Here's how long the American lifespan is today.

It is 78.7 years.

Here's what it was in 1947.

Not quite a double sense then, but it's close.

And don't we all like that?

And if science could now produce yet another double in our lifetimes,

would we like that too?

Well, some smart people think it's actually doable.

The discoveries are being made in laboratories today that hold real promise

for curing the thing that kills most of us in the end, which is aging.

And is that a dream come true or is it a nightmare?

Does society benefit when, say, smart creative people get another century of life?

Or is there something deeply unsettling about the idea of a couple

at the age of 120 designing?

They're in the prime of life and it's time to start a family.

Well, there is much to talk about, much to think through, and much to debate.

So let's do it. Yes or no to this statement.

Lifespans are long enough.

That is our debate where at the Kaufman Music Center with four superbly qualified debaters

who will argue two against two, four, and against this motion,

lifespans are long enough.

As always, our intelligence squared US debate will go in three rounds

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