It’s no surprise that fear of death is very common. What’s more surprising is that I’m starting to think that the best cure for it is to examine the rising alternative: the ‘Don’t Die’ culture, championed mainly by US millionaire Bryan Johnson but bought into by many others of like mind.
The ‘Don’t Die’ mindset came up on over 10 million feeds in recent days when investor and biomed engineer Sean Kelly posted a picture of his own personal pharmacy, claiming that he takes over 40 supplements a day, and that as a result, his biological age is 27…despite being 41. This initial post was followed by a lengthy thread containing his ‘Lifeforce score’ (highest his doctor has ever seen, apparently) and extensive supplement recommendations.
After being criticised by Daily Wire commentator, Matt Walsh, who voiced my own view – in line with reality – that “You will die anyway,” the aforementioned Mr Johnson hopped in to explain that “99% of those living can’t see the future when it arrives”.
“On the eve of giving birth to superintelligence, we no longer know how long and how well we can live. A different era is now present whether it can be seen or not.
“The question is not whether health habits of today will punch through the 120 ceiling, rather it’s if we can create the new systems and norms to systematically eliminate the current Die culture which creates disease, misery, and impairment. Don’t Die will superseded Die simply because we can,” Johnson wrote.
There’s a lot going on there; the “current Die culture” creates disease, misery and impairment – does not rather nature do that? The interesting thing though is that Johnson isn’t the only one voicing such things, as his friend chimed back in, “And the wild thing Bryan is how many people are just willing to accept death & disease like it’s their destiny”. Well, call me an old fool because I’m willing to accept both as my destiny on this mortal coil, and I suspect far more people would opt for those than the ‘Don’t Die’ alternative that Johnson offers a fascinating window into.
A recent video posted on Johnson’s YouTube documented his visit to a “remote island” for a $20,000 treatment in a bid to live forever. “’Humans have a 120-year ceiling and so far no one can punch through it – gene therapy might be the answer,” he said, adding, “I never imagined I would be doing gene therapy on an island off the coast of Honduras”.
A test of the treatment conducted on mice saw the rodent that had undergone the gene therapy live for 30% longer, which must have proved irresistible to the figurehead of the Don’t Die bunch. It’s not the first controversial therapy Johnson has dabbled in as part of his effort to find the fountain of youth. He made headlines last year when he discussed the blood transfusions he’d been receiving from younger people, including from his own son. He said he’d received a 1-litre donation of “young plasma” once a month for six months; one came from his 17-year-old son, Talmage. However, he called it quits when continued monitoring revealed that it wasn’t yielding any benefits.
The most shocking treatment (literally), though, he underwent as part of his bid to combat ageing must be the strict regime of shock therapy he applied to his genitals, which he claimed reversed the ageing of that part of his body by 15 years.
“There’s this technology — you have a wand and you sit in a chair and the technician uses the wand and basically shocks your penis through acoustic technology,” Johnson explained on a podcast.
“It’s a technology that has a broad range of applications, and it’s also used for erectile dysfunction,” he said, clarifying that he experiences no such malady. How could he, building the temple that he is? He revealed much about the details of monitoring the treatment’s success that aren’t worth recounting here, but suffice to say, the man has put in enough work to thwart death 10 times over.
Having looked at just a handful of the things Johnson has subjected himself to (surpassing his friend Sean Kelly, he reportedly takes over 100 supplements daily), it’s worth asking: If you fell under the influence of the ‘Don’t Die’ culture and managed to extend your lifespan even minutely, would it be worth it? What sort of life would you end up living? No life at all, it appears.
A flood of tablets that’s normally reserved for old age would be your daily fare from youth, and a disproportionate focus on health to accompany you throughout your days, again, rather than the unfortunately necessitated focus we give our ailing bodies in old age (if we’re lucky and it doesn’t kick in before then). Leeching blood off the youth like some sort of vampire while getting your genitals zapped on a regular basis.
No, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” sounds to these ears entirely more human than the promise of a freakishly-prolonged lifespan.