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As it is now I think 80 is my limit on wanting to live. Im only 35 but I find each birthday it gets harder to deal with the fact that I am getting older. I dont deal with aging very well even though I still pass as being 25 at times. Extending my life would definitely not be an option for me. WHy are humans always trying to play God? Just let it be, dont mess with nature.
No one can live forever. I mean even if you live a billion years you can't wake up and say "I've done it I've lived forever". What we can do and will do is live for a very long time and it will happen well before 2035. From my research I think we will see it start the latter part of this decade but medicine will really kick in in the 2020's. The reason is they already know why we age they just don't know how to manipulate our genes to increase our life span. By next decade they will know how then life expectancy will increase faster then we age. Also, by 2025 computes will be so small (nano size) that 80% of humans will have computers in their bodies helping their immune system and cognitive ability. Now some people might not want to live a long time and that is ok that will be their choice however I can honestly say I am one of the ones who want to live as long as I can. The reason is there is so much to explore in the universe and I want to see as much of it as I can before I die. In order to do that I need to live millions if not billions of years. To start it off my "short term" goal is to spend new years 2100 on the moon.
I have no doubt that eventually we will be able to "cheat death". No technological feat is so far out there that it could "never be done".
However the problems with that are endless, overpopulation and sustaining that many people the keys.
Taking care of old and sickly people is amongst nearly every post industrialized countries top expenses as of now. Imagine adding million or billions more to that?
If we ever did start offering the ability to live forever, I think it would also have to come with, at minimum, the sterilization of that person, and only be offered to people who never had any kids.
I have no doubt that eventually we will be able to "cheat death". No technological feat is so far out there that it could "never be done".
However the problems with that are endless, overpopulation and sustaining that many people the keys.
Taking care of old and sickly people is amongst nearly every post industrialized countries top expenses as of now. Imagine adding million or billions more to that?
The problem is you are thinking about old age in our current state. Once they overcome all the issues we have, and they are in the process now, then the problems we associate with old age will not be there. For example take the social security debate. I dont care about it becasue my generation will not need it. The reason is when I am 65 I will be like I am 20 and full of life and not anywhere near retirement thus the whole program will be a thing of the past.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randomdude
If we ever did start offering the ability to live forever, I think it would also have to come with, at minimum, the sterilization of that person, and only be offered to people who never had any kids.
Again not necessary. It has already been proven that once societies become advanced they have less kids just look at Europe as many of the countries there are losing population. Personally I don't plan on having any kids as I want to spend my life learning and experiencing new things without having to worry about raising a family. On top of that even the most pessimtic projections of population growth for this century show that the planet can hold them and with the exponential growth of computers being able to live off this plant by the start of the next century is defiantly possible.
On top of that even the most pessimtic projections of population growth for this century show that the planet can hold them and with the exponential growth of computers being able to live off this plant by the start of the next century is defiantly possible.
It really has little to do with the planet being able support them for now, it has more to do with can many of them afford to buy those resources.
Right now, we have billionaires sitting on tens of thousands of acres of unfarmed land, just because they can. That is land that isnt feeding or supporting, anyone, and probably never will be. There have been efforts in recent times to even privatize water sources. In 30 years, we might be paying for air. Thats also not even addressing the permanent impact of humans on the enviroment.
If we are hoping to support a significantly larger population, not only do we have to think about how our resources are used and preserved, but then it also becomes an issue of how they are distributed as well, even more so than now.
It really has little to do with the planet being able support them for now, it has more to do with can many of them afford to buy those resources.
Right now, we have billionaires sitting on tens of thousands of acres of unfarmed land, just because they can. That is land that isnt feeding or supporting, anyone, and probably never will be. There have been efforts in recent times to even privatize water sources. In 30 years, we might be paying for air. Thats also not even addressing the permanent impact of humans on the enviroment.
If we are hoping to support a significantly larger population, not only do we have to think about how our resources are used and preserved, but then it also becomes an issue of how they are distributed as well, even more so than now.
You are forgetting the impact of exponential growth and it will impact all areas of life not just medical science.
For example:
Energy:
Solar energy is a form of information technology and is doubling every 2 years. MIT did a study and by 2020 the cost of solar will be less then 1/2 that of traditional fossil fuels. Solar will continue to go down giving us energy that costs virtually nothing. The impact it will have on the economies of the world will be great. Oh ya and its better for the environment.
Then there is fusion and it will be ready in the next couple of decades.
Water:
There is a devise out now that can take any water and make it drinkable. It costs a family of 4 less then a penny a day to use. The impact that will have on third world countries is going to be great.
We are entering the age of abundance. In our lifetimes we will see such dramatic changes and life will be so much better this will be nothing but a memory. That is just one more reason why I want to live longer and to be honest is why we will live longer.
I'm not sure I'd want to live forever in this body, on this world. There might be other, more challenging and interesting things to come once we shuffle off this mortal coil; we won't know until we get there.
If we were to remain forever young, how would we grow as individuals? Surely the challenges of maturing and aging, dealing with change and loss, give us insight we would not have otherwise. How would perpetual youth alter our intellectual and emotional growth?
The older we get, as long as our health is relatively good, the more we think, gee, maybe I will live another X number of years, but in reality, if life were to last for eternity we would run out of resourses and we would all die a horrible death. Does anyone really want to starve to death or die from lack of water. What about over crowdiing? No, I think life after mid 80s is pushing the button and certainly after 100 is probably too long. I would rather have a good quality of life and check out in 10 more years or so, than have a crappy quality for another 25 years.
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