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Really? All I can think about is how to not die. The thought terrifies me. It got to a point where it's my main motivator in what I do. I used to be lazy and pl

by EC1 11y ago

Really? All I can think about is how to not die. The thought terrifies me. It got to a point where it's my main motivator in what I do. I used to be lazy and play video games all day and when I realized how finite and easy destructible our lives are, I get crazy scared and work like crazy so I don't waste my time. There's so much I want to learn and do. The only problem is the limit of time. Death is incredibly terrifying. I don't understand it and I don't want to, I just want to live. Forever preferably.

noir_lord 11y ago
It's strange how different people's attitude to death are, I don't fear it at all, I'm going to enjoy life for as long as I can then check out in the least painful way possible. Maybe it comes from been atheist (I'd find proof of life after death a lot more scary), the universe was around 14 odd billion years before I was and it'll be around long after I'm gone.
- DarkTree 11y ago
  Yeah I have a similar attitude as you. Death itself does not really scare me. I often use the analogy, "It is like before you were born". It just doesn't exist or concern you after you die. What does scare me a bit is the idea of aging, losing physical ability, and mental faculties. I am afraid that once I am old I will always looking back at "better times" with nothing but death waiting for me in the future. I'm 23 now, so it is inevitable that my mindset will change. Also, aging happens slowly. You don't just wake up and realize you have no physical ability anymore. Thankfully.
  - noir_lord 11y ago
    I was diagnosed with a serious condition this year, the prognosis is very mixed (luck of the draw) so the idea of losing physical ability became very real very quickly. The annoying thing is that prior to that at 34 I was physically better than I'd been in my entire life (even when I was a gym rat) so having to give up many of the physical activities I really love was a shock. Even that doesn't scare me as much as losing my mental agility though, that worries me, the medication I'm taking has a marked effect on cognitive function.
    - powertower 11y ago
      I've kind of decided that if I'm not able to take care of myself physically, or decline mentally, I'm going to just stop eating and attempt to peacefully expire after 30 days. Just tea, some meditation, then dust.
PakG1 11y ago
I would be quite interested in understanding why people find death terrifying. I'm likely in a minority, but I look forward to death. That doesn't mean I'm suicidal. It means that I view death as an important moment in my life, one that will force me to measure whether I'm satisfied with the way I lived my life. I'll no doubt have regrets, but I'll have smiles too. I could say that being a person of faith may influence my looking forward to death, but I imagine that even if I wasn't a person of faith, I'd still have a similar mindset. I am very curious why people would want to live forever on this earth. It seems like it'd become quite dreary and boring, especially if I gradually lose control over all my normal physical and mental functions.
- JoshTriplett 11y ago
  > I could say that being a person of faith may influence my looking forward to death Rather heavily, yes. For the sake of argument, to put yourself into someone else's position and understand it, consider how differently you might feel about death if it simply meant a permanent cessation of consciousness. No more thinking, ever; you're permanently and irrecoverably gone. Not "floating in a black void" nothingness, but "there is no you anymore" nothingness. Alternatively, if your faith includes the concept of a soul, imagine a soul being irrevocably destroyed; it didn't go anywhere, it was just lost. That might make it clearer why many people find death both terrifying and horrific, no matter whether it occurs at 20 or 120. > I am very curious why people would want to live forever on this earth. It seems like it'd become quite dreary and boring, I find it easy enough to imagine a few billion years worth of possibilities. There's always more to learn, to see, and to think. Even if you'd seen the entire universe, other people are a literally endless supply of novelty. And if you can't imagine an eternity of life interacting with other people in happiness, how exactly do you envision an afterlife? > especially if I gradually lose control over all my normal physical and mental functions. Living forever doesn't mean becoming increasingly decrepit. The same processes that create a hard stop at 120 are what make a 100-year-old systematically less healthy than a 25-year-old, and they require the same fixes. Anything that would successfully keep you alive forever must necessarily keep you free of age-related health complications forever.
  - 11y ago
kanzure 11y ago
> Death is incredibly terrifying. I don't understand it and I don't want to, I just want to live. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rage at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. edit: Oh I guess something more practical than reciting poetry might be useful, so uh, (1) read every paper ever published, (2) acquire all possible engineering and lab skillz, (3) raise lots of capital, and (4) remember to have fun.

