Poll: You will live forever
- Thread starter Barbas
- Start date
Recommended Videos
That kind of assumes that the alternative includes reincarnation.Recusant said:
I'm taking the "live as you are now" part to mean being in the same basic physical shape forever rather than a groundhog day style existence.
Yes I'd totally live forever, I don't remotely understand anybody who's enough of a miserable pessimist to think it'd be an overall negative. Sure, watching everyone you know and love die including all your own children and grandchildren will be very sad but those people are all going to die anyway and if I'm still alive I can enrich their lives while they still live.
I don't have any major apocalyptic visions of the future either, global warning and lack of resources may well make things very difficult but who knows what kind of solutions or new ideas we might come up with to alleviate or rectify these problems. A significant portion of every generation seems to believe that things are going to go to shit after they've gone but that's mainly just to make them feel better about their own inevitable death.
I imagine I might regret my decision after the sun explodes and I've been floating through space alone for a few million years in a state of living death but I'd have plenty of time to come up with a plan for that.
Heavens, that's horrible. I'd spend the rest of my existence/eternity praying to God to smite me.
It'd be a blessing for me.
There are a lot of things on my To-Do list and no time limit will enable me to get it done.
Also, I'm someone that likes to be involved with many events, projects, and family responsibilities, so having no expiration date will allow me to be a helping hand to everyone forever.
People might say that everyone you'll ever love and know will be gone someday, and that will suck, but I'm a very friendly and approachable person, which means that I'll at least have someone to talk to and hang out with and establish new and long lasting relationships with.
There are a lot of things on my To-Do list and no time limit will enable me to get it done.
Also, I'm someone that likes to be involved with many events, projects, and family responsibilities, so having no expiration date will allow me to be a helping hand to everyone forever.
People might say that everyone you'll ever love and know will be gone someday, and that will suck, but I'm a very friendly and approachable person, which means that I'll at least have someone to talk to and hang out with and establish new and long lasting relationships with.
I think OP was assuming that the brain would self repair and be immune from neurodegenerative conditions.Ezekiel said:
Still, the mind isn't ment to survive for centuries.
It's not about pessimism; it's about a lack of delusion: acknowledging that inherent limitations are inherent, and not just a result of insufficient knowledge or money or some other creatable commodity. If you don't put steam vents in the boiler, it's going to explode; no matter how distant and guarded those vents are, there's always the chance someone's going to get burned. Human nature makes for a very, very complicated boiler, but the principle is the same.K12 said:
See, it will, indeed, be very sad to watch your children die. Your grandchildren? Not so much. The further along you go, the less you'll be able to relate to ordinary humans, even if they don't change at all. The limits of human perspective don't shift- either you lose the ability to see others as equals, and descend into isolation and solitude (not out of necessity, mind, but because you want to); or you regiment your thoughts and attitudes so rigidly that you end up doing so anyway.
And that's the rub- perspective doesn't shift, but the world does change. That's why people tend to see the world as constantly going to hell. It has nothing to do with fear of death, it has to do with attitudes and angles that no longer reflect the modern world. Either you see where society is headed and hop off the train of your own will, or it keeps going until you fall off and get left behind- either way, the result is the same. Live long enough and it'll happen to you, (whether you're mortal or not)- you may be self-aware enough to not constantly bray it to the world, but it'll happen nonetheless. Humanity adapts and humanity endures; that won't cease to be true, but you're not going to like what they adapt to or how they reshape the world. And you're going to have the fact that even death is no longer able to free you hanging over your head every second of the way.
So there is good news; you won't have to wait until the sun goes out. A century in, tops, you'll have undergone a complete psychological breakdown. Have fun spending eternity as a vegetable.
Assuming I can still end myself, fuck yeah. But even if I couldn't I might take it anyway. To see humanity either crash and burn or ascend into glory is all I ever wanted. I could be the perfect volunteer for our first interstellar exploration missions. Oh hell yes.
Plus it'd be an extremely interesting experiment on what it would do with a human mind. If at one point it can even be called human anymore. Maybe my Asperger's would finally come in handy too, regarding the whole "can't connect with humanity at large any more." Like, I could barely anyway.
