Would you cheat death?

[Brabbit1987]

Even if you were the only person to be immortal you'd get used to people dying on you because it'd happen so much (after a certain amount of time)

It sounds a bit cynical but we can get used to anything, so once you got over the first few you'd just get on with it, it'd be like having pets die. Sad, but not the end of the world.

I don't think this is the issue he was talking about. We are not talking about the sadness of a death, but the actual relationship itself would be impossible to have at some point in time, thus you would be lonely.

Edit: Sure you can come in contact with them, but the bond would never be anything serious since, to you, they are only going to be alive for a small amount of time.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[Sirrobert]

It's also relative time. If you lived for 500 years, than 1 year is meaningless to you.

I think you'd get bored pritty soon

[RedDwarfIV]

What I have a problem with is the "and not a perfect copy" statement. Mentally downloading a mind onto a computer is making a copy.

Here's my solution. In a person's lifetime, every cell in their body will have been replaced with a new one at least once. Is this the same person at the end of their lives as when they started? Yes, because it's a gradual process. Memories get stored on new neurons, old neurons die and wither away. Now, what if you could make synthetic neurons? Ones which could gradually replace biological neurons over the course of years, and would be completely resistant to disease, and when they fail, the solution is just more synthetic neurons?

You would end up with the same person, but in a synthetic brain. And a synthetic brain is a lot easier to attach a USB cable to.

[Brabbit1987]

It's also relative time. If you lived for 500 years, than 1 year is meaningless to you.

I think you'd get bored pritty soon

Again not necessarily. That only becomes the case if the world no longer evolves or changes.

Example, you could have lived 500+ years and for the first time experience space travel outside of our solar system and into other territories you never explored before. Those years will not be meaningless.

By your standards it's like saying $1 is meaningless just because it's a small amount compared to say something like $500. Even if it is only $1, it does not lose it's value.

[Sirrobert]

Your right, to small a difference.

But still, even if you actively track all those developments, it's not going to be able to fill the biggest part of your time, which will be mundane things. Holidays (you've seen 400 of them) would go by in a flash. Talking to people, unles it's some moviestar you have always loved (not likely, your childhood stars are long dead) you are not going to remember the details.

Unless you are on the forefront of those developments (which might be possible. You have plenty of time to devote to it afterall), it's not going to keep you busy long enough to pull you out of the routine.

You could go thrill seeking to make life a little less boring, but after jumping out of a plane a thousand times, I doubt you'll get that big an adenalin rush off it anymore

[Brabbit1987]

Your right, to small a difference.

But still, even if you actively track all those developments, it's not going to be able to fill the biggest part of your time, which will be mundane things. Holidays (you've seen 400 of them) would go by in a flash. Talking to people, unles it's some moviestar you have always loved (not likely, your childhood stars are long dead) you are not going to remember the details.

Unless you are on the forefront of those developments (which might be possible. You have plenty of time to devote to it afterall), it's not going to keep you busy long enough to pull you out of the routine.

You could go thrill seeking to make life a little less boring, but after jumping out of a plane a thousand times, I doubt you'll get that big an adenalin rush off it anymore

lol I have only lived 26 years and I already feel this way most days. It really isn't a big deal.

Some days are fun, some days are boring, it really just all depends on what is going on.

If you lead a very boring life, of course your life will be boring. Life is what you make of it. This has a lot to do with the person as well. Some people can easily find new experiences all the time. Also really, this is all speculation, no one has lived for this long. I think it's a bit of a stretch to think living that long would be any different then living how you live currently today. In other words, there is no substantial proof behind your claims.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[Sirrobert]

Ofcourse, it's all speculation, no way to test it.

And it's not a big deal, but I do think the extrapolation of those boring days would be a horrible life

Meh, we'll probably never figure it out anyway

[Brabbit1987]

Ofcourse, it's all speculation, no way to test it.

And it's not a big deal, but I do think the extrapolation of those boring days would be a horrible life

Meh, we'll probably never figure it out anyway

Actually many scientists believe we are already on our way to figuring it out. Well at least living a heck of a lot longer then we currently do now. Think I heard that they believe the first person to live to 300 or 400 is alive today or something like that and that isn't even close to best case scenario.

[Omicron314]

Think I heard that they believe the first person to live to 300 or 400 is alive today or something like that and that isn't even close to best case scenario.

Ah, not quite, although that would be amazing. The person you are talking about will live to the age of 150 years, not 300 or 400. Give it a century or two from now, though.

