On Aging Presented as a Disease
From Existence is Wonderful, thoughts on presentation: "Nowadays, there are a lot of people (perhaps even a majority!) interested in mitigating common age-related health problems. Very few people would answer 'Yes!' if asked, 'Are you looking forward to experiencing heart problems, increased susceptibility to infections and cancer, and eventual death?' However, most people also accept certain things as inevitable or at least highly probable, and may strongly object to the characterization of the aging process as a 'disease' in and of itself. ... To some, calling aging a 'disease' implies that there is something 'wrong' with old people as they exist today, and that us younger folks all ought to feel sorry for these poor, sick individuals. I know that not everyone has this interpretation, but that interpretation does exist, and I believe it to be a rather problematic one." I don't agree with this line of reasoning - you should read the whole thing - but I do agree that there's a lot of work left to do on the presentation and perception of longevity science and the degenerations of aging.
Link: http://www.existenceiswonderful.com/2008/05/is-aging-itself-disease.html