Sunday, July 31, 2005

The "Cure" for death? A terrifying prospect!

This post is not directly related to politics in Lebanon. It is, however, related to us all, since it grapples with the issue of death. According to an article I just read, a researcher in Britain says that he has discovered a theory that would not only halt aging, but also reverse it. Ridiculous? Well, yes! But, MIT's Technology Review thinks the scientist is credible enough to feature him on one of their recent issues.

Click here to read the Technology Review Article
Click here if you'd like to read the International Spiegel article - which is a much shorter read

Just in case this scientist's ideas are not completely ludicrous, I'd like to state my position regarding his claims:

I'm terrified! I read this quote somewhere (I totally agree with it):

"Death is life's best creation... It allows for the passing of the old and the coming of the new."


Maybe it's because I am only 25, but I have come to accept the idea that when I'm between 70 and 80 years old, I will pass away and leave the world to my Children (if I am blessed with a few). The only reason I'd like to live longer is to witness change or the completion of certain enterprises that I could not witness in the usual human life-span. For example, I would have loved to witness the colonization of the Mars, and the rise of a Middle East that is secular, liberal, properous and modern (if that ever happens).

But, will there be any change if I, and my generation, lived indefinitely? I know, for example, that the notion of Jumblatt, Berri, Aoun, Karami, Geagea, etc... living forever terrifies me. In a region where change of leadership comes only with death, the notion of indefinite human life, implies certain doom!

Finally, assuming that "a cure" for death by aging is found, will humanity "adapt" by utilizing other means to "change guards"? Will humans revert to murder as an acceptable means of bringing a new generation to the fore?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe those who visit this site are intereste din the subject of Lebanese/Syrian affairs...

Althought there is no shortage of interesting thing to around the world, Lets not loose focus..

Raja said...

Thank you for your advice. But please rest assured: There are very few people in this world who claim to be able to do something as insane as stop or reverse the process of aging. Only one member of that miniscule group is featured in an MIT publication.

I consider such a freak development to be a justified distraction from the subject of Lebanon - not a permanent lose of focus.

Charles Malik said...

I wonder the religious implications of this:
Would Christians/Muslims try to avoid death, even though it means deferring Heaven?
How would Druze deal with this issue, if it meant an end to reincarnation? Are there any relevant religious texts on the matter?

Yaman said...

This was an interesting post. I agree with you completely. But I do think that perhaps such a discovery would finally crush the dangerous Organized Religion Complex.