An Auspicious Beginning to “Ending Aging”
Reason at Fight Aging! has announced the distribution of advance copies of Ending Aging to Methuselah Foundation 300 Members, so I guess it’s probably safe to reveal that that’s my living room he’s referring to.
Since last Saturday, I have been heavily engrossed in the process of sorting data, determining addresses, sending inquiries, updating lists, putting books into envelopes, and devising various plans for the transport of large numbers of packages to local mailing centres. I am quite excited to see this book being published — as a member of the editorial team, it’s immensely neat to see something that I originally encountered in the form of word-processing files now incarnate in a lovely hardbound text.
One thing I’ve noticed over the course so far of volunteering with the Methuselah Foundation is that everyone involved is incredibly driven. Everyone is self-motivated by necessity. And as far as task selection goes, it’s all a matter of what works for the individual: you do what you can do, you are free to try things that you might not have attempted before, and you will not be penalized for perhaps being a bit on the overambitious side. I’ve tried a few things that didn’t quite pan out, and accomplished other things that did, and I know there will be plenty more to work on as time passes.
As far as the book itself goes: I got a good look at much of the scientific content during the editorial phase, and I believe that many people are likely to find it highly accessible. “Ending Aging” definitely provides a good breakdown of the various ways in which age-related change contributes to ill health and death, and proposes the mechanisms by which this damage might be addressed.
It is, of course, not a magic prescription — it does not tell the reader to go out and buy expensive supplements, nor does it make any promises. It is not that kind of book — it is much more science-oriented and descriptive, and refers mainly to proof-of-concept lab studies and various experimental processes still in (or awaiting) clinical trials. So, definitely not a “do-it-yourself” supercentenarian kit. But certainly a beginning — hopefully a beginning to an era where people can start to see age-related death as less mythical and mysterious, and more of an engineering challenge. After all, as reads one of the lines on the back cover of “Ending Aging”, Old people are people too.
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