hypothesis: the current obsession with longevity is a byproduct of tech culture's fear of death. i used to ask founders + early employees, "have you thought about dying?" i would get a visceral reaction each time. and yet, as steve jobs said, "death is the destination we all share." so why do you want to live longer?
Because I like living...,I want to see what the future is like Maybe a function of my current age but I don't get the opposite, why would someone want to die?
I was nearly dead at 27, and had too many close calls around that time. I’ve since viewed this time as my bonus round that could be revoked at any moment. I want to live longer because I want to use my time to build things that help humanity. And I prioritize this time not being for granted accordingly. Memento Mori
I think it stems from tech culture's innate desire for efficiency and mastery. When daily work revolves around increasing metrics, it's easy to bring such a mindset to other areas of life.
I just wanna see the future. Megaman Battle Network and Deus Ex: Human Revolution are my favorite games. I don’t necessarily want to deal with the dystopian shit, but I do want to experience human ingenuity at its highest level.
taleb has unfortunately become max cringe, but he nailed this imo. one of my favorite quotes on life and death. this is my view too
U r rlly gonna enjoy the book the “denial of death” by Ernest Becker. Read it a while back and he has some good points lol I want to live longer so that I can be there for people I love when they go!
10 years ago the joke was that everyone who made a billion dollars selling their startup poured money into longevity research because they wanted to extend the new life. I think the current trend is trickle down idol worship.
I accept death not a fan of the concept of dying, but no desire to live longer than I do. it keeps us honest, and our time is limited. limitation breeds creativity. definitely no strong desire to live for thousands of years The world has seasons Beauty is fleeting
I'm not a longevity person and just started getting back to healthy habits after a long slide down starting with COVID but I had kids at a late age so now I think about living long enough to see their life moments. That's the motivating factor behind me recommitting to my health.
I'm with @cassie, Momento Mori. Death haunts us and yet we have to confront it to focus our lives and help us live passionately. For my money Søren Kierkegaard had some of the best thinking on this stuff: e.g., that the gravity of death should match life's importance.
Tech bros inferiority complex has them playing god But wouldn’t you want to live longer if it was possible?
So I can do everything I wanna do. Current avg lifespan is too short and you're forced to sacrifice too many things and pick one or two things to do/learn Such a shame
if someone doesn't want to live longer... does that mean they are happy dying tomorrow? i dont think so. almost everyone wants to grow old. some people are just willing to put in more work than others to make sure it happens.
Isn't the longevity obsession most common among among "exited" founders, i.e. rich people? My hypothesis there is two-fold: You've got all the money you'll ever need so 1) more money stops being interesting and 2) you realize that death is the ultimate threat to your lucky fortune.
everyone seems much more accepting of death than i am. i accept it but not pleased that i have to. mainly because i have no choice on the timeframe. there's too many things i want to learn, explore, experience, feel that cannot fit within 100 years-ish. when all is experienced, i would welcome death with excitement
IMO longevity is not about extending the duration of life it’s about extending quality of life
Having babies made me want to live longer and be more proactive about health
I don't want to live longer necessarily. I just want to be 20 until 100 and die. I think most old people are like this.
Peter Attia approach: Die later faster instead of long slow 20 year death most people experience I.e. more of your time alive is enjoyable If you’ve experienced anyone close with chronic illness it’s a pretty rational response
Not sure its tech culture or just western culture. Maybe more accute in tech because it’s full of people w. innate curiosity / fascination with the world - don’t want the experience to end Or cynically, have accumulated a lot of power and don’t want to let go of it (the version journos usually go for cause mad)
I don't want to live longer. I want a happy and meaningful life to be possible for some version of me.