Enter the Conspiracy Theorists

The strange - and far too large - world of people who believe in all-powerful "elites," conspiracies, suppression of new technologies, and carry a delightful range of other cultural baggage seems to have stumbled over the healthy life extension community of late. So, of course, it was only a matter of time before someone was up there misinterpreting us to suit whatever paid sermon is presently underway.

The development of successful life-extension technologies will be a reality within 30 years, but the application of such stunning advances will be tightly restricted by a ruling elite, and eventually may be used as a justification to completely wipe out humanity, according to some of the scientific community’s leading pioneers.

A recent article carried by the Methuselah Foundation, an organization that advocates the development of life extension and nanomachinery technology, concludes that life-extension technology and “(greatly) augmenting our biology with nanomachinery” will have arrived by the 2030’s, but that “The new bio- and nanotechnologies of the 2040s will be massive overkill for the “simple” task of repairing the damage of aging.”

The report concludes that the greatest obstacle in the field is not the development but the application of such technology, suggesting that living for hundreds of years is inevitable only for the wealthy elite.

Pressure groups pushing for more widespread funding of life-extension technology research seem to be constantly frustrated by the fact that major global scientific institutions seek to contain progress within very selective parameters and are very reticent to encourage more open access to the field.

Um, no. Not according to "the scientific community’s leading pioneers." According to you, guy writing at TruthNews, picking over content for pieces to support the pre-fabricated conclusion and tout a film project.

But really, how silly is all this? Start out by presenting Fight Aging! as an "organization" that issues "reports" and build up to fantastical cold war-styled sci-fi predictions of new overlords and oppressed masses. Along the way, blame the present lack of research infrastructure for longevity medicine on the ever-present "elites," and generally otherwise see planning and hidden controllers where there are none. It's all very melodramatic, and no doubt helps sell products to people who get a kick out of that memetic space.

I wouldn't normally comment on this sort of thing, but those are my words up there being cut up for use as stage props.

So I'll say this, for what it's worth: stop being foolish. Get a grip. Take off the blinders. I'm just a person, Fight Aging! is just a blog. The world is made of people, and people talk and get things done. There are no shadowy organizations, no nefarious controlling "elites," no plans for the future that are any different in nature than the plans you make for your own life and the organizations you support. Want a say in the future? Stand up and wave your arms, speak up, accomplish tasks. It's easy - I'm doing it, and there's nothing special about me.

As I've said before, there are plenty of folk out there who'd like to be the nefarious "elites." The disreputable types who infest the political arena spring to mind, fighting one another for more power to line their own nests. But they're people too; just as dumb, smart, lucky, hardworking, lazy and unfortunate as the rest of us. The same goes for all those people in the world who happen to have more power and influence than you do right at this moment in time. These folk aren't magical, and nor are they really any different from the rest of us. They are no less uncertain, fallible, confused, impotent and ignorant. A belief in magically efficient organizations and secret controllers of society is a comfort myth for some people, but that's all it is.

Make no mistake, there are factions in our centralized, over-regulated, over-governed societies that aspire to call themselves "elites," enriching themselves at cost to the rest of us, parasites warring to leverage the mechanisms of the state to force their agendas. But you'll note that these "elites" - whomever you might think they are - have no greater access to medical technologies than any average fellow who takes care of his finances. This is the way the world actually works: new technologies move from dream to expensive, clunky reality to cheap and effective product in a fraction of a lifetime. So it was - and continues to be - for heart surgery, so it will be for gene therapy, and so it will be for the first true longevity therapies capable of repairing age-related cellular and biomolecular damage.

I've done my share of talking about the dangers of centralization of power in the past. That's pragmatism and reality, not conspiracy theories. There are fallible human beings out there trying their best to live off your hard work, reduce your freedoms, and otherwise make your life shorter and more miserable. Some of them are even doing it intentionally - access to power corrupts at all levels, from the power of possessing a pretty face to the power to direct taxed dollars. But corruption doesn't turn people into competent, shadowy elites. It just makes them reprehensible.

