FRANK TIPLER TO NEAL GABLER: I gotcher “big ideas” right here.

UPDATE: Reader Matthew Akin writes:

I hope the futurists realize that the single biggest threat to future longevity and freedom from disease right now is government involvement in medicine. It would be an interesting exercise to graph the the percentage of medical accounts receivable paid for by government programs vs. the innovation in drugs and devices. I am willing to bet that they are inversely proportional. (Also, the graph shouldn’t just be limited to the US, I’d like to see one for each country and then for the world as a whole.) We are already in a dystopian future as far as medical devices and drug innovation goes. It is coming to a standstill. This might just put the dates back a bit for when we conquer aging and disease. People are always talking about the big ideas, like conquering aging. Well, that goal will only to come pass after a lot of smaller, less sexy victories that just aren’t being done anymore.

Indeed. I wrote about that very problem in this column.