From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@www.aeiveos.com)
Date: Sat Dec 18 1999 - 10:51:32 MST
On Fri, 17 Dec 1999, Max More wrote:
>
> I think the phrase was "life extension zealots". Not the way I'd put it,
> but surely not too wildly far from the truth!
I'll fess up to being a zealot if it will help... :-)
> I've made some comments in Exponent,
> but I'll say that overall it did a fine job of conveying the real progress
> in the science of anti-aging.
I thought so too. We need more pieces converting the details of science
into something the public can consume. { Though Wired readership isn't
the "general" public. }
>
> ... and is especially harsh to Robert. Aside from the surprisingly
> rude comment on Robert, the writer was complimentary towards Natasha (he
> spent an hour and a half interviewing her), and showed how her speculations
> were already looking technically feasible.
It may be a question of access to sources. I did let the author know via
email that I'm not entirely as inept as the article might suggest. Since
news pieces need "bad boys" to spice them up a little, as long as they aren't
inaccurate I'm not going to gripe too much. The net effect is to position
me as someone who believes things can go faster which from my perspective
is good, because older individuals (who might really want to devote resources
to the problem) *want* people who believe they can find solutions faster.
And besides... "Revenge is a dish best served cold".
>
> I didn't see it that way at all. I *was* disappointed that, apart from when
> the writer spun off Natasha's thoughts, he entirely focused on the Saturday
> morning sessions and ignored all the other dimensions (philosophical,
> legal, etc.) that we covered.
>
I doubt that he attended the entire conference, though I may be wrong.
You have to keep in mind press deadlines. We are working on a lot of
detailed stuff and to get proper treatment of it will not be easy.
Natasha at least has some very clear visions that writers can grasp.
The philosophical & legal areas are a lot less "graspable" in general
and we probably still have lots of work to do figuring out how to
put them into news bites. So we will have to be diligent.
If anyone gets the WSJ, there may have recently been or may soon be a piece
regarding longevity & body augmentation in the next century. The author
spoke with me in some detail probably because I could talk about the
nanobot possibilties. I believe I get referenced as a source.
At any rate this is an extropic piece we should keep our eyes open for.
Robert
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