In the script for the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons, screenwriter Robert Bolt wrote, “Death comes for us all; even at our birth, death does but stand aside a little.”
This line underscores the inevitability of death, echoing the adage that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. While a healthy lifestyle may help extend life, death ultimately remains inescapable.
Advances in medicine and economic growth have generally increased life expectancy compared to previous generations. According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s life expectancy from 2020 to 2022 was 78.6 years for men and 82.6 years for women.
In contrast, in the US, men live around 74.8 years and women about 80.2 years on average. Some individuals, however, far exceed these averages; for example, Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment lived to 122, making her a supercentenarian, a title for those aged 110 or older. Her longevity prompts ongoing scientific exploration into the limits of human lifespan.
In 2022, researchers from Singapore’s Gero biotech and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center examined human resilience and recovery capabilities, analyzing data from hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Using AI, they estimated that around the age of 120 to 150, the body’s recovery capacity significantly diminishes, suggesting that surpassing this age range is unlikely. Some studies predict the longest human lifespan record may be broken by 2100, though few may reach Calment’s age.
There are also ongoing studies into anti-aging drugs that could, in theory, push human lifespans to 200 years, though such advancements are still far from reality.
In an imaginative twist, future space exploration could lead to human life on a planet with extremely short years, giving residents the perception of living thousands of “years”—though this would only reflect the planet’s faster orbit, not an actual extension of life.
Surviving to 150 would itself be extraordinary, and perhaps by then, technology might even enable indefinite life, potentially in robotic form.