> the overall feeling was one of intense mortality --- a dread of the eventual senility that will probably come with aging, and a realization that when it happens again it will likely be once and forever.
Reading about these kinds of things is exactly why I donate to organisations that are working on curing the diseases of aging (mostly http://www.sens.org). Nothing scares me more than slow decline and decrepitude.
I'm young right now, but I'm both intrigued and scared about growing old and losing my grasp of my mind.
Awhile ago I've decided upon a signal for myself that, should I see it, means "you're crazy and you can't trust yourself". Hopefully I'll recognize it when I see it later, and also have the forethought to deploy it in time. I doubt it'll actually change anything (i.e., if I have Alzheimer's, I'm unlikely to remember the signal anyway and act accordingly) but I like to think of it as a neat little experiment on myself.
Reading about these kinds of things is exactly why I donate to organisations that are working on curing the diseases of aging (mostly http://www.sens.org). Nothing scares me more than slow decline and decrepitude.