Plus it'd be an extremely interesting experiment on what it would do with a human mind. If at one point it can even be called human anymore. Maybe my Asperger's would finally come in handy too, regarding the whole "can't connect with humanity at large any more." Like, I could barely anyway.
Essentially my take on your response is "I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist... everything really would be totally shit."Recusant said:
Part of the reason that older people find it harder to adapt and learn new things is because their brains are different to how they were when they were 25. They also look different and are treated differently by people around them, a 60 or 70 year old wouldn't be welcomed into the spheres of modern youth culture so it's not surprising that this black box is a source of concern and confusion. Despite this there are plenty of people in their 60s and 70s who genuinely are progressive and attempt to move with the times. It gets gradually harder to do but I'd argue that this is larger due to the physical and neurological process of aging rather than an inevitable outcome of exisiting in any particular state for an extended period of time.
I also think there's some inconsistency in your points. Watching loved ones die would eventually change you and you'd stop being able to care but when the world develops and changes you wouldn't be change with it you'd always have the same perspective. Why would it not be the opposite, you'd eventually get used to everything changing around you (perhaps even develop an uncanny ability to know what direction things are moving in or be the force of positive change) but remain stubbornly sentimental about loved ones, knowing that your time with them is limited but growing to accept on some level that you'll treasure the time that you have.
I also stand by my point that doomsaying is largely (or at least patially) subconsciously motivated by the fact that people want their life to have significance and that they aren't missing out. The idea that they lived at the peak of human civilization before everything went to shit is one way of satisfying that.
In essence neither of us know what the future holds or what eternal youth would be like and speculation around it is going to largely be based around your general outlook. I'm focusing on the positives and believe the potential negatives could be overcome or tolerated and you're focusing on the negatives which you think are inevitable and insurmountable.
I'm sure very few people want to die in their 20s or 30s, but some who didn't want to die in their 20s or 30s might want to die in their 80s or 90s.Queen Michael said:
My relatives will die before me anyway because I'm the youngest of 4 kids and I actually take care of my body. The most toxic substance I ingest not by prescription is caffinated soda. Can't say the same about them. So yea I plan to live a long time unless, ya know, I forget my parking brake and my car backs over me . Living forever would be nice, at least until the sun burns out, expands past the orbit of Venus, and Earth gets melted into slag by solar radiation. I'd likely become the isolationist I always wanted and would follow Degrasse Tyson's world calendar rather than the yearly one. Watching the world cycle on as progress and new tech emerges or is halted from doing so by the types that like things like the old days, would be interesting to see and follow. Contributing to the progress of mankind myself would be tempting, but as an immortal being, I'd be inclined to stay my hand and let others make the inevitable mistakes, non-interference with lesser beings and all that. The "not feeling pain" bit would be alarming, as the sensation of pain is a large part of what makes us human and you cannot have certain pleasures without it.
In other words, I'm putting on my red suit, so bad guys can't see me bleed.
In other words, I'm putting on my red suit, so bad guys can't see me bleed.
Being forced to live forever while everything I love and care about in this world grows old, crumbles and decays around me ... how can that be anything but a curse?
If there's an option to off myself at some point I'd be far more likely to take it. That being said, I definitely see immortality as a blessing more than a curse. Yes, as an emotional and romantic guy, I think I would struggle mightily with watching my friends and loved ones age and move on without me. But, to be this version of myself forever? That's a pretty sweet deal. I'm 24, in very good shape, and more confident in myself than I've ever been (in a good way).
I'd take the opportunity to travel the entire world and meet every type of person I could and learn about as many cultures and traditions as possible. I would want to try and understand what it means to be human in all corners of the globe and see things I would never have the chance to otherwise.
I'd do my best to start a business or create an invention. Something to make me money and have an influence in the lives of other people. I'd do my best to the have the means to buy the cars I've always wanted to drive and take them to the beautiful places I've seen around the world. The Amalfi Coast, Stelvio Pass, across the US and Canada, Australia, you name it, I'll drive it.
