Right. In the past, though, the things that "got us" were mostly exogenous. A hypothetical hermit won't get the flu or tuberculosis but if male has a 50 percent chance of getting cancer. Now, obviously, in 1800 or whenever people probably never thought we'd deal with deadly infections, and we largely have. So you never know. But cancer strikes me as a lot more insidious than previous rampant causes of death. I'm also not sure I agree with Cadell that "the biological clock won't last forever" -- based on various things I've read lately, that seems pretty optimistic.
I don't know exactly when it will happen, but our choices about biological reproduction will change dramatically before 2050.the biological clock won't last forever" -- based on various things I've read lately, that seems pretty optimistic.