Terry Prone: Beauty is skin deep, but negative attitudes to ageing run far deeper

The signs of age are no longer seen as manifestations of a well-lived life and accreted wisdom, and so athletes and the super-rich are looking to turn back time.

'Ultra wealthy software entrepreneur' Bryan Johnson, 45, undertakes a variety of treatments provided by a range of medical specialists to beome more like an 18-year-old. Credit: Blueprint

It is somewhat unlikely that Novak Djokovic lives by Advice 38 from the Quaker Faith & Practice book, which says: “Do not let the desire to be sociable, or the fear of seeming peculiar, determine your decisions.” 

Novak, nevertheless, is low on the fear of seeming peculiar, which in one sense is good, but does lead to this crisp description of him by a tennis-loving friend: “He’s an arrogant, deeply unpleasant git with a huge tennis talent.”