X-Message-Number: 15738
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 08:11:43 -0500
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: about scientific arguments

Hi everyone!

A few more comments, mostly about claims that we won't live more than
100. 

I do not claim here that we WILL live more than 100, but simply that
the arguments against that possibility are full of holes. Olshansky,
for instance, is not a student of metabolism but a student of the 
statistics of human birth and death rates. Such information is unlikely
to tell us much about a future in which we quite explicitly mess with
the genes which affect our lifespan.

In general, the arguments of the doctors who argue against trying 
HGH for longevity, first, rely on unoriginal reasons why such work
will fail (yes, HGH must be received by injection. I do not claim here
that all proponents of longevity are correct, either). Basically they
are saying that as doctors they understand our desires for longevity
and our ability to take risks toward them much better than we understand
our own desires... and so we should wait until the doctors test every-
thing completely. These are hardly very good arguments, either in 
general or on the subject of how to increase our lifespan.

Furthermore, those who make such arguments have lots of diplomas etc
to support themselves. I'm sure that Olshansky has awards for his
work, etc etc. In one sense I hate to say this, because it bears on
ME, too ... I have a PhD too, you know ... but such forms of recognition
ultimately mean nothing. When someone gives you an argument against or
in favor of something, then the ultimate job of working out the worth
of that argument falls on YOU. And that's exactly what these arguments
of Olshansky and others against use of HGH boil down to.

And how do you settle such arguments in your own mind? Well, you have
to be willing to study the arguments of the proponents and opponents,
and the evidence they give in their support, and then form your own
opinion. You can't escape some need to understand science and scientific
arguments, at least on the particular subjects on which you are 
interested.

			Best wishes and long long lifespan for all,

				Thomas Donaldson

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