don's report archive

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

One Exception To The Rule of "I Can't Do It" -- You Can And Will Get Older. But, Maybe Not A Lot Older
Wednesday September 20, 2006

"Even a black hole is not immortal. Stephen Hawking has shown that a black hole's surface, or 'event horizon,' fluctuates and exudes energy in the form of random bursts of particles and radiation. It will always grow hotter and hotter until it eventually explodes and vanishes. How long will this take? For a black hole with the mass of our very own sun, the time required is 1064 years. For larger stars, back off, baby: a black hole the mass of a galaxy will go out with a fireworks display that will light up space-time for the next 1098 years."

"While there is nothing in the universe that suggests any purpose for humanity, one way that we can find a purpose is to study the universe by the methods of science, without consoling ourselves with fairy tales about its future, or about our own."

Dennis Overbye, "The Universe Might Last Forever, Astronomers Say, but Life Might Not," NY Times, January 1, 2002.)

Charlie Chaplin is dead, Adolf Hitler is dead and now Maria Esther de Capovilla is dead, too. Maria Esther had little in common with the beloved "little tramp" movie director or the infamous Nazi dictator, except for one thing -- they were all born in 1889. At the time of her demise a month before a birthday party planned in her honor, Maria Esther was recognized as the oldest living person on earth at 116 years.

Word from Guayaquil, Ecuador where she lived and died is that the party is still on. No doubt her memory will be fondly toasted by all in attendance, merrily eating cake and ice cream, thereby shortening their own life-spans.

It's not likely Maria Esther ever set a goal of living to 116, at least not before she reached 115. We don't think you should set such a goal, either, because you can't do it, no matter how much you exercise, eat right and otherwise live a perfect lifestyle in the perfect climate with a perfect support system.

But you can get older, and surely will, for a while.

If you are reasonably well now, you can do better than most by accepting the fact that about 77 years might be a reasonable outside possibility. That's the average life expectancy. But, it depends. It depends on a lot of things, mainly genetics and chance. Set sensible expectations, and be careful that your money and health don't expire before you do. Except for some obvious things (vigorous daily exercise, good nutrition, not worrying too much, finding meaning, laughing a lot, refraining from running with scissors and so on), you really can't do much to boost longevity, though there's no shortage of vitamin sales people and others with variations on snake oil who will try to persuade you otherwise. Basically, genetics and chance are the keys, and those are not subject to a lot of manipulation.

So, cheer up and focus on living it up a bit -- today, while you're still a kid, at least compared with a black hole or Maria Esther de Capovilla.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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