Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 1st 2018

Discussion of advocacy for the cause is a usual feature of our community, as we try things and attempt to make progress in persuading the world that rejuvenation research is plausible, practical, and necessary. There are more people engaged in advocacy now than at any time in the past decade, and so discussions of strategy come up often. New ventures kicked off in 2017 include the Geroscience online magazine, and among the existing ventures the LEAF / Lifespan.io volunteers seem to be hitting their stride. The mainstream media continues to be as much a hindrance as a help, and where it is a help you will usually find Aubrey de Grey involved in the article somewhere - which is not to mention the recent /r/futurology AMA. In the broader question of strategy in advocacy, questions abound. Do we continue to spend a lot of time tearing down arguments against treating aging as a medical condition, such as the naturalistic fallacy and unfounded fears of overpopulation? Should we be avoiding talk of immortality and radical life extension? Or focusing on ethical arguments? Or correcting mistaken views of aging and the underlying biology? Trying harder to persuade people that rejuvenation therapies are a near future possibility? Or trying to address some of the unhelpful behavior from some members of the research community? Or continuing to hammer on the costs of failing to address aging, the worldwide toll of death and suffering? Or continue to hammer on the benefits of success...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs