Long live Google

I didn't learn a lot today. It was too hot. I had yet another day on the golf course where my driver and I existed in completely different universes, but that's not really new to me.

In the short amount of time I spent reading post-round, however, I managed to pick up a little piece of information I was previously unawares.

Google, the divine ruler of the 21st century universe (not the same universe my TaylorMade M2 driver lives in), and supreme keeper of all the collective knowledge of mankind, has embarked on another audacious journey.

Google wants us to live forever.

Well, maybe not all of us. I especially hope all those auto-tuned "rappers" with face tattoos and dollar-$igns in their names aren't included.

This happened a few years ago, so excuse me for being a little late on the uptake (it's called "what I learned today", not "what you already knew yesterday"), but Google has been funnelling billions of dollars into biotechnology, and specifically the science of lifespan and ageing. A company called Calico - backed by Google - was launched back in 2013 with the express purpose of creating an environment whereby the best and brightest can harness their intellectual creativity to essentially figure out ways in which humans can live longer, to the point of a-mortality.

This is pretty cool, but also pretty scary. Let's say for example that through biotechnological and medical advances, we could up the average lifespan from 70 to 120. There's no telling what that would mean for humanity. Like, if birth rates don't change, there's just going to be far too many of us. There already is far too many of us! Shut up, I'm agoraphobic. Also, what if you're somebody filled with existential uncertainty and/or dread? That's an entire half-century longer you're stuck with those thoughts!

I could go on, but I won't. This sorta thing - while I do believe it's likely to exist within my lifetime - will probably only be available to the super wealthy. And why not, if I was loaded the last thing I'd want is to die before I can enjoy it.

In all seriousness, the direction Google and Calico are headed, to me is simply an extension and the next chapter for medical science as we've known it for the last century and beyond, which if we go back far enough would've simply been written off as witchcraft. So in conclusion, I for one support our Google Overlords, and hopefully one day I'll be wealthy enough to buy an extra decade or two. At this rate, it's going to take me at least another 80 years to figure out how to hit my driver.

Calico. That's what I learned today.