And I don't see this as an excuse to get lazy either. I would for sure continue to pursue fitness and use my advantage of time to train as hard as possible and really reach the limits of my genetics and physicality. I can't imagine what it would be like to have an eternity to set new goals and bring up my lifts passed the point I thought was possible for me.
Women. Nuff said. Try them all. Blonde, brunette, red head, short, tall, skinny, curvy, dominant, submissive, artistic, intellectual, sassy, sweet, vanilla, kinky. I'd want to taste every flavor of ice cream available. That's the great thing about people, no two are alike.
And lastly I think I'd really nejoy getting to write about life through the lens of immortality. I dabble in short stories and poems for fun. They're not very good, but I really like exploring my thoughts and feelings in that way and immortality would give me infinite fuel for those quiet moments I enjoy so much.
Would all of this grow mundane at some point? Most likely. But shit, given the alternative of nonexistence, I'd choose living every time. I don't know how some of you can be so jaded and worn out. We live in the first world. Shit isn't that bad for most of us.
I'd take the opportunity to travel the entire world and meet every type of person I could and learn about as many cultures and traditions as possible. I would want to try and understand what it means to be human in all corners of the globe and see things I would never have the chance to otherwise.
I'd do my best to start a business or create an invention. Something to make me money and have an influence in the lives of other people. I'd do my best to the have the means to buy the cars I've always wanted to drive and take them to the beautiful places I've seen around the world. The Amalfi Coast, Stelvio Pass, across the US and Canada, Australia, you name it, I'll drive it.
And I don't see this as an excuse to get lazy either. I would for sure continue to pursue fitness and use my advantage of time to train as hard as possible and really reach the limits of my genetics and physicality. I can't imagine what it would be like to have an eternity to set new goals and bring up my lifts passed the point I thought was possible for me.
Women. Nuff said. Try them all. Blonde, brunette, red head, short, tall, skinny, curvy, dominant, submissive, artistic, intellectual, sassy, sweet, vanilla, kinky. I'd want to taste every flavor of ice cream available. That's the great thing about people, no two are alike.
And lastly I think I'd really nejoy getting to write about life through the lens of immortality. I dabble in short stories and poems for fun. They're not very good, but I really like exploring my thoughts and feelings in that way and immortality would give me infinite fuel for those quiet moments I enjoy so much.
Would all of this grow mundane at some point? Most likely. But shit, given the alternative of nonexistence, I'd choose living every time. I don't know how some of you can be so jaded and worn out. We live in the first world. Shit isn't that bad for most of us.
The Outsider, huh? Well, if I had the option to turn it off, without hesitation. Without? Probably still yes. Certainly, there are downsides, but the upsides are almost literally infinite. If I really, really, REALLY needed to die, the Outsider's seemingly more interested in being entertained than being an asshole. Odds are good I'd be able to negotiate something after sufficient time passes. After all, I've got forever.
Saelune, asking the real questions around here. (S)He's[footnote]With an avatar like that, is it safe to assume female?[/footnote] going places.Saelune said:
To be on topic, however, I'm looking at the other side of things.
Regeneration? Keeping my form? So much money is spent on things like dental work, food, shelter, cans of air. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiabeNR_q0U] It could cut my outbound budget in half. I could pay off my loans and my car in mere years, instead of decades, and then build a stockpile of immeasurable amount of monies. With my current career path, I could become a superhero. Would I still need Glasses?
Even with that in mind, living forever, as Saelune mentioned, I'd be able to see everything. See the world, see interesting people, become nomadic for years going across Africa, Europe, Asia. Learn languages, meet interesting people, learn infinite skills, woo infinite people until the inevitable heat-death of the planet...
Haha, if that "unable to feel pain" includes emotional pain then sign me up! That would entirely side step any of the other typical pit falls of immortality.
But I'm guessing it doesn't include that. I'd still say it's a blessing. It would be pretty painful at the start for the first century or so as you lose everyone you initially knew or loved. But you'd then start to adjust to learning to enjoy the time you have rather than perpetually fearing loss.
But I'm guessing it doesn't include that. I'd still say it's a blessing. It would be pretty painful at the start for the first century or so as you lose everyone you initially knew or loved. But you'd then start to adjust to learning to enjoy the time you have rather than perpetually fearing loss.