WE ARE NOT DOOMED TO DISAPPEAR!
"I go swiftly... But light footsteps as before patter behind me, close, close... And before me again the dark hole. Again I turn another way... And again the same patter behind, and the same menacing blur of darkness before. And whichever way I run, doubling like a hunted hare... it's always the same, the same! … God! I look around again... The old woman looks straight at me, and her toothless mouth is twisted in a grin... - No escape!" (Ivan Turgenev, "The old woman", February 1878).
What horror, what hopelessness is in these words of the 60-year-old writer! Are we all doomed to withdraw from life forever, and all we can is submissively wait for the inevitable end?! In 1878, it was considered self-evident.
Now, however, the inevitability of death is called in question.
Yes, it sounds incredible. However, here is opinion of a wise man: "Everyone knows, something is impossible. But then someone ignorant appears who does not know that it is impossible, and makes it" (Albert Einstein).
Let us be such "ignorant" for a while and consider closely following facts.
FACT № 1. Our ancestors have died early. Few of them lived longer 20-25 years. Now there are whole countries where average life span is several times more. For example, in 2013 it amounted to: in Monaco - 90 years, in Japan - 84 years, in Italy - 82 years.
CONCLUSION:
► Significant prolongation of human life is not only possible - it is actually realized.
FACT № 2. For tens of thousands of years (from prehistoric times to the era of ancient Rome), the average duration of life has increased by about 8 years. In our time, in just 30 years (1980-2010) people in Europe began to live on average 5 years longer. For 15 years (2000-2015), this index for the world increased by 5 years.
CONCLUSION:
► Currently, the process of increasing human life span is accelerated by many times.
FACT № 3. Rapid
increase in average duration of human life span continues.
Signs of slowing down, let alone cessation this
process in countries with high quality of life, are absent. In 2010,
average life expectancy in European Union was 82.2 years (women) and 76.1 years
(men). Forecast for 2030: women 85.3 years (+ 3.1), men 80.0 years (+ 3.9).
CONCLUSIONS:
► Maximum age till a person can survive, is far from being achieved.
► Opportunities for further prolongation of human life are very great.
► It is likely that there is no natural ban on human life span of any duration.
FACT № 4. People in the ancient times, grew old very early. Cardinal Richelieu in 1627 (the siege of La Rochelle, described by Alexander Dumas) was 42 years old, and he was regarded as a very old man. Yuri Tynyanov (1800): "Nikolay Karamzin was older than any of participants. He was thirty-four years - the age of extinction". Alexander Pushkin (1815): "In the room came an old man of 30". And many of our contemporary men and women aged 30-40-50 and even 60 years are not considered, do not look and do not feel old.
CONCLUSION:
► Rising life span of a person occurs mainly due to lengthening of youth period.
FACT № 5. In the wild, growth of lifespan of animals is not observed.
In addition, this is not observed in the tribes living in isolation from humanity and adhering to their usual lifestyle.
CONCLUSIONS:
► The observed increase in life span is not a natural process. This is the result of human actions.
► There are actions by which a person can prolong his/her life and youth.
FACT № 6. Autopsy of dead people indicates that there is always a disease that was the cause of death.
CONCLUSIONS:
► Sick people die from diseases, healthy people die from violent death.
► To prolong youth and postpone death, you must maintain your health at a high level.
FACT № 7. People differ greatly in all respects - and anatomically, and physiologically and psychologically. Therefore, the same action often causes at different people various reactions, especially in older age.
CONCLUSIONS:
► Action, healing for one person does not necessarily strengthen health of another person.
► Experience of other people is unreliable basis for selection of actions that are useful for your health.
FACT № 8. Any human being is constantly changing: now he is young, then old; now he is asleep, then awake; now he is full up, then hungry; now he is fresh, then weary; now he is healthy, then sick; now he is cheerful, then sad; now he is calm, then excited - and so on. In each of these statuses the same action often causes at the same person various reactions.
CONCLUSIONS:
► Action, strengthening health of a person at one organism status, does not necessarily strengthen his/her health at another organism status.
► Experience gained during observation of your own organism, does not provide a reliable basis for selection of actions that you can use to strengthen your health.
► Action of a person that actually increases level of his health, after a while loses its health-improving value.
FACT № 9. Of facts 7 and 8, it follows that experience of other people and results of observation over your organism are insufficient for reliable control of your health. Other sources of reliable information of this kind are absent. That is why people know only roughly what to do (or not do) to preserve and strengthen their health.
The older person, the more is degree of this uncertainty.
CONCLUSION:
► The main reason of human life brevity is lack of accurate information, allowing a person to choose reasonably what, when and how it is necessary to do in order to maintain and strengthen his/her health.
GENERAL CONCLUSION:
► We can live and stay young for a very long time, maybe eternally.
But we do not know how to do it.
The deadlock?
Do not jump to conclusions.
Imagine a device that allows to measure current state of health as quickly, simply and accurately, as thermometer determines body temperature. Such device would allow you to determine what of your actions strengthen, and what weaken your health in currant conditions. Based on this information you can effectively manage your health. Such management would be reduced to abstention from harmful actions and more frequent fulfillment of useful actions. The device would also allow assessing impact of health-improving activities and their adjustment need. With this device, you could maintain high level of health for as many years as you want. In fact, this is practical immortality.
I managed to think of such a device. I called it "Saldex" ("Салдекс").
Its description is presented here reference.