Author Topic: Immortality: Discuss (Read 1187 times)

OIO · « **on:** March 02, 2005, 03:39:53 PM »

Read this a while back: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1642&u_sid=1346946

For those too lazy to read, its about a guy who apparently has very good credentials as an inventor and a computer scientist and has won numerous awards and is an MIT graduate who claims that humanity is 20 years from achieving immortality via nano-machines that will repair your body and keep you healthy and alive indefinetely.

Whether he's a loon or is correct, his claims open pandora's box (at least for me).

So, discuss here! Imagine the immortality nano-machines were a reality today.

Imo, first off... AWESOME. Eternal life unless you get killed by anything other than natural causes.

But.... imagine the amazing changes that would bring. Good and Bad. The more I think about things the more 'bad' comes to my mind than good.

Control

The Bad: Eternal life as the ultimate drug. If you disobey whoever controls the supply of the things just has to withdraw the 'services'.

The Good: Hmmm..maybe it will reduce crime rate way down.. maybe not

Overpopulation

The bad: Heck humans already overpopulate the earth. With death rates reduced to zero we'd be digging our own graves as resources become so scarce we'd be replacing death via natural causes with death via starvation or war. If we adopt the Chinese solution of 1 child per couple maybe we can do it... but..... 1 kid for all eternity?

The Good: I cant think of any.

Effects of increased (or endlesS) lifespans:

The Bad: Its kinda funny but the bad things i can think of all come from sci-fi and fantasy books.

Science fiction says that the eternal lifespans would cause the human race to stop its evolution...cause if you dont breed your genes dont mutate and (hopefully) improve with each generation. Yes, we can be immortal and breed like mad bunnies but imo the birth rates would go waaaay down if you live forever and keep spawning more immortals in a planet that is already strained from overpopulation.

Fantasy books usually have elves as the immortal race... and the problems the authors put foward are usually about psychological issues (too many memories, ritualization of every single aspect of life since life dragged on and on, boredom and the subsequent degradation of morality as people 'try' different things, etc).

The good: welp, maybe we can finally take that trip to another star system in a 10,000 year trip and we could expect to be alive when we get there.. just bring plenty of twinkies in the cargo hold

Sandman · « **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:43:10 PM »

Hmmm.. if you live forever, why would you need to reproduce at all?

Maverick · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:45:28 PM »

A major crisis in the case of imortality, boredom. Followed by ennui and real stupid ways to entertain one self.

john9001 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:48:52 PM »

<<>>>

thats the first thing i thought of, it would answer the over population problem, "humans populate the galaxey".

20 years ? i better start taking better care of myself.

john9001 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:51:56 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Maverick
A major crisis in the case of imortality, boredom. Followed by ennui and real stupid ways to entertain one self.

but mav, we could play AHxxx on the holo-deck!!

Maverick · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:55:07 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by john9001
but mav, we could play AHxxx on the holo-deck!!

Make it so!
Talk about immersion!

SunTracker · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:56:11 PM »

Soon as they can stop the telomeres of cells from shortening, we can live forever.

eagl · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:03:09 PM »

Everyone knows that consumption of oxygen causes old age, so as soon as we cut down all these pesky trees, we're all gonna live a lot longer.

Curval · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:24:15 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by john9001
but mav, we could play AHxxx on the holo-deck!!

If there was a holo-deck you'd never get me outta there. There would be a need to mop the floor every so often though.

OIO · « **Reply #9 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:41:47 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Sandman
Hmmm.. if you live forever, why would you need to reproduce at all?

Thats the kind of thing i said above. You wont age or die from natural causes BUT you can still die from accidents or violence and stuff.

If you dont breed... evolution stops.
If you live forever you'll reach a point where you're so bored I think you'd be willing to spawn several planet's worth of kids just for the novelty of it.

Besides, you really think you will live forever and not want to have kids? honestly.

Gh0stFT · « **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:53:17 PM »

imagine, you are 900 years old, with all the knowledge you gained during 900 years,
how can a new born compete at all?
social structures have to be rewritten complete new,
and what if your wife had an fatality accident after living togheter for 900 years?
I dont know.

OIO · « **Reply #11 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:56:09 PM »

good points ghost.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #12 on:** March 02, 2005, 04:59:37 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Curval
If there was a holo-deck you'd never get me outta there. There would be a need to mop the floor every so often though.

Didnt some star trek characters on one of the shows pretend to be pilots in the bob on the holodeck?

Tumor · « **Reply #13 on:** March 02, 2005, 05:02:52 PM »

Sounds good to me.... unless they cancel sex.

JB88 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 02, 2005, 05:02:52 PM »

we are not made of the same material as we were the day that we were born.

how many of you can remember back then?

to me, the most interesting questions about the length of life are of memories.

who knows what our specs are there.

and i wonder, what of the mind? can it be transfered? are we the sum of our parts?

a brain transplant?

what is the oldest living creature on earth?

how do you tell when the apples keep falling from trees and springing up again. and again.

as far as memory...where do you draw the line?