The philosopher's stone is a legendary alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver. It is also called the elixir of life, offering rejuvenation or immortality. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work")[1].
It seems to be possible to find the answer to any question on the internet, but not surprisingly a search on Google for “How to live forever” fails to provide a definitive answer.
Amongst the contradictory results it does however provide some clues.
Immortality might be achieved in a number of ways: the use of use bio-technologies and medicine to extend life; or achieving digital immortality by uploading the mind to the cloud.[2]
The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed. William Gibson
It seems to be widely conjectured that if one lives until the year 2050 immortality (by one of these methods) seems attainable. For me then, the secret (and the challenge) is to reach the age of 85 (31st December 2050) while remaining healthy. On this basis immortality becomes tantalisingly within reach.
On the 4th June 2018 I was identified as having High Blood Pressure, with a reading of 150/80. Having always thought of myself a fundmentally healthy this came as something of a wake-up call. Bringing this under control would be a vital first step on my path to living to a healthy old age (and hence, potentially, immortality).
The NHS recommends the following methods of controlling this (excluding medication)[3]:
- adopting a healthy, balanced diet
- restricting your salt intake
- getting regular exercise
- cutting down on alcohol
- losing weight
- stopping smoking
These also seem to provide a good starting point towards living a lifestyle that will maximise potential lifespan.
[1] 'Philosopher's stone', Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone
[2] 'Immortality: Uploading Human Mind to Computers?!', Scientific European, https://www.scientificeuropean.co.uk/immortality-uploading-human-mind-to-computers
[3] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/blood-pressure-test/#controlling-your-blood-pressure
