Too often, we mistake chaff for wheat, fame for substance, or knowledge for understanding. In an age dominated by influencers, do we follow their fleeting trends, or do we choose what we genuinely like, want, or need?
Many organizations, even those with ostensibly humanitarian missions, often take the easier path. They lose sight of their vision, thriving instead on public acclaim, awards, and public relations, ultimately losing sight of humanity itself. These organizations become consumed by publicity rather than substance. Many global entities measure their success by LinkedIn posts, YouTube views, and TikTok hits. Websites are rated by “organic traffic,” “keyword rankings,” “search visibility,” and “conversion rates.” While these metrics make sense for commercial success, what about organizations that aim to improve global health, human well-being, and quality of life? Here the measure must be clinical efficacy, not fame.
Even when organizations maintain their vision, the focus often shifts to refining last year’s solutions rather than exploring new paths, discovering radically different technologies, or asking more fundamental questions. In 1900, most global aeronautical technology focused on optimizing hot air balloons — better fabric, better heaters, better baskets — rather than on powered flight. Similarly, in the field of aging and age-related diseases, most current biotechnology targets symptoms rather than aging itself. Trillions of dollars are funneled into “research on aging biology and geroscience,” yet much of this work is akin to improving the hot air balloon rather than taking the revolutionary leap to “powered flight”: direct intervention in the aging process. Publicity, conferences, awards, and yesterday’s experts alone cannot create revolutions, whether in achieving the first powered flight over a century ago or in demonstrating the ability to reverse aging fundamentally and thereby improve human lives globally.
Curing age-related disease, improving the healthspan, creating a better world globally requires careful thought and human trials, not empty publicity. Global conferences and social media are no substitute for effective clinical therapies.