Why Programmed Aging is an Attractive Idea

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I noticed a post yesterday discussing a comparatively recent theory of programmed aging (which you may recall was mentioned here last year). The author, I think, hits on one reason why the prospect of aging as a genetic program - rather than a complex, messy process of decay - is attractive to those of us thinking about healthy life extension:

It seems easier to tweak the programming in a computer than to try to replace part after part in an old car that is steadily collapsing.

Sadly for would-be genetic tinkerers, the Reliability Theory of Aging and messy, complex, unprogrammed decay looks to be a much more likely model for degenerative aging in mammals.