by EC1 11y ago

noir_lord 11y ago

It's strange how different people's attitude to death are, I don't fear it at all, I'm going to enjoy life for as long as I can then check out in the least painful way possible. Maybe it comes from been atheist (I'd find proof of life after death a lot more scary), the universe was around 14 odd billion years before I was and it'll be around long after I'm gone.

DarkTree 11y ago
Yeah I have a similar attitude as you. Death itself does not really scare me. I often use the analogy, "It is like before you were born". It just doesn't exist or concern you after you die. What does scare me a bit is the idea of aging, losing physical ability, and mental faculties. I am afraid that once I am old I will always looking back at "better times" with nothing but death waiting for me in the future. I'm 23 now, so it is inevitable that my mindset will change. Also, aging happens slowly. You don't just wake up and realize you have no physical ability anymore. Thankfully.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  I was diagnosed with a serious condition this year, the prognosis is very mixed (luck of the draw) so the idea of losing physical ability became very real very quickly. The annoying thing is that prior to that at 34 I was physically better than I'd been in my entire life (even when I was a gym rat) so having to give up many of the physical activities I really love was a shock. Even that doesn't scare me as much as losing my mental agility though, that worries me, the medication I'm taking has a marked effect on cognitive function.
  - powertower 11y ago
    I've kind of decided that if I'm not able to take care of myself physically, or decline mentally, I'm going to just stop eating and attempt to peacefully expire after 30 days. Just tea, some meditation, then dust.

PakG1 11y ago

I would be quite interested in understanding why people find death terrifying. I'm likely in a minority, but I look forward to death. That doesn't mean I'm suicidal. It means that I view death as an important moment in my life, one that will force me to measure whether I'm satisfied with the way I lived my life. I'll no doubt have regrets, but I'll have smiles too. I could say that being a person of faith may influence my looking forward to death, but I imagine that even if I wasn't a person of faith, I'd still have a similar mindset. I am very curious why people would want to live forever on this earth. It seems like it'd become quite dreary and boring, especially if I gradually lose control over all my normal physical and mental functions.

JoshTriplett 11y ago
> I could say that being a person of faith may influence my looking forward to death Rather heavily, yes. For the sake of argument, to put yourself into someone else's position and understand it, consider how differently you might feel about death if it simply meant a permanent cessation of consciousness. No more thinking, ever; you're permanently and irrecoverably gone. Not "floating in a black void" nothingness, but "there is no you anymore" nothingness. Alternatively, if your faith includes the concept of a soul, imagine a soul being irrevocably destroyed; it didn't go anywhere, it was just lost. That might make it clearer why many people find death both terrifying and horrific, no matter whether it occurs at 20 or 120. > I am very curious why people would want to live forever on this earth. It seems like it'd become quite dreary and boring, I find it easy enough to imagine a few billion years worth of possibilities. There's always more to learn, to see, and to think. Even if you'd seen the entire universe, other people are a literally endless supply of novelty. And if you can't imagine an eternity of life interacting with other people in happiness, how exactly do you envision an afterlife? > especially if I gradually lose control over all my normal physical and mental functions. Living forever doesn't mean becoming increasingly decrepit. The same processes that create a hard stop at 120 are what make a 100-year-old systematically less healthy than a 25-year-old, and they require the same fixes. Anything that would successfully keep you alive forever must necessarily keep you free of age-related health complications forever.
- 11y ago

kanzure 11y ago

> Death is incredibly terrifying. I don't understand it and I don't want to, I just want to live. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rage at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. edit: Oh I guess something more practical than reciting poetry might be useful, so uh, (1) read every paper ever published, (2) acquire all possible engineering and lab skillz, (3) raise lots of capital, and (4) remember to have fun.