Want to Live Forever? Stay in School.

Just a random thought I wanted to share. Technology is progressing exponentially, to the point where within 20 years time there will be several viable technologies to extend the human lifetime indefinitely. On one front, gene manipulation promises to reverse aging by manipulating the genes responsible for it; most of the diseases that people die from are an indirect result of the age of their cells.

Another technology that promises immortality is artificial organs. If your liver fails, get an artificial one. Bad heart? No problem... Slap in a mechanical one and you're good to go. Continuing that line of thought, it may soon be possible to use nanobots to repair damage to your organs on a microscopic scale.

A more controversial topic is uploading your brain into a computer... Is it still you? I can't say, but it's definitely something that could be possible within my, and possibly your, lifetime.

So, what's the catch? All of this technology will probably start out extremely expensive, and may stay that way for a long time. One of the only hopes of the average person getting access to this technology (barring the possibility of government subsidies) is to get a good education, and get a good, high paying job... That way, when the time comes, you'll have enough in the bank to get that injection of nanobots that will keep you eternally young.

Originally posted by LiquidLight
Just a random thought I wanted to share. Technology is progressing exponentially, to the point where within 20 years time there will be several viable technologies to extend the human lifetime indefinitely. On one front, gene manipulation promises to reverse aging by manipulating the genes responsible for it; most of the diseases that people die from are an indirect result of the age of their cells.

Another technology that promises immortality is artificial organs. If your liver fails, get an artificial one. Bad heart? No problem... Slap in a mechanical one and you're good to go. Continuing that line of thought, it may soon be possible to use nanobots to repair damage to your organs on a microscopic scale.

A more controversial topic is uploading your brain into a computer... Is it still you? I can't say, but it's definitely something that could be possible within my, and possibly your, lifetime.

So, what's the catch? All of this technology will probably start out extremely expensive, and may stay that way for a long time. One of the only hopes of the average person getting access to this technology (barring the possibility of government subsidies) is to get a good education, and get a good, high paying job... That way, when the time comes, you'll have enough in the bank to get that injection of nanobots that will keep you eternally young.

I'll be watching out for clinical trials. Yeah I would go be a guinea pig if it meant I may possibly get a real good medical breakthrough due to being a guinea pig!

reply to post by LiquidLight


Why in the world would anyone want to live longer than 100 years?

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
reply to post by LiquidLight

 

Why in the world would anyone want to live longer than 100 years?

To amass real wealth? Learn every subject? Make people who can't stand you more annoyed? That last one is all the reason I need!

I don't think it would be expensive at all. Think about the reaction this line would have on the public;

"We have the technology to make any human immortal! Oh, but only for the super rich".

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


I guess it really depends on your views about life and death. If you believe that there is something better waiting for you on the other side, then I suppose you probably wouldn't want to. But I, and many others like me, personally doubt the possibility of life after death. I'm not saying that death would be a bad thing (you wouldn't experience it, after all. You'd just stop being), but there's so much more out there to experience; 100 years doesn't seem nearly long enough for the human experience... Imagine, one day we may conquer faster than light travel and colonize other planets, and meet other denizens of the universe. That's something I definitely would want to be a part of.

reply to post by Adyta


hence the government subsidies, but there's no telling what financial state the government will be in at that point.

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
reply to post by LiquidLight

 

Why in the world would anyone want to live longer than 100 years?

Because there is living 100 years and existing for 100 years

very different things

reply to post by LiquidLight


Money wouldn't matter at all. Say someone developed a pill that would grant you immortality, they'd need to make one for every human on Earth, because those that don't get one would be livid... especially if they saw all the "rich bastards" we're getting theirs. The fear of death and a desire for immortality are two traits most humans probably share. Why do you think people are so obsessed with vampires? I bet it isn't the blood-drinking they're interested in.

Living forever..I'm sure we will one day try to reach for this peak of human greed and vanity.
We lack the spiritual maturity needed to deserve this

but maybe this is the key

whats wrong with just aging and dying?

plus look at the state of the world, i dont want to stay here any longer than i have to.


