When we're talking about longevity, I often think about this old comic. It showed two very old women, crumpled in seats in a nursing home, and one turns to the other saying, "Just think, if hadn't quit smoking and drinking, we might have missed this!"
Facetious of course, but the underlying point has merit. Just what part of your life are you extending? Are you extending the healthy, active period, or just dragging out that bit at the end when someone else has to wipe your bottom and feed you apple sauce? Especially with the current topic, it seems very likely to be the latter, and I'd rather eat the other half of my sandwich, and die a few years earlier.
> Are you extending the healthy, active period, or just dragging out that bit at the end when someone else has to wipe your bottom and feed you apple sauce?
It's always both. Mortality isn't an independent counter, it's linked to a bunch of predictors that are also predictors of health and autonomy.
In other words, if you "eat the other half", you won't just die younger, you'll also start eating applesauce sooner.
I read on HN a comment to the effect that to feel better in your 60s means you must do somethings in your 50s. The things you need to do in your 50s also make you feel better in your 50s. And to be able to do these things in your 50s requires you to do somethings in your 40s - which also make you feel better in your 40s.
Feel better meant being more active and more social. Obviously my recollection lost all the "literary" qualities that comment had - but I like its message.
Facetious of course, but the underlying point has merit. Just what part of your life are you extending? Are you extending the healthy, active period, or just dragging out that bit at the end when someone else has to wipe your bottom and feed you apple sauce? Especially with the current topic, it seems very likely to be the latter, and I'd rather eat the other half of my sandwich, and die a few years earlier.