Paging Dr. Gupta: Transhumanism

I strongly support the application of any and all medical technologies towards the goal of defeating death itself. Too often, people see "disease" and "death" as different things, when they are basically one and the same. Too often, the goal is "just" beating cancer and heart disease, rather than finding out why we age and how to stop it.

This is a topic my freethought group has discussed at some length.

On this vein in the news, it looks like Dr. Gupta is finally learning about transhumanism.

I learned that most people don't necessarily want to live longer, unless they are of sound mind and body, without terrible illness late in life, not confined to beds or wheelchairs. They want to live their lives like an incandescent light bulb, burning brightly, until they suddenly go out.

The ideal for transhumanist thinkers is the day when such a dichotomy will no longer exist: that we will not fear aging due to the degradation of our quality of life.

I've also become aware of how attitude can have a profound effect on our health and longevity. A positive outlook means a healthier body, more often than not. A sense of worth, of family, of joy -- all these can have profound and positive effects on your physical well-being. Okinawans, who are traditionally very long-lived, have a wonderful word: ikigai, which means "a sense of purpose."

Some of the more important properties of Okinawans include their unique diets and evolved genetics. I doubt state of mind affects one's propensity to cancer and heart disease, although it may accelerate the acquisition thereof.
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