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reply to post by AnotherYOU


If everyone was immortal, I think that the state of the world would make a rapid change for the better. Things like global warming, debt, etc. would no longer be "Those are problems for future generations, we'll let those guys handle it", because since we'd all be immortal, we wouldn't be long gone by the time those problems caught up with us.

The saying "Life sucks, and then you die" would become "life sucks", and people would realize "hey, we can fix that one!".

Although, overpopulation could become a problem... for a while. People would have to be limited to one or even NO children until we develop the technology to colonize and/or terraform other planets or figure out how to sustain a massively huge population.

Reply to post by Adyta

and that sounds good to you?
still sounds vain, dumb and irrelevant to me.
oh and global warming and debt worry you?
maybe you should turn off the tv, live your live and stop worrying about illusions.

and all that terraforming and colonization talk is nice and all, but keep dreaming...
to me it sounds everyone just wants an easy way out from where we are now.

if yall want to live in the future thats fine, just gets me wondering what kind of living are you doing now.

live now, just in case the future you are dreaming doesnt come.

some people envisioned a jetson's future by the 2k mark..

keep dreaming


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reply to post by AnotherYOU


Your post made me laugh. Hard.

At no point did you make an argument against my post, you just repeated everything I said and kept saying "keep dreaming".

Reply to post by Adyta

good because yours made me laugh too. fair exchange.

who said i wanted to argumentate against you?

i said exactly what i wanted to say.

i understood why you said what you said, i just dont see it happening.

and i think we have more pressing issues.

i agree with you in saying we shouldnt leave problems for future generations.

but excuse me if what i see is everyone wanting to be there, yet no one is doing anything to get there.
just sitting around waiting for the desired future to come.

what everyone forgets is when the future comes, its still going to be now.

like i said, it just seems like people dont want to live now, they rather daydream about what if scenarios.

its a cop out


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I agree with AnotherYOU.

Immortality is neither possible nor desirable.

Nothing lasts for ever. Nothing.

The spectacle of people who don’t even know how to live the lives they already have adding more years of confusion, greed and vulgarity to their spans is grotesque and nauseating. The truth is that we already live far too long.

reply to post by LiquidLight


To all those claiming that living forever would be terrible,

How do you know? Maybe we should remember it is all speculation due to no one living long enough (relative to humans) to say what it is really like.

All the old people over 100 seem to love being alive.

So it comes down to whether you separate existing from living.

Several hundred years would be awesome. Imaging all the places I could go and things to do.

If you don't want to live forever grow some balls and do the dangerous stuff that could get you killed, do it enough and the odds will be way against you lol.

reply to post by MasterGemini

To all those claiming that living forever would be terrible,

Such as myself...

How do you know?

Simple extrapolation from present conditions makes it quite clear. It is naive to assume human nature is going to change; history records no instances of such a change. Even extrapolation is unnecessary, however, if one is simply blessed with good taste and a sense of proportion.

All the old people over 100 seem to love being alive.

That does not mean they should be.

Several hundred years would be awesome. Imaging all the places I could go and things to do.

Clearly you are very young. Acquire a bit more experience of life, and you will be less enamoured of it.

If you don't want to live forever grow some balls and do the dangerous stuff that could get you killed, do it enough and the odds will be way against you lol.

I already have. What makes life precious is the risk of losing it. A pox on living for ever!

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
reply to post by LiquidLight

 

Why in the world would anyone want to live longer than 100 years?

That's basically a premise in most religions. People want to live in paradise forever and ever. Those who say they don't want to usually have resigned themselves of the possibility of living in a world with no hunger, sickness, or death.

Personally I would want to live forever and study the universe or make new creations. Wouldn't it be amazing to spend eternity inventing new things? Whether you like art and literature, or you are an engineer or scientist, most people would love the opportunity to live forever and discover and create new things.

Everyone stop being optimistic immediately. It's not allowed.