X-Message-Number: 24344
From: "John de Rivaz" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: Hayflick
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 16:21:36 +0100

> Subject: Re: Hayflick
> From: Aubrey de Grey <>
> Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 18:30:24 +0100
>
<del>
>  An authoritative
> voice that says "it would be brilliant to cure aging, yes, but we can't,
> not for many many decades, whatever you may hear from dangerous ignorami
> like Aubrey de Grey" is a far, far greater barrier to progress than any
> high-profile comments by people with no current authority in the field.
> Worse, such people don't say this in print -- only in private, behind
> closed doors, thereby making their message all the more difficult to
> challenge.

This is a common problem. It nearly happened in the 1940s with regards to a
weapon that silenced many of the big German guns at D day and without which
the invasion may have failed. Once scientist wrote in a secret memo:

>>
I regret having to do this but I am sure it is true to say, quite bluntly,
that these disquisitions from T.R.E. on OBOE are becoming ridiculous. If
they came as inventions from the outside public and not from official
sources, they would be rejected without hesitation . . . I repeat now, even
more strongly, that it would be disastrous to permit the protagonists of
this fantastic OBOE the chance of causing a sensible and practical system
like GEE to share the disrepute into which OBOE even if raised to Mark
20-Will inevitably fall.

 If I had the power I would discover the man responsible for this latest
OBOE effort and sack him, so that he could no longer waste, not only his
time and effort, but ours also by his vain imaginings.
<<

(RV Jones, Most Secret War, page 273)

I wonder how many other missed opportunities exist in science and
engineering through this sort of activity.

-- 
Sincerely, John de Rivaz:  http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including
Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley
Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy,  Nomad .. and
more

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