[Brabbit1987]

Ah, not quite, although that would be amazing. The person you are talking about will live to the age of 150 years, not 300 or 400. Give it a century or two from now, though.

Oh right! .. hehehe ... sorry getting ahead of myself there, guess I just want those numbers to be higher. However, like i said, that isn't even best case scenario, that is just more like what they can be definitely be sure of right now. That number is very likely to rise given as you said a century or two.

[John FX]

Ah, not quite, although that would be amazing. The person you are talking about will live to the age of 150 years, not 300 or 400. Give it a century or two from now, though.

So by the time the 300 year treatment comes around according to your numbers, they will be 100-110 if it will take a century and they are alive now. Who is to say it won`t be a rejuvination treatment that gives 150 more years rather than prolong what you have left as a percentage of the remaining time?

Your statement and the one you replied to are not mutually exclusive.

To reply to OP though, no I would not cheat death.

[Sirrobert]

So by the time the 300 year treatment comes around according to your numbers, they will be 100-110 if it will take a century and they are alive now. Who is to say it won`t be a rejuvination treatment that gives 150 more years rather than prolong what you have left as a percentage of the remaining time?

Your statement and the one you replied to are not mutually exclusive.

To reply to OP though, no I would not cheat death.

It would be alot easier to keep a young person young than to keep someone who's already old alive for that long

[ecat]

It would be alot easier to keep a young person young than to keep someone who's already old alive for that long

A sweeping statement.

Remember H1N1? iirc Both it and the Spanish flu of 1918 killed more young than old through overreaction of their immune systems, perhaps our longevity treatment will have the same effect?

[RedDwarfIV]

Actually, scientists believe that we will have life extending treatments based on nanorobotics within 30 years. Presumably they would be designed to repair telomeres. From there, you just let the body continue replacing damaged cells. One of the things that causes cell division to start to fail due to faults in their genetic coding is little things called free radicals that bombard the DNA over the years. That may be something else that needs to be addressed, but death from old age is mostly due to organ failure after cells stop dividing when the DNA comes undone when the telemeres reach a point of irreparable damage, having been opened and closed over and over again ever time the cell has divided in the past.

[Flixxbeatz]

Ofcourse, should you choose to cheat your death, immortality is not without its downsides.

[Dunbaratu]

Yes.

*Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start*

Are you my ASAS unit?

[Brabbit1987]

Ofcourse, should you choose to cheat your death, immortality is not without its downsides.

Actually ...

#5.

Evolution Will Turn You Into a Freak

That is entirely false. Scientists have said humans are not going through physical evolution at least not anything to major changing that would all of a sudden make you into some sort of freak. It's probably got to be one of the dumbest things I have heard as a downside to immortality.

#4. Nobody Can Ever Find Out

This is based purely on assumptions and also assumes you are the only one that is immortal.

#3. You're Still Getting Older (Mentally)

According to what science? Even if this was the case if you where immortal, you would be alive during the time that pretty much can cure anything.

#2. Time Speeds Up Until You're Insane

This is very speculative. Even if it was the case, it doesn't mean you would go insane. Also this experience doesn't happen in real time as it seems to suggest. 5 minutes will always be 5 minutes and it will not feel any less at the very moment you are thinking about it. Memories do not work like that.

#1. You'll Eventually Get Trapped Somewhere (Forever)

False. The chances of it happening always stays the same. If there is a 0.1% chance of it happening it stays 0.1%. Living forever, only means you may eventually end up in that 0.1% chance situation. However, if you live forever what are the ACTUAL chances? You are not always near an earthquake prone area. Also who says earthquakes will always be a danger to us? You would think at some point we would work out ways to avoid natural disasters. We already have many preventative measures against natural disasters and these will only get better. Again this is just a speculative assumption. Not a fact.

Basically that article is a load of crap.

[raggamuffin]

One of my ex gf's old housemates was working for a cambridge biologist regarding cell regeneration in vital organs. They believed this could be used to increase people's lives indefinately. I never really understood it in depth. I think the basics was we accumulate a lot of worthless cells as we get older and their aim was to remove these and allow us to continually produce new cells and such.

Not sure if i'd want to live that long. Unless they could literally keep you as youthful, mobile and energetic as you feel in early life then what's the point of being an old,slow person living for hundreds of years? It's not something i'd personally enjoy.

