Poll: If you could, would you "live forever"?

[BloatedGuppy]

Question time!

As we move into an exciting new technological future, with 3D printed organs and scientists teetering on the edge of puzzling out the riddle of cellular degradation, it becomes increasingly plausible that at some point in some of your lifetimes it might actually become possible to "live forever", or at the very least skirt around unavoidable causes of death like aging or organ failure.

The common consensus when it comes to questions of extreme longevity or functional immortality is that it's disastrous from a position of pragmatic concerns...overpopulation would ruin the planet inside of one or two generations.

However, if the use of age-defying technology came with the stipulation that you couldn't reproduce, would you?

Obviously accidents and certain diseases could still kill you. And you wouldn't be immune to the effects of boredom or ennui. You'd have to watch an element of the population age rapidly and die alongside you, whilst you and other technologically enabled people lived for (potentially) centuries.

Does that idea appeal? Would you abandon the idea of procreation to become "immortal"? How long do you think you'd want to go? What kind of problems might arise? Would centuries old citizens be a boon to society, or are we better off reproducing shorter-lived generations and improving genetically?

 

[Barbas]

Yeah, sure. I'd be darn tootin' to give that the ol' college try.

The one condition is that I wouldn't want anyone else to know. Just think what it'd do for the NWO conspiracy theorists if someone let slip my little secret...

 

[Colour Scientist]

I know that I should say no because loved ones would die and, eventually, I would likely become embittered and miserable but I probably would.

I have no real reason other than being a total coward when it comes to death and being an insanely nosey person who wants to know how things play out.

I think we're probably better off with a younger population, a stagnant ageing society might not be the most fertile ground for progress. Individuals within the ageing population would possibly carry all of their deep seated prejudices and ignorance with them. They might become more enlightened though, I don't know. I am uncertain about everything, dammit Bloated Guppy!

I have a lot of reservations but when push comes to shove, I'd probably sign up for it.

Can I bring a friend?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Can I bring a friend?

Sure, if your friend can afford it.

It wouldn't be a proper transhuman scenario if there wasn't some kind of tiered society with people too poor to live forever glaring in envy at the centuries-old upper crust.

 

[JoJo]

Yeah, I'd do it. What's the worst that could happen? I'd love to see far into the future and if life somehow becomes unbearable eventually, suicide is always an option. Though, I would be concerned if it was a society-wide thing as each generation brings change with them and a lack of new generations could lead to stagnation. Or who knows, maybe people would change slowly over the centuries with endless time to reflect? It's difficult to say without trying it. I wouldn't really care about giving up on direct procreation all that much if that was a required, as long as adoption was still an option as I would really like to have kids.

I've always thought a good option for immorality would be uploading personalities onto computers. Living in a virtual world where anything is possible and everything is free would essentially be paradise, and the Earth would be cleared ready for each new generation.

 

[Evonisia]

I wouldn't be able to prepare my final hour repent as well if I lived forever.
But if I lived forever I could try to climb out of any shit hole my life might lead in to.

I wouldn't be able to form any bonds to anybody, and I would have to murder isolate myself from the people I already know.
But I could stay with them until their dying breath, knowing that their life was better because of my involvement.

I wouldn't be able to survive the Earth getting screwed over by the Sun come a few billion years time.
But I could live to meet aliens who might rescue me from this doomed husk.

Captcha: Once upon a time.

Very true.

 

[Aerosteam]

Sure. I actually want to live as long as possible, so that I get to see all the cool science shit that's going to happen.

And my loved ones could just be immortal with me.

And as soon as a turn gross for being so old I can just end it whenever I want.

And I could just reproduce before I turn immortal.

Seems like a good deal to me.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I would just have children before getting the treatment..or save my sperm.

A bit of an arbitrary question. Is it just to maintain the current status quo?

More people means more geniuses and more workers..all to faster develop our technology and reach the stars which would render overpopulation moot.

I'm Lazarus and I am going to live forever. (or die trying)

 

[DementedSheep]

Sure. I don't want kids.
If this was going to make you completely immortal even if you want to die it could be an issue but in this scenario if you decide for some reason you don't want to continue living you don't have to.
I don't know that it really be better for society, not necessarily because of genetics but because you get set in ways and patterns of thinking so shorter-lived generations are probably better for advancement and developing in new directions.

 

[Michel Henzel]

Considering I have no interest in reproducing at all that would be a non issue, and it's very unlikely to change.
I have thought about about choosing to live forever and I think I would choose yes rather then no. I would love to get to see how far we could go as a species, specially to see if we ever leave the cradle of our own little solar system, but that would be unlikely in my current lifetime as well as lack of a time machine. So to see the future I would have to go the long way round XD.

Though it would have to come without all the other effects of ageing.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Hells to the yes, I've never wanted kids anyway and having a mildly boring and depressing perennial existence still beats the shit out of embracing an eternal void of nothingness in death.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I would give immortality a go, what the worse can happened? Eternal bordom? If I do become bored long enough to stop wanting to lived, I can used the said accidents and certain diseases to killed myself.

 

[Dizchu]

snip

Life is so much more brutal than death

*does black metal wretch*

I wouldn't want to live forever but I'd like to stay young and fit, live for a long enough time to see humanity at least begin to venture off to other worlds.

Or long enough to see Half Life 3. Whichever comes first.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Or long enough to see Half Life 3. Whichever comes first.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Red Giant is going to swallow us up before that happens. ;_;

 

[Evonisia]

Snipping this bid'nezz

You can't live to see something that is trapped in development Hell.

I'm sorry I had to.

 

[Zombie_Fish]

OT: No, I would not. I feel that if I were to live forever then there wouldn't be much incentive to anything, as I could always put it off for another day. Death forces that to not be the case.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Procreation has never been of much interest to me, so that's no barrier. And I do want very much to live long enough to see all that cool sci-fi technology we keep getting promised.

Honestly, living for a millenia or two has always been my intention. Death just isn't part of my life plan.

 

[Tanis]

Sure, I might actually be able to get though my gaming backlog!

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Not a chance. I already have 60+ years to look forward to, hopefully. I don't need to prolong that even longer. My life is going by pretty quick, but it's still a generally ok pace. Nothing too quick (Maybe a tiny bit), nothing too slow like it used to be. If I could stay young though, that'd be pretty sweet

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

Death is a disease. Cure it.

Of course I would be in favour of it. Indefinite human lifespan is something I want and not just for myself. Death is so final whereas life, life is full of possibilities. I question people who want to die and therefore insist everyone else should die too. If I discovered a cure for lets say alzheimer but I didn't want to cure it should I deny that cure to everyone else? We don't just go oh well, shame about that disease you have, better let you die, no having you live longer with medical care. Okay maybe you don't want medical treatment for a disease you have but should you deny it to everyone else? We have healthcare to stop people dying, if we had a way to actually stop people from dying altogether why shouldn't we use it? Death is horrible, if we can stop it we should.

You might bring up social, political and economic issues, then sort out those issues! Don't just go everyone should die instead of trying to do the more logical thing, have a fairer world where people can live indefinitely. Technology including medical technology already has improved our lives and I believe it'll continue to do so in the future.