Should we live forever?

[jcwade]

I know that we would all life to live longer. I know I would.
But should we?
As technology improves, the ability to prolong life will increase. And there are people who would sacrifice everything, and everyone they know, to be alive.
But the world has gone on for a long time with the circle of life (to borrow a phrase)
without human intervention.
Now that we "almost" have the technology to prolong human life, is it something that we should do?
Are a bunch of old minds in immortal bodies something that we should strive for?

What are the ethical implications?

Just asking.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Nope! 84 and a heart attack in my sleep like my grandfather, sign me up. Still worked 40+ hours per week and plenty sharp. I have no desire to outlive my useful life, and I’m not scared of what comes next.

[wildthing]

It would be nice if our bodies stayed young. But if I’m going to be 300 years old and frail, nah. Though, I’m not sure I want to be 150 and have to deal with the death of gasoline.

[HardDrive]

No thanks. If the human mind had the ability to maintain the plasticity of youth, well perhaps. And one would also need to become very detached from....attachment. The Buddhist's have a path there....

In a word, no. I don't want to live forever.

[JackDidley]

No. Imagine the population explosion. Too many old people now. Yes I am getting there. 67. I dont want to be trapped in a home. Too much like jail.

[sc_rufctr]

I looked into this a few years ago.

Let's say at some point in the future we cure ageing. (Which means we "fix" our cells so they reproduce perfectly forever)... If the current accident rate stayed the same the average life expectancy would be about 600 years.

You may think "fixing cells so they reproduce perfectly" is impossible but there's a lot of research into this right now and they're making progress. What will be possible in another 50 to 100 years? I believe the first person to live beyond 150 years has already been born.

So what does that mean for us old farts?

I'm 55 so being optimistic, I'm expecting 20 good years ahead of me but something could change over the next 5 to 10 years that could give me another 20 good years. Note I wrote good years. I have no desire to be disabled and unable to do the things I love.

Purely hypothetical but: If I could decide how long I would live? .... 1,000 years sounds about right.

[Wetwork]

There's a reason it's actually a curse to wish somebody lives forever....or to curse them to live in interesting times.... My Dad is 80 and is really not enjoying us right now. Sad how chapped he is all the time. My great grandfather went from the Wright Brothers to the Moon, to color television in his life....he thought it was cool. He found our homestead and founded our ranch in the late 1800's his porsche was a gelding race horse. Wish I'd known him better. Dad well...he's lost back in Gunsmoke and John Wayne. Me I'm a 80's teen, tech...cool....50's rock-a-billy cool...Dead Kennedy's tunes fun..surfing high tide and throw in some hunting and fishing. Twenty years Coast Guard, I'd say I'm pretty well rounded and chill.

Live forever...only if I can do it with my family.-WW

[WPOZZZ]

no.

[Evans, Marv]

As someone who is getting ready to knock on 80's door, I'm increasingly tending to think it's not that useful to live an overly long life. As others have said, the quality of life you live is everyting. I'm luckier than most in that I have a good quality life and can do things lots of others my age have trouble with. I have a friend (need to remember to call her soon) who is 106 and lives in an assisted living home in Texas. She's mentally sharp but doesn't see well and doesn't get around too well. She's always telling me she doesn't want to hang around any longer, and I don't have anything positive to respond with.

[sc_rufctr]

^^^ What if you could take one tablet everyday that would effectively reverse the ageing process?

Imagine being 21 again! ... They're doing research into this sort of medication right now!

[Evans, Marv]

Bring it on !!!!!!!

[Wetwork]

Just finished reading "Old Man's War" by Scalzi. If you want to keep going it sounds the best way.

Turn 75, get the option to leave for space. All secret once you leave. No looking back, all done with Earth, no calling home. You are legally dead by law. Take off and get stuck in a 21 year old, enhanced body and go fight for human colonies. All most everyone 90% or so dies in scifi war. But the 10% who survive after 10 years get to start a new life on some homestead on some new colony. Fun read as you get older.

Another quote I heard once..It's better to die on the battlefield than under the knives of the women.-WW

[Steve Viegas]

I want to retire someday. The longer you live, the more money you will need. I am not sure I can afford to live forever.

[dewolf]

Healthy 130-150 range would be ok. That'd give me time to see pretty much the entire planet. I already know there are things I won't see given the current life expectancy

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Nope! 84 and a heart attack in my sleep like my grandfather, sign me up. Still worked 40+ hours per week and plenty sharp. I have no desire to outlive my useful life, and I’m not scared of what comes next.

^^^^THIS exactly, I could have wrote this myself...My Grandpa got up in the middle of the night, and collapsed back into bed after a long full, adventurous life...no regerts !

[flatbutt]

It depends on how often we get to change romantic partners.

[Bob Kontak]

Doc says to the frail 90 year old in the exam room. "Remember all that working out and dieting you did to get extra years? Well, here they are."

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, living as a 20-40 year old is a lot different to a 70-90 year old. So with the youth and strength of a 20-30 year old, sign me up. As a 90 year old, no way.

[manbridge 74]

Yes.

It’s how we are designed.

[ckelly78z]

I'll take the next 40 years (currently 55) with the energy I had from the first 40 years, then yes, but otherwise, no !