We are witnesses to a world-historic achievement. We have made what was once a rarity-entry into old age-into something quite, ordinary. Hundreds of millions of people expect to grow old and will very likely do so. Even better, we have fashioned an old age that routinely yields the happiest years of one’s life. At the same time, we work ceaselessly to snatch defeat from the jaws of this great victory.Our times are defined, in part, by a widespread and perilous aging illiteracy. We are told that old age brings only a boring conformity. We are told that aging narrows our range of experiences and diminishes our value. In fact, the opposite is true. People commonly believe and repeat a range of myths, falsehoods and stereotypes about human aging and are unable to answer the most basic questions about the nature of independence and longevity. Principia Senescentis examines the true nature of human aging and exposes the modern mythology that places independence at the heart of dignity.