I’ve read with amusement the various reports of the super-rich biohacker Bryan Johnson and his quest to live forever. I was no less taken by Hannah Murphy’s description of her hour-long interaction with Johnson at his concrete-floored Los Angeles mansion (“‘The enemy is death’”, Spectrum, Life & Arts, April 5).
Reading her account of Johnson’s pursuit of immortality reminded me of Joseph Heller’s character Dunbar, from his 1961 satirical war novel Catch-22. Dunbar is a fellow bombardier and friend of Yossarian, the book’s protagonist. He alights upon the idea of “extending his life by making it as boring as possible”. He fills his day with dull experiences to feel like he’s living longer.
Johnson, a man who’s gone from crying hysterically at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to a recluse who “does not go in the sun”, struck me as a modern-day Dunbar. Long may he endure in the shadows of boredom!
Sean Zeigler
Bethesda, MD, US
