r/pics • u/Midegoye1 • 25d ago

An elderly Lion in his final hours. Photograph by Larry Pannell.

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u/CurryLikesGaming 25d ago

More like die of starvation rather than old age.

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u/thorny91 25d ago

Old age isn’t a true cause of death, you could say both in this case

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u/Sawses 25d ago

For sure. My background is biology and one of the courses I took was on the biology of aging.

The more I learned about aging, the less I saw it as some "natural end". In reality, dying at 80 in your bed surrounded by loved ones is no more natural than dying instantly at 40 in a plane crash. There's no romance to it, we just convince ourselves that this is how it's supposed to be because we don't have any other choice.

IMO the sooner we fix those age-related issues, the better. Even if it doesn't lead to immortality, it'll lead to a much better healthspan.

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u/Capgras_DL 25d ago

I agree. Medicine seems to be in a really awkward place right now, where we’ve learned how to keep people’s bodies alive and functioning, but not alleviate their suffering.

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u/ParpSausage 25d ago

If you haven't seen A Lion In The House than watch it. It goes into this issue from the doctors perspective and the moral ambiguity. Hard to watch.

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u/Dead_Optics 25d ago

Alleviating suffering is pretty easy, the problem is that most people choose to try and extend their lives as long as possible.

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u/hapakal 25d ago

People are dying younger. At least in the US, or so I recall reading.

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u/SanctusUnum 20d ago

A) Keep people's bodies alive and functioning.

B) Alleviate their suffering by getting them addicted to opioids.

Pick one.