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Adam Gopnik writes that AgeLab researchers have found the "most effective way to comfort the elderly. . . goes through a kind of comic convergence of products designed by and supposedly intended for the impatient millennium, which secretly meet the needs of irascible baby boomers. "(Brigitte Lacombe)
In 1900, the average life expectancy in the United States was only 47.3 years. Today & # 39; hui, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is 78.6 and many people will exceed this average.
But is this advance really worth it if it only means more time to feel old and infirm? In an online feature article and in the May 20 edition of The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik talks with researchers and innovators who are trying to rejuvenate old age.
It's a delicate paradox: more life does not necessarily mean more young people. And as Gopnik reports, seniors hate products that could improve their lives but are clearly designed for the elderly.
To determine which of these types of products could prolong quality of life, Gopnik went to MIT's AgeLab, where researchers are studying aging people and finding ways to keep them active and healthy longer.
There, the paradox is in full swing.
The researchers found that "the most effective way to comfort the elderly," he writes, "is through a kind of comic convergence of products designed by and supposedly geared to the impatient millennium, which secretly meet the needs of irascible boomers. "
The dilemma is even more serious: longer lives lead to an increased risk of age-related diseases. Chronic and degenerative diseases are increasing in countries with a sharp decline in infant mortality; among them are conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. According to the CDC, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years in people over 65 years of age.
Gopnik is also addressing Alzheimer's researchers and wondering what might youth look like if scientists were able to eradicate old age. He pays particular attention to the fate that awaits all those lucky enough to reach their "golden years" – and the ways in which science could perhaps improve them.
Read more
Clichés about being as old as you feel it starts to have scientific support
Baby Boomers Join 'Aging at Home' Villages for Dynamic Activities
Get rid of negative stereotypes about aging
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