Comment by viviantan

I read the article per physcab’s suggestion (and because I was curious why a story about Greek centenarians could generate so much lively discussion on HN). Good read indeed, thanks!

I think it's easy to be dismissive when the topic of discussion has little to do with our own lifestyles, at least not on the surface. Old people on Greek isles and fountains of youth are light-years away from stuff that concerns your typically young and techie HN reader. (I'm generalizing, you guys can attack me if you must.) So it would seem that the only intelligent commentary one can make on such a subject is to question the author's scientific approach and to take apart his analysis -- how else could a 20-something programmer/entrepreneur partake in this discussion, right?

But dig a little deeper and you'll find some interesting parallels that maybe most HN readers can relate to and think about. A couple of things that the author and his interviewees said jumped out at me: (1) developing an ecosystem that fosters healthful and satisfactory lifestyles, and (2) adapting work schedules so you can work into the night even when you don’t feel productive during the day.

Doesn’t that sound familiar? A bit like startup culture? Ok, nobody wants their employees hanging out and milking goats all day (unless that’s your industry) and Silicon Valley will never be as stress-free and laidback as Ikaria (I doubt we would want it to be) but the article does inspire some ideas about what makes people tick and what makes people happy -- and those people could be your employees and your users.