S. Jay Olshansky
S. Jay Olshansky
Stuart Jay Olshanskyis a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago concentrating on biodemography and gerontology...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth22 February 1954
CountryUnited States of America
added burden humans
Humans will die like all living things do, but we have the added burden of knowing that we will.
aging attention days dogs duration enhancing focus humans life mice span sure work
What we know for sure from our work and from others' is that mice have a life span of 1,000 days, dogs have 5,000 days, and we humans have 29,000 days. Recognizing that the duration is limited, and aging is inevitable, focus the attention on enhancing the quality of the days you have.
desired dramatic failed humans life religion society
As long as humans have existed, we have always desired to live longer. Every society, every religion, every culture. Of course, they all failed at dramatic life extension.
age ageing biological empirical evidence humans modified nor possible suggest
There is no empirical evidence to suggest that ageing in humans has been modified by any means, nor is there evidence that it is even possible to measure biological age. And nothing has been demonstrated to be true when it comes to anti-ageing medicines.
attacks begin effects hit notice people
When you hit your 40s, you begin to take notice of the effects of aging because people that you know begin to die of heart attacks and tumors, so we take notice of the effects of aging.
duration life time
The only control we have over the duration of our life is to shorten it, and we do that all the time.
extend life period trying
We're not trying to make us live forever; we're not trying to even make us live significantly longer. What we're trying to do is extend the period of healthy life.
eventually extended life
I have little doubt that gerontologists will eventually find a way to avoid, or more likely, delay, the unpleasantries of extended life.
death fear
I don't have a fear of aging or a fear of death.
computing copying ears increases internal organs power stories xerox
Growing new limbs, copying internal organs like a Xerox machine, exponential increases in computing power, better eyes and ears - I could read stories like this endlessly.
existed history people throughout
Older people may have always existed throughout history, but they were rare.
century disease failure living modern rise sign success twentieth
The modern rise of Alzheimer's Disease in the twentieth century is not a sign of failure. It's a sign of success. Success in living long enough to see that disease expressed.
below extend extending intake life method percent proven reduced reducing
Reducing caloric intake is the only proven method of extending life. If caloric intake is reduced to 20 percent below maintenance, you can extend your lifespan considerably.
added ancestors century chronic developed pay
In the developed world, we live 30 years longer, on average, than our ancestors born a century ago, but the price we pay for those added years is the rise of chronic diseases.