Living up to 100 years old
There is good news and bad news. The good news is that more people will be living up to 100 years old. The bad news is that you need to be still alive by 2025, and it will cost you money.
Recent statistics and actuarial studies have shown that the average lifespan of almost all the people in the world, except some places which are experiencing wars and epidemics, have increased by at least 20 percent. And in the news are 100 year olds who are feted and awarded by their local governments with cash gifts for reaching 100 years. The number of senior citizens, those who have reached 60 years, are also increasing, all of them wanting to get their annual or semi-annual cash gifts from the government, and the 20 percent discount and free VAT on their purchases. They say 60 is now the new 40 or the new middle age, and 80 is the start of old age.
A few years ago, four years ago I believe, I came across an article in the Fortune or Time magazine about the Singularity Movement. This was a movement started by prominent Silicon Valley people, particularly Raymund Kurzweill, Larry Paige, and Sergev Brin of Google. Other Silicon Valley big names like Steven Jobs were rumored to be also supporters. What this group was espousing was that, at the exponential rate that scientific advancement and computing power was increasing, by the year 2045, most of the common diseases now, will be easily cured and most if not almost all of the body parts will be replaceable. The computing power we now have in our smart phones is at least 100 times more than the original UNIVAC computer that was housed in four air-conditioned floors in a building in the 1960's or some 50 years ago. So at this rate of technological and scientific development, by 2045 people can live 30 to 40 more years.
I did some updated research on the Singularity Movement, including an inquiry to a scientist friend in Silicon valley who has a Phd degree in Bio-Informatics, and whose work includes Genomics. It seems that the Singularity Movement have not gotten the legitimacy that they aspired, in spite of all the money and talent poured including the establishment of the Singularity University. While medical science and technology advances have been progressing, like the implants and replacements of some body parts, and the advent of 3D printing which may make body parts easily makeable, the exponential rate of scientific discoveries and computing power is slowing down and may eventually reach scientific limits. Still, there are and will be enough progress in the medical field to make people who can afford it to easily reach 100 to 110, especially 10 years from now.
There are and will be social, political and economic implications and problems of more people growing to be 100. Most Social Security Systems all over the world including in Europe and the US will not be able to afford the pensions of their ageing population unless the increase contributions or find other sources of funding the pension funds, or increase the retirement age to qualify for pensions. These are now being proposed or done in most countries including the Philippines. There will also be a need for more medical and nursing home facilities to absorb the aged population. While this may also mean more demand for caregivers, migration from developing to developed countries may compound, depriving developing countries of needed human resources. This could also lead to an inverted pyramid distribution of the age grouping, resulting in a lesser number of young productive people working to support a large unproductive old people. This demographic distribution could lead to an economic slowdown, unless addressed by another technological revolution. All these have political dimensions that we have to ponder and hopefully solved by the political leaders then.
Las month in Dumaguete City, a lady was awarded and feted by the city government for reaching 100 years. She was interviewed by the media and was asked, "what is the secret of her long life?" Was it the food that she eat or her lifestyle? This is what she said. "Coffee, I drink a little, Chicken I eat but don't like it so much. What I really like to eat and drink is humba and Coke. "I also know of a 98-year-old mother of a friend and a relative of our officer in Makati, a very prominent family in Pampanga, and the old lady eats plenty of adobo and humba. Then a recent medical journal a research on cancer, stated that except for lung cancer (caused by smoking), liver cancer (caused by overdrinking or hepa infection), skin cancer (caused by sunburn on Caucasians), most other cancers are abnormal mutations which is just your bad luck or God's will. So then, especially before 2025 or 2045, good genes and prayers will improve your chances of reaching 100.
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