Would you want to live to be 120?

I would love to live to 120 and beyond. Why not? According to Ray Kurzweil, AI technology is advancing so much, that by 2029, for each year we live, we will receive a year back. Ailments will be taken care of. With self-driving cars, etc. accidents will be minimal (I hope). We will be living totally different lives than we are now. Regarding the population issue, I am not sure how that will be handled. If other people in our lives (family and friends) receive similar benefits of technology and AI, hopefully, they'll probably be around longer with us.
 
Wow, that would be 48 years more of life, or 2072. Unreal of course, but if I could stay healthy enough to be functional, I would like to see how the world changes. I know it will be nothing like what I can imagine it will be like. That is the one thing that living after we die is most interesting to me, to be able to be conscious of the future of the earth.
 
StarSong said:
There's been a recent surge of self-proclaimed longevity experts touting that embracing certain lifestyle changes (lots of fasting, for instance) can help people live to 120-130 years of age.

Gotta wonder if these geniuses and their followers have spent any time in nursing homes observing 100 year olds who are mostly in wheelchairs or using walkers, can barely chew their food (forget shopping or preparing it themselves), are wearing diapers, and have outlived their friends and most of their children, not that all of them even remember their friends or children. It's mostly a sad waiting room for death - with people saying things like, "Why won't God take me home? I'm ready to go."

Not saying I'm eager for death because I'm not. And sure there are outliers to this - a handful of centenarians thriving while living on their own. But they're few and far between.

What do you think?
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No, I don't want to live to be that old, but I hope I have many good years left to enjoy my life on this earth.
 
Interesting the the vast majority are replying no. Me too, I dread a long life. Advanced old age, in my view over 85 or so, usually though not always, means pain and suffering, loss of independence and lots more negatives. I am unsure what is to be gained.

It depends in an individual of course, there are those who love life and have good genes.
 
Absolutely not! I hope I don't live past 97...the age my mother was when she passed. Living much longer may bring more losses than I could bear. I don't want to be a burden to my loved ones who are alive. If I can stay relatively healthy and active like I am now, that may not be a problem, but how likely that is once I reach my 90s, I don't know. Also, the world already seems to have gone mad and if it gets much worse, I don't want to be around.
 
david attenborough.jpg
David Attenborough: The renowned British broadcaster and natural historian, born on May 8, 1926, will turn 100 in May 2026.

mel brooks.jpg
Mel Brooks: The legendary American filmmaker, comedian, and EGOT winner, born on June 28, 1926, will turn 100 in June 2026.
Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on December 13, 2025. and Eva Marie Saint has also turned 100.
 
StarSong said:
There's been a recent surge of self-proclaimed longevity experts touting that embracing certain lifestyle changes (lots of fasting, for instance) can help people live to 120-130 years of age.

Gotta wonder if these geniuses and their followers have spent any time in nursing homes observing 100 year olds who are mostly in wheelchairs or using walkers, can barely chew their food (forget shopping or preparing it themselves), are wearing diapers, and have outlived their friends and most of their children, not that all of them even remember their friends or children. It's mostly a sad waiting room for death - with people saying things like, "Why won't God take me home? I'm ready to go."

Not saying I'm eager for death because I'm not. And sure there are outliers to this - a handful of centenarians thriving while living on their own. But they're few and far between.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I've been in those nursing homes. I would not want to live that long. Plus after working in hospitals and witnessing doctors and nurses attitudes toward the elderly I wouldn't wanna live that long.
 
The consensus seems to be: Yes, sure, but only if we look, feel, and act more like the average person of about 60 does today. It isn't old age we are horrified by, it's the decrepit state we would virtually all end up in by age 120, by today's standards. If a magic pill came along that slowed down the aging process to an extent that we could still walk, even run, still think normally, see, hear, sing, dance, travel, perform, create beautiful things, enjoy gardening and nature, maybe even still make love... why not? It would be great to see how our great-great grandchildren turn out, and tell them stories of the old days!

Nursing homes would be a thing of the past, and would not be needed.
 
No...like it has been said, If I was in good health, maybe.

My late Mother had dementia in her last years. Ever time I would go to see her she would say, "I am tired, I am ready to go now."

My Mother-in-law died yesterday in Florida. She had dementia in the last year of her life.

What is the point of living if you can not remember anything, anyone and you are sick and confused.
 
horseless carriage said:
David Attenborough: The renowned British broadcaster and natural historian, born on May 8, 1926, will turn 100 in May 2026.

Mel Brooks: The legendary American filmmaker, comedian, and EGOT winner, born on June 28, 1926, will turn 100 in June 2026.

Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on December 13, 2025. and Eva Marie Saint has also turned 100.
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Happy to agree they're looking good and are apparently in good health, but it's difficult to imagine they're not without some frailties. Let's also remember that these folks have ample resources to pay for whatever assistance they need.

According to a 2023 study by Boston University, approximately .027% (less than 3/10 of one percent) of Americans are at least 100, and of those, only 15% continue to live independently. Thus, in a population of nearly 330 million, fewer than 14,000 are 100+ and living independently. Fellas, sorry to mention this, but 85% of 100+ Americans are female.

"Centenarians are models of aging well. Some of our subjects, ~15% have no clinically demonstrable disease at age 100 years and we call them “escapers”. About 43% are “delayers”, or subjects who did not exhibit an age related disease until age 80 years or later. Finally, there are about 42% of our subjects who are “survivors”, or those with clinically demonstrable disease(s) prior to the age of 80 years.

James Fries’ compression of morbidity hypothesis states that as one approaches the limits of lifespan, diseases (morbidity) must be delayed (or escaped) towards the end of lifespan. We have observed such compression amongst supercentenarians (age 110+ years), where health span indeed approximates lifespan. Thus, instead of the aging myth “the older you get the sicker you get”, it is much more the case of “the older you get, the healthier you’ve been”.*

*Bold text emphasis is from the source. Centenarian Statistics | New England Centenarian Study

There was no discussion about 120 year olds because they're rarer than hen's teeth. Only one person, Jeanne Calment, has been verified to have reached that milestone (she passed at 122-1/2). She died in 1997, so in the nearly 30 years since we haven't seen another verified 120 year old.
 
StarSong said:
There's been a recent surge of self-proclaimed longevity experts touting that embracing certain lifestyle changes (lots of fasting, for instance) can help people live to 120-130 years of age.

Gotta wonder if these geniuses and their followers have spent any time in nursing homes observing 100 year olds who are mostly in wheelchairs or using walkers, can barely chew their food (forget shopping or preparing it themselves), are wearing diapers, and have outlived their friends and most of their children, not that all of them even remember their friends or children. It's mostly a sad waiting room for death - with people saying things like, "Why won't God take me home? I'm ready to go."

Not saying I'm eager for death because I'm not. And sure there are outliers to this - a handful of centenarians thriving while living on their own. But they're few and far between.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I so agree with you. I absolutely do not want to live to be 100.
 
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