Reports From the MPrize Three Hundred Dinner
April Smith, calorie restriction enthusiast, Methuselah Foundation volunteer and healthy life extension advocate, reports on the foundation's December 8th Boston dinner for members of The Three Hundred - generous individuals who commit to giving $1000 each year to the MPrize in order to encourage and speed real anti-aging research - attended by Ray Kurzweil and Aubrey de Grey, and hosted by Jason Pontin of the Technology Review. Read on for the details:
More than thirty people attended: Three Hundred members, their partners or friends, and Jason Pontin, editor of Technology Review, who hosted us, as well as his angelic staff person Leila who went above and beyond the call of duty to make the event work... including chilling a Methuselah of champagne in her own car all day!...
One of the most interesting conversations I had was with Jason Pontin, the editor of Technology Review, who hosted the event in his large conference room. Many were dismayed by his rather scathing editorial on the subject of, among other things, Aubrey de Grey.
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I found Jason's conversation enlightening and entertaining... it just goes to show how rational, thoughtful people can have honest disagreements and still enjoy a glass of pinot noir together. I extracted a promise that he would allow me and MR to make him dinner at our house the next time he's in Philadelphia, and I plan to hold him to it.
It was wonderful to see Aubrey again, as always, and we made some good progress planning upcoming SENS/Mprize events... stay tuned!
Separately, the winners of the MPrize charity auction for luncheon with Ray Kurzweil also held their event recently - and April was there to cook the calorie restriction way:
Ray talked with us about technology, nutrition, inventing, and all sorts of things. I missed quite a bit of the conversation running back and forth to the kitchen, but I definitely enjoyed being in the company of such brilliant people. Ray's dining room was a beautiful setting, with a view of the lake and amazing art worked in with a history of family pictures....
Finally it was time to go, and the winners and I spent the car ride back to MIT discussing our fascinating meal with Ray Kurzweil. We all felt like we had had a priceless experience. Being in the company of someone who has blazed so many trails could seem intimidating, but Ray was so friendly and gracious that we all felt at ease almost immediately.
And he liked the food. That's what really matters.
Donate to the MPrize for anti-aging research and you'll find yourself in good company.
UPDATE: Here's another report from an attendee.
Technorati tags: activism, anti-aging, calorie restriction