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Here are the most compelling bits, with some commentary from me.

On historic events

Mr. Wagner was born in the time between the first and second world war. It was a time when the first world war wasn’t even called that – “there had been only one so far”. As a kid, he thought that he would only experience peaceful times during his life. Even before he turned 20, as we all know, he was proven wrong.

I don’t know about you, but this feels scarily accurate to what is going on right now in the world. I also never thought that I would experience a war in Europe, a global pandemic or the renewed rise of extremism and fascism all around the world. Well, I’m not even 25 years old, and it already happened.

On strokes of fate

During his time in the military, Mr. Wagner had an accident that permanently damaged his hearing. For that reason, he couldn’t continue studying ornithology and switched to botany. Later, he received his doctorate in zoology, became an assistant professor in Zurich and was even awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern at the age of 76 for his achievements in the field.

Although the incident in the army and its consequences were horrible for him, Mr. Wagner still managed to have a very successful and fulfilling career. Who knows if it would’ve all played out this way, if he hadn’t been forced to switch to another field of study?

On living 100+ years

Mr. Wagner understandably wasn’t expecting to get this old when he was still a young man. He always thought how great it would be to experience the turn of the millennium. Nowadays, he says, 80-year-olds “seem like young people” to him.

But he also thinks that trying to optimize every aspect of your life to reach such a high age is pointless. He attributes the fact that he was lucky enough to live 100+ years just to a sheer amount of luck.

And I agree to a certain extent – while trying to live a healthy lifestyle is definitely something worth pursuing, I also get that in the end, no day is guaranteed and the unexpected can happen in every moment. I guess it all comes down to finding the balance between doing hard things now to make life better for future you, while also not forgetting to enjoy the present.

There’s one answer from Mr. Wagner that I find equally morbid, funny but also understandable. Because he had such a “good and long life” already, he sometimes tries to overwhelm his heart while climbing the stairs. But he also acknowledges that it wouldn’t be a pretty sight for the person who’d find him afterward.

I think it’s kind of beautiful to be able to say for yourself that you had such a fulfilling life, that you’re ok with it coming to an end.

On insignificance

As a scientist, Mr. Wagner highlights the fact that even if one reaches the same age as him, from a geological standpoint, that timespan is no longer than the blink of an eye.

But during this time, as a thinking being, “you can’t stop being amazed”. The one fact that he can grasp the least is that it was possible for life to begin developing from dead matter. Therefore, he is convinced that there is something out there that exists independently of time and eternity – “whether you call it a god or something else”.

His thirst for knowledge is still there up to this day – for example, he’d like to know how this whole AI thing develops. And if human existence will end because of natural or self-inflicted causes. Let’s hope, the answers to both questions don’t have the connection that I think of right now…

All of this shows how important it is to never stop exploring and learning new things, and to never ever lose your sense of wonder and appreciation for the beautiful world around us.

Some closing thoughts from me

Interviews with old people like this one always help me put my current life, my worries, my plans for the future and everything else into perspective. It’s like zooming out and seeing the bigger picture. People like Mr. Wagner experience so much stuff during their lifetime that is nearly impossible to grasp for me. And these experiences also contain tons of negative ones, a lot of hardship and failure as well.

Sure, this exam that is coming up^[1] might seem like such a big hurdle right now and feels like the biggest problem in the world to me. But if I were in Mr. Wagners shoes, at 105 years old, this one moment would feel so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I would probably smile that I worried so much. One such moment rarely has the impact on my life I might think it has when I live through it.

I am healthy, my loved ones are healthy as well, I have something to eat every day, a roof over my head, I get to study a subject I’m passionate about, I get to create things every day and share it with the world. What more is there to ask for?

We should probably all zoom out a bit more from time to time.