A Middle Path Of Optimism
Via Gadget, here is a piece on the future of aging by British Telecom futurist-in-residence Ian Pearson: "Nor will getting older imply having to slow down and put your feet up until much later in life. We can expect to live longer, but also remain healthier, almost up to the last minute. We'll still die, but not so gradually. ... And for those of us that are still young today, technologies such as nanotechnology will come on stream just in time for us to benefit from micro-machines living inside our bodies, reinforcing the body's own defences and maintenance systems. Longevity will increase, health will increase, vigour will increase, and old power will increase. I wouldn't go so far as to say I can't wait, but I'm certainly not worried about getting old." Pearson is not sold on actuarial escape velocity, it seems, but the end of health and life is something that can potentially be put off for a very, very long time.