How to Reach a Societal Turning Point on Life Extension

Abstract

To those who see the promise and boundless potential of new technologies, it can sometimes be difficult to understand why others cannot. If it is possible to cure all disease, is it not obvious to think that we should? If it is within our reach to one day travel the stars and colonize other worlds, is this goal not noble and almost certainly critical to our long-term survival as a species?

When the whole world does not answer such questions with a resounding and uniform “YES!”, it is tempting to believe this is due to willful ignorance or stupidity. Such an assumption gains us nothing, however, in the quest to make these technologies a reality—it is more instructive by far to explore the various reasons for societal hesitance, and how we might use the fruits of this exploration to positively effect change.

And so, with our universe of discourse scoped thusly, let’s talk about the issue at hand: How can we reach a societal turning point on life extension?