1.  Good genes.
2.  Advancements in medical science.
3.  Improved public health practices.
4.  Personal Computers!

Point one speaks for itself. Points two and three have had tomes written about them. Point four, possibly the quintessential ingredient in promoting productive and enjoyable longevity, has until now been mostly overlooked. With the first three components in place, personal computing will provide the key to “quality” of life as our years run into the next century and perhaps beyond. Why do we think this is so? Let me count the ways:

CRUEL REALITIES.

In living toward a ripe old age one encounters many stumbling blocks and hazards. Most of us never make it past seventy-five or eighty years. Old, but not yet ripe. For those of us who survive into our nineties,  the word “frail” suddenly defines itself. And sometimes just because we’re tired, we seek the sleep that never ends. As we approach one hundred, our energy is insufficient to care for our basic needs. Someone has to lend us a helping hand just to make it from one day to the next. With so little energy the simplest maneuvers require great effort. Walking to the bookcase, choosing a book, walking back to our chair, opening the book, makes us too tired to read. So we sit (book on lap, glasses on, mouth open) and sleep. We’re in good health, our brains still work, but we’re “frail.” Being cut off from normal activity we begin to fall inside ourselves. Boredom breeds despair. For sure, old age aint for sissies!

Stephen Hawking (Theoretical Physicist, Cambridge fellow, Fellow of The Royal Society, Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, that Stephen Hawking) was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease more than thirty years ago. The average life span beyond that diagnoses is less than three years. Stephen Hawking’s energy level is low. He cannot move many of his muscles. He is in relatively good health, his brain still works, he is “frail.” But, (a very big BUT) he is not bored, he has not fallen into irretrievable despair. Why? Because he has great genes, he’s received the benefits of advanced medical science, his environment is conducive to health, AND, he has a personal computer!

It takes very little human effort to control a PC. Even your basic white bread, right-off-the-shelf computer can be manipulated by subtle wrist movements and the gentle tap of a finger. “You’re never too old to dance with a mouse.” And for those of us with special needs, computers can be modified to respond to a variety of signals, such as the blink of an eye or the twitch of a nose. “So what?” you say? So, everything! Everything meaning the world now opens its lovely wings and we are able to fly away from flesh and blood concerns into the heart and soul of electronic, virtual reality. Expending very little energy we’re able to enter worlds in which we are whole, vital, productive people. As long as we retain our ability to focus attention we can use our productive software (spread sheets, word processors, etc.) to continue contributing to society. When our ability to focus is gone we’ll spend our days surfing the Internet, dabbling in a paint program, or playing games. That is, if we know the way in, if the path to the PC has been well trod on our way to these golden years.

Mahatma Gandhi made remarkable strides in eliminating illiteracy from India. He did it with a simple concept, “Each one, teach one.” I teach you, who teaches another, who teaches another, and so on, until all have learned. When you are so old and frail you can barely hold a cup to your lips or brush your own teeth, you will have great difficulty learning to use a computer. But, if it is already so ingrained in your behavior as to be routine, you will have no difficulty using one. Here is a challenge: Teach someone over the age of seventy to use a computer and to access the Internet. Encourage them to teach another, and so on. Then, when the wonders of science have had their play and we wake up almost intact at a hundred and ten, we’ll all have some place to go. I look forward to meeting you there.