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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I mean, it was interesting, I learned some biology. The claims about importance of caloric restriction, SIRTs, and stuff, these were not so convincing on a closer look. Full book review on my blog. https://kirkegaard.substack.com/p/book-review-david-sinclair-lifespan
Very interesting and insightful book from the frontier researcher in the field of longevity. I have understood that it is now just a matter of time when humans will live much longer, perhaps even forever and in good health. This is quite amazing and frankly scary to me. The author has raised many difficult ideas that will accompany the shift in the paradigm of our society and how difficult it will be to transition. I do hope that it will not come at a great cost.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Fascinating insights that fundamentally changed the way I see aging, and other associated factors such as the effect of population increase on climate change. If you can get over the name-dropping and all too frequent personal anecdotes that try to merge this book into a scientific autobiography mish mash, it’s definitely worth your time. The concepts and mechanisms referred to, despite going somewhat over my head, were well described and the points made about concerns for the future were well framed and most definitely needed, despite what other reviews may say. The sorts of innovations increasing human health spans raise questions that must be acknowledged - if not by the developers themselves, at least in the beginning of their adoption, then who by?
The authors optimism for the future is inspiring and persuasive, but recent history suggests to me that there will be a lot more suffering before these utopian ideals will be experienced by the many rather than a select few.
The authors optimism for the future is inspiring and persuasive, but recent history suggests to me that there will be a lot more suffering before these utopian ideals will be experienced by the many rather than a select few.
A lot of the science in the beginning is probably worth a re-read. I found it hard to follow the author's thoughts, and I think he got way too excited about some claims. And I heard that some of the stuff he is suggesting (like fasting) is not actually as great as suggested. I was comparing this book with Outlive by Peter Attia, which I found more approachable and actionable. Lifespan talks more about ideas for medicine and makes exercise, sleep, and mental health sound like secondary things. Which is not the case as of now.
But!
They might be less important one day! One day, we might actually be able to just swallow a pill or something similar against aging. Which, I guess, is the message this book wanted to get across with all that dubious science. Even if not all of those approaches succeed, some will. And they will likely increase our lifespan by a lot, if not by an infinite amount.
And that is why this book is actually interesting. All the discussions in the end that were about potential causes on the societal level and what that might mean for humanity. It made me think. And made me sign up to a longevity conference in SF lol. Let's learn more!
But!
They might be less important one day! One day, we might actually be able to just swallow a pill or something similar against aging. Which, I guess, is the message this book wanted to get across with all that dubious science. Even if not all of those approaches succeed, some will. And they will likely increase our lifespan by a lot, if not by an infinite amount.
And that is why this book is actually interesting. All the discussions in the end that were about potential causes on the societal level and what that might mean for humanity. It made me think. And made me sign up to a longevity conference in SF lol. Let's learn more!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
The idea that certain types of stress trigger a repair process wasn’t new to me—I’d read Exercised by Daniel Lieberman, which discusses how exercise acts as a stressor that prompts more repair than damage. This book went further, listing various stressors that can induce similar repair responses: exposure to uncomfortable temperatures, calorie restriction, fasting, and exercise, among others. It also dives into a fair amount of biology, which I expected from a scientist leading a Harvard lab. The content strikes a good balance—detailed enough to satisfy a fellow scientist’s need for rigour, yet clear enough for non-biologists like me to follow. I was somewhat sceptical about certain points, but the author does a good job of distinguishing between conjecture and established facts.