[ExI] The "real" world

[spike]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org 
> [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of 
> Stefano Vaj
> Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 8:47 AM
> To: ExI chat list
> Subject: Re: [ExI] The "real" world
> 
> On 24 March 2010 17:40, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:
> > So now this is my thought experiment: if one became convinced that 
> > moderate CR would slow the aging process 10 to 20 percent, and the 
> > only way you could do moderate CR is to surgically switch 
> off the taste sense, would you do it?
> 
> What does "slowing the aging process" mean?...Stefano Vaj

If CR slows aging process 20%, then it takes 6 yrs to gather the infirmities
that one would ordinarily get in five.  So if you would ordinarily have 30
yrs to live, then you get 36, assuming one is fifty at the start of the
experiment.

Here's where I am going with this:  I am trying to figure out why CR
apparently is somewhat less effective in life extension for modern humans
than it is for other mammals.  With those guys the delta is about 20 to 25
percentish, whereas I think with humans it is less than that, more like
about 10 to 15.  I have a theory on it: we modern humans kinda sorta do CR,
even if we don't really think about it.  

Consider: the really high fat health disaster foods are available, but we
don't eat them all that often: we don't pig out every day on Krispy Kreme
donuts and twinkies, rather most of us don't.  Those who do are easily
identified.  We work during the day, so we don't just eat all the time, even
tho we could.

Now as a thought experiment, imagine that we had *any* kind of food we
wanted at any time, processed modern tech-food, and imagine that we did not
know that there was any connection between eating and flab.  If that were
the case, we would pretty much all be really flabby.  But we do know that we
must eat at least somewhat sensibly, even those who mostly disregard the
information all around us, perhaps at least a little hold it in check.  

Women especially already restrict the diet, in order to fit current fashion
trends, and perhaps plenty of men do as well.  And of course there are at
least some restrictions because of food costs.

So to some extent I would argue that we already do CR to some limited
extent, so that more CR may help some, but not as much as it would if we
were already doing none at all.

spike