There are very definitely battles to be fought: against centralized power; against the destruction of medicine through socialism and regulation; to persuade and fund into existence a vast research culture for longevity science; to raise popular support and understanding for healthy life extension; to dispense with harmful myths and beliefs about the way the world works. But fight the right battles, not the dumb, made-up, unreal battles.

Comments

I have to agree with "Reason" about the idea that his / her ideas have been misrepresented. The ideas being shared in the blog are exactly that - ideas being shared in a blog - and they seem to have been misrepresented elsewhere.
As a writer I share your frustration and disdain, however, beware lest your fervor leads you to participate in the same behavior you yourself are exposing. I am referring to your assertions that "there is no ruling elite." This assertion is factually and provably incorrect.
Attack their misuse of your words using fact - which you did. But to blindly make such illinformed assertions without checking the historical record, makes you guilty of the very behavior you condemn.

Posted by: Bozer at October 11th, 2007 7:07 AM

Unfortunately, trying to reason with people like that is probably pointless. It's the same kind of psychology at work as with creationists and 9/11 conspiracy nuts. They're completely impervious to evidence or reasoning, or they wouldn't have embraced such fantasies in the first place.

The way I look at is this: if life extension has reached the degree of penetration into the mass public mind, and has acquired enough credibility, that some cranks have taken it as a subject for their delusions, then that's actually a sign of progress.

Posted by: Infidel753 at October 11th, 2007 8:31 AM

If you look at the evidence you will see there is a ruling elite.
You will see, if you look, that 9/11 was an inside job.
Steel does not weaken or melt at the low temps found in a jet fuel fire. Do some research on steel.
The buildings were clearly brought down through a controlled demolition using explosives and thermate/termite.
Actual evidence is available if you will look.
Look into why the aircraft were not intercepted.
Look into how the buildings were designed to take multiple hits by airliners.
Look into building seven which was not hit by an aircraft.
Everything is not a conspiracy. However, calling people "conspiracy theorists" does not prove they are wrong.
Look into the depopulation plans. Look into the false flag terror. Look into the elites organizations and publications. Refute the evidence if you can.

rm

Posted by: root man at October 11th, 2007 9:30 PM

"Unfortunately, trying to reason with people like that is probably pointless. It's the same kind of psychology at work as with creationists and 9/11 conspiracy nuts. They're completely impervious to evidence or reasoning, or they wouldn't have embraced such fantasies in the first place."

They ARE 9/11 conspiracy nuts!

Posted by: HellKaiserRyo at October 12th, 2007 9:20 AM

get a life

Posted by: frank s at October 16th, 2007 11:35 AM

So you admit centralization of power is a threat, yet, you think this centralization doesn't take any planning? So, what do groups like Builderburgs, Trilateral Commission, etc exist for? You want links to prove they exist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmM61kSMTR0

From CNN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuAtK8UXDuM

It's funny how, 20 yrs ago if you even mentioned these organizations existed, PERIOD, folks like "reason" and other fake "freethinkers" would laugh you out of the room and call you a conspiracy nut, however now all you've gotta do is turn on CNN and representatives of Builderbergs, Trilateral Commission, CFR, are right there in you're faces. And those same folks who'd have called you a "nut job" still can't admit they were wrong. How many times does history have to repeat itself, for people to grasp mathematical probabilities even?

Posted by: warren at January 15th, 2014 4:36 PM

But it "can't happen here" because we're "'murica damnit" right? We're so much more infinitely important to the order of the cosmos than those crazy savages living in Cuba or China, right? The natural order of existence couldn't possibly fail to be biased towards us. Only sci-fi idiots believe that we're not some magical exception. Like we're beyond the laws of history or human nature?

Posted by: warren at January 15th, 2014 4:41 PM
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