Ed

[ecat]

Ofcourse, should you choose to cheat your death, immortality is not without its downsides.

#5

They pixelated the caveman's willy!

Instant loss of 98 credibility points in the very first picture. Any site claiming some affiliation with science which censors human body parts is a joke site, simple. Maybe it's an American site. Doesn't matter: "Any site claiming some affiliation with science which censors human body parts is a joke site."

Centaurs did not die out through lack of interspecies relationships. Legend and some documentaries you can watch today on the internet suggest some find Centaurs quite appealing. No. Centaurs did not die out. Centaurs never existed. -2 credibility points.

Of course the point about Reproductive Isolation is probably valid even without the centaur reference so +2 credibility points. But it fails to mention the allure of celebrity (-1 point), wealth (-1 point), bribery (-1 point), advances in science and genetic engineering (-5 points). Most seriously it fails to mention.. the promiscuity of the human species makes total reproductive isolation unlikely (*), the internet makes it highly unlikely (-x! points).

#4

Cannot continue while credibility score is negative.

(*) I loved what Russell T Davies did with the Captain Jack character in TV series Dr Who. So much scifi has humans spreading love, the greatest and most unique gift the species has to offer, across an otherwise cold and heartless galaxy. Captain Jack, one of the first humans to explore the galaxy, and kind of immortal too, spread love at every possible opportunity but in a more tangible way than some other scifi would present.

[Tommy99534]

Screw being stored in a robot, I'll just steal Radigan Cohnagers blueprints and build a life extending machine.

[Sirrobert]

A sweeping statement.

Remember H1N1? iirc Both it and the Spanish flu of 1918 killed more young than old through overreaction of their immune systems, perhaps our longevity treatment will have the same effect?

I don't think you can compare a hyptotethical treatment that MIGHT exist to the flu.

IF it will be done with virusses, it will be adenoviruses (if I remember that correct, could have mixed up virus types). They are often used to transfer genes to organisms. If we are to activate telemerase (the protein that 'repairs' telemeres) in the celltypes that don't have it, we'd need to do the mutations required with fetusses, or even just fertilized eggs

Actually, scientists believe that we will have life extending treatments based on nanorobotics within 30 years. Presumably they would be designed to repair telomeres. From there, you just let the body continue replacing damaged cells. One of the things that causes cell division to start to fail due to faults in their genetic coding is little things called free radicals that bombard the DNA over the years. That may be something else that needs to be addressed, but death from old age is mostly due to organ failure after cells stop dividing when the DNA comes undone when the telemeres reach a point of irreparable damage, having been opened and closed over and over again ever time the cell has divided in the past.

We'll never be able to remove free radicals, as metabolism itself produces most of the radicals you find in the body.

As for telemeres, it will probably be easier to reactivate telemorease in the celltypes that don't have it. Immortal cancer strands in the lab have this. Introduce the right mutations to a freshly fertilized egg, and voila

If I remember correct, telemeres are hardly the main problem with getting old though. Simple damage from use in the organs themselves, mutations introduced during growth, diseases leaving scarrs, those things are much worse

[gamowin]

I think I would choose to have my consciousness stored inside a computer or android of some sort. The problem that I see with this is the same one with teleportation, the teleporter creates an exact duplicate of you and destroys the original. Or it will disassemble you into atoms and put you back together somewhere else. Either way, my original consciousness will be destroyed. There might be an exact duplicate of me with the same personality, memories, etc. but I would still have died.

[Brabbit1987]

I think I would choose to have my consciousness stored inside a computer or android of some sort. The problem that I see with this is the same one with teleportation, the teleporter creates an exact duplicate of you and destroys the original. Or it will disassemble you into atoms and put you back together somewhere else. Either way, my original consciousness will be destroyed. There might be an exact duplicate of me with the same personality, memories, etc. but I would still have died.

This already has been discussed in the thread.

[KOCOUR]

You might wanna rethink that.

Courtesy of Cracked.com, here's what happends:

So you'll be forever lonely, by the time you get to know someone he aged and died

Ah common chicken**** bul****.

If you will be immortal, you will have unlimited time to solve any problem that will come with the immortality, even reinvent immortality for others if you would actualy care.

If you refuse, you will just spend rest of your life tortured by doubts and then die.

So only logical think to do, if offered immortality, is to accept.

[John FX]

Anybody realized that being immortal does not automatically guarantee you remain free from damage...

given enough time, your damage would be massive.