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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 23 2014, @05:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the but-what-dreams-may-come-when-I-have-shuffled-off-this-mortal-coil? dept.

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the US National Institutes of Health, writes at The Atlantic that there is a simple truth that many of us seem to resist: living too long renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived. "It robs us of our creativity and ability to contribute to work, society, the world. It transforms how people experience us, relate to us, and, most important, remember us. We are no longer remembered as vibrant and engaged but as feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic." Emanuel says that he is isn't asking for more time than is likely nor foreshortening his life but is talking about the kind and amount of health care he will consent to after 75. "Once I have lived to 75, my approach to my health care will completely change. I won’t actively end my life. But I won’t try to prolong it, either." Emanuel says that Americans seem to be obsessed with exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins and supplements, all in a valiant effort to cheat death and prolong life as long as possible. "I reject this aspiration. I think this manic desperation to endlessly extend life is misguided and potentially destructive. For many reasons, 75 is a pretty good age to aim to stop."

 
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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:12AM (#97047)

    That's why you should smoke, it cuts your life short, but those last years are going to suck anyway.

    People that smoke and have similar bad choices can live to 65 or 70 too. But the last 10 or 15 or 20 years is hooked up to oxygen bottles/concentrators because of emphysema and similar debilitating illnesses. You see, people that take care of their bodies may not live longer than people that don't, but they generally avoid the long and painful period of decline. For them, they live their life until their life falls off the cliff.

    Well, actually, they do live longer and better. For example, cyclists that actually cycle (like road cycling at 90+% maxHR regularly) tend to live 7-9 hears longer than people that live sedentary life styles, but otherwise the same diet, weight, etc.. Probably similar for other endurance sports. So, they live longer *and* better.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by EvilJim on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:17AM

    by EvilJim (2501) on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:17AM (#97048) Journal

    This is why I love geeks... put out a terrible joke and they come explain it until it's no longer funny.
    I'm sure I saw something that said cyclists who thrash themselves like that die early than people who exercise moderately. but then again it was on the interwebs.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by takyon on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:44AM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:44AM (#97053) Journal

      You have to go deeper. You have to combine the asthma from smoking with the pleasure of erotic asphyxiation to cap a truly risky, shortened, yet rewarding life.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:42AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:42AM (#97084)

        You have to go deeper. You have to combine the asthma from smoking with the pleasure of erotic asphyxiation to cap a truly risky, shortened, yet rewarding life.

        I thought we were done talking about Robin Williams?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @05:03PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @05:03PM (#97241)

          Who?

      • (Score: 2) by EvilJim on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:44PM

        by EvilJim (2501) on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:44PM (#97354) Journal

        +1 insightful :)

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:28PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:28PM (#97344) Journal

    My grandfather smoked 3 packs a day for close to 30 years. Quit in the 80's and died a week into the year 2000. His doctor spotted something on his lung during a physical and he never said a word to anyone. He finally was diagnosed with lung cancer two years later at age 72 and passed away about 6 months later after he refused treatment. He had difficulty getting around as he weakened but was never in pain or suffering. He lived his last few weeks out in hospice at a VA hospital. He didn't seem to mind dying at all and the normally grumpy and outspoken man became very warm and humble in his last few months. He knew the end was near and chose to die peacefully with dignity.

    My other grandfather was healthy and athletic. The man walked everywhere and rode his bike around town. Never smoked or drank. He suffered a stroke at 60 which left him unable to walk for a year. He later died at 70 from a heart attack in his sleep.

    Not everyone is the same. Not all athletic and healthy people are guaranteed to live better or longer. And not all smokers die a slow painful death.