Sure, and I'm going to. No freezing required! 
Do you want to live forever?
- Thread starter Supreme Admiral
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Really?! People have already had more than one career in a lifetime!? I don't believe you!
A hundred science fiction authors have delved into the topic a lot more deeply than I care to in this forum, and the effects of lengthening lifespans in a variety of cultures has been examined academically.
People who live to be hundreds of years old would not behave like we do with our 50 years of good health. There would be large cultural changes, to the way we educate, the way we work, the way we interact with our families and friends.
Something to read.
Unless they can reverse the decay that happens when our DNA replicates itself every ten years, then the answer is no. When you are seventy you are a sixth generation copy of your original body. Can you imagine what you might look like by one hundred seventy? 10 more bad replications of a sagging nose, twisted spine and degenerating liver... not to mention the aches and pains associated with aging. I'm old enough to appreciate the finality of our life cycle. I am very aware of my own mortality. It is through my children's children that I will live forever.
Not to mention the changes in our tax brackets ... and how old would I have to be before I can draw social security?
Is this even a serious argument? Are you really more concerned about getting a social security check than you are about aging prematurely? Because that's what we're talking about here: not just increasing our maximum life-span but extending our years of health and virility as well.
Rule #64: Don't take yourself too seriously. It causes you to age prematurely.
Count me as another who does not necessarily want to live forever, but would like to live a heck of a lot longer than what is currently the expected human lifespan. Besides, I don't get bored easily, so I suspect I could live a thousand years without running out of interesting new things to do and learn.
Having said that, imagine how much human progress would slow down if everyone lived much longer. If the regular human life expectancy were two hundred years, then many people alive today would have been born and raised when slavery was legal and socially acceptable. Since many people tend to hold onto their original beliefs with an iron fist, it is safe to assume that many of those people would still think slavery is right, and would be trying to teach that to their descendants.
Having said that, imagine how much human progress would slow down if everyone lived much longer. If the regular human life expectancy were two hundred years, then many people alive today would have been born and raised when slavery was legal and socially acceptable. Since many people tend to hold onto their original beliefs with an iron fist, it is safe to assume that many of those people would still think slavery is right, and would be trying to teach that to their descendants.
Not necessarily.
To this day and age you have individuals who perceive slavery is 'right'.
The only difference is that it's done in the shadows of society to begin with, and the definition of slavery can be changed over time to include a variety of other things.
Aren't we 'slaves' of numerous companies and other bodies today by certain perceptions?
Only idiots would allow progress to slow down simply because we have a longer life span.
Similar analogy is being attributed to the premise that wars are the only thing that encourage progress ... which is of course false.
Technology can advance just as fast during war in peace times.
I agree that challenging yourself is good for growth, but I hardly think that wars and loss of millions simply because the government in question decided to wage war is a prudent solution.
Get off your rear ends and encourage progress.
Wars are just an excuse to scare people into get going and DO something like their life depends on it.
Yes, I do want to live forever. Based on all data available to me, assuming that I die at the present median age of deceasement, I have fifty-four years remaining to live; at that point, my sentinence will end. My remains will decompose and ultimately be transformed into a part of some new life, whether plant or animal, or human; but the sentinence which is me will be gone, and my existence will end before I have time to discover its explaination or purpose.
There is something awesomely mournful about looking into the stars at night and realizing that you are looking at infinity, but knowing that you will likely never know what is really out there.
I want to know the answer to the great "why" question. Why does the universe exist? To what end do we live and die, and evolve? Thankfully, there is one very bright spot in all of this. It is the invention of the computer and internet, both of which have become available to consumers only in my lifetime. By making data recording easier, technology gives humanity - for the first time in its known history - the power to make one large step closer to immortality; the ability to help eliminate the loss of data which occurs as the result of death.
Nevertheless, I know that my time is limited; my dream is to make at least some meaningful contribution to global education and poverty relief before I die, and to live long enough to celebrate First Contact.
There is something awesomely mournful about looking into the stars at night and realizing that you are looking at infinity, but knowing that you will likely never know what is really out there.
I want to know the answer to the great "why" question. Why does the universe exist? To what end do we live and die, and evolve? Thankfully, there is one very bright spot in all of this. It is the invention of the computer and internet, both of which have become available to consumers only in my lifetime. By making data recording easier, technology gives humanity - for the first time in its known history - the power to make one large step closer to immortality; the ability to help eliminate the loss of data which occurs as the result of death.
Nevertheless, I know that my time is limited; my dream is to make at least some meaningful contribution to global education and poverty relief before I die, and to live long enough to celebrate First Contact.
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