The idea of radical life extension has been around for millennia, it has been scientifically plausible for decades if not centuries, but it has always been a marginal concern. There was never a society which organized to make the cure of ageing a major priority.
I would describe what we have already done as radical life extension. Perhaps we have a difference in definition. From this link:
In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years.
The human race in general was never on board with transhumanism.
I claim this was never a realistic goal. The set of cultures in which we have the cultural norms/tools to create technology and large economic growth (that is required for transhumanism) AND which prioritize transhumanism above everything else are not very numerous.
In some sense, you can see the afterlife promise of many religions as a form of transhumanism, and billions of people are on board with that. Yet basically, none of these religions have contributed to actually achieving something like transhumanism.
I would describe what we have already done as radical life extension. Perhaps we have a difference in definition. From this link:
In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years.
My understanding is that this phenomenon is mostly due to infant mortality. Like we get a bunch of dead zero-year-olds yanking the average way down. I’m given to understand that even in 1900, once someone hit 30 they were pretty likely to live for several more decades.
(I’ve not checked this carefully though. Reporting remembered impressions, not careful research.)
I would describe what we have already done as radical life extension. Perhaps we have a difference in definition. From this link:
The model that is most convincing of why we didn’t orient ourselves around something like a cult of increasing life expectancy is that we went down the path of least resistance of technological progress and economic growth.
I claim this was never a realistic goal. The set of cultures in which we have the cultural norms/tools to create technology and large economic growth (that is required for transhumanism) AND which prioritize transhumanism above everything else are not very numerous.
In some sense, you can see the afterlife promise of many religions as a form of transhumanism, and billions of people are on board with that. Yet basically, none of these religions have contributed to actually achieving something like transhumanism.
My understanding is that this phenomenon is mostly due to infant mortality. Like we get a bunch of dead zero-year-olds yanking the average way down. I’m given to understand that even in 1900, once someone hit 30 they were pretty likely to live for several more decades.
(I’ve not checked this carefully though. Reporting remembered impressions, not careful research.)