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."
(Score: 4, Informative) by EvilJim on Tuesday September 23 2014, @06:17AM
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
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
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
Who?
(Score: 2) by EvilJim on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:44PM
+1 insightful :)