well sure, but that's harder to make a smartass quip out of...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:06 AM on January 14, 2023
Well sure, but that's harder to make a smartass quip out of...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:06 AM on January 14, 2023
I'm sure you could do better if you applied yourself.
posted by flabdablet at 12:26 PM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 12:26 PM on January 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
No thanks - I wouldn't want my epitaph to be "He died of hard work".
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:57 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:57 PM on January 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Sorry, Metafilter, but death is terrifying and I'd like to be immortal.
posted by pelvicsorcery at 8:09 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by pelvicsorcery at 8:09 AM on January 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
death is terrifying
How so?
Is it the straight-up ceasing to exist thing, or the potentially messy and painful nature of some of the processes by which some people achieve that, or the prospect of an afterlife that's in some way unsatisfactory, or what?
I have no problem at all with the ceasing to exist part, and have never found reason to assume that an afterlife is a thing so that doesn't bother me either. But I'd obviously prefer a peaceful death to one of the more distracting kinds.
posted by flabdablet at 11:27 AM on January 15, 2023
How so?
Is it the straight-up ceasing to exist thing, or the potentially messy and painful nature of some of the processes by which some people achieve that, or the prospect of an afterlife that's in some way unsatisfactory, or what?
I have no problem at all with the ceasing to exist part, and have never found reason to assume that an afterlife is a thing so that doesn't bother me either. But I'd obviously prefer a peaceful death to one of the more distracting kinds.
posted by flabdablet at 11:27 AM on January 15, 2023
This means that eventually I'll have enough time to read Finnegan's Wake.
posted by storybored at 10:47 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by storybored at 10:47 AM on January 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
eponysterical (or maybe just for me?)!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:41 AM on January 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 9:41 AM on January 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
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On the same theme I thought "We're Shockingly Close To A Cure For Aging" from Jo Scott - this talks about the same concept mentioned in some of the above links: that ageing may actually be a disease which could therefore be cured.
posted by rongorongo at 11:16 PM on January 12, 2023