Immortality
I was a bit surprised at the negative reactions to my post about a breakthrough in longevity research. I guess I shouldn’t be, as I’ve already heard people make these arguments before (e.g. here and here).
Still, it surprises me.
And it’s not that I’m not concerned about overpopulation (though that’s not the only objection I hear). I just don’t think it’s clear-cut that this will be a problem. Population growth is already on the decline in many western countries, and there’s a strong correlation with population decline and better health & education. Anyways, see the links above if you want to read more.
P.s. I think part of my positive reaction to this research is that seeing major scientific breakthroughs confirms my faith in science and its ability to solve seemingly-intractable problems. (I mean, honestly, vanquishing death! That’s pretty damn impressive.) So even if this might contribute to overpopulation, I have faith that science will figure it out. (Hey, maybe we’ll find some good use for Newt’s moon colonies!)
