[madvlad]

You are an engineer I take it?

I am taking engineering courses at UM-CP to
supplement my science background.

The differences btw/ the science type and the engineer
are a lot bigger than you may think. The scientist
in a purist sense makes a discovery regarding physical
or biological nature and the engineer, also in a
purist sense, finds an application for it! I
realize that the line is very blurred btw/ the two
and cut and dry distinctions are often times
meaningless. Furthermore, I believe that science
and engineering curricula target problem solving
skills at diff levels. Science targets from a
microscopic level weheras engineering tends to look
at the big picture or at least a higher level.

When Watson & Crick did DNA in the 50s and Nurenberg
discovered the codon code in the 60s, they really had
no idea where it would all lead. Anymore than Hayfleck
knows where his biological clock is going to lead in terms
of aging research. They can speculate but they can't
really know. Hayfleck says that the human lifespan
is finite. He has even offered numbers to the tune of
less than 100yrs in terms of population avg. But, we
don't know that just yet as manipulation of the
telomeres hint at myriad possibilities.

And then there is nanotechnology!

Mad Vlad

[LS]

Hahah. No, you compliment me by calling me an engineer. I am a HISTORIAN, and I specialize in business/technology history. That's why I'm not at all put off by "wild" predictions, because every time in history someone has something completely nutty, it tends to become a reality in about 50 years!

I'm also a Christian, and realize it is "appointed once for man to die" so that no amount of research will make us immortal in this life. But, hey, Adam and the early guys lived to be about 800, and the number of man's days is anywhere from 80-120 years, depending on how you read scripture. So I'm not settling for anything less than 120.