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Even if you want to keep it finite, it would still be better to have the body of a twenty-five year old for ~sixty years and then die.

by lodi 9y ago

milquetoastaf 9y ago
If you want to be incredibly vain, sure. I think we'll see a huge backlash to artificial age reduction / life extension, much in the same way that plastic surgery / cosmetic enhancement is viewed as an indulgent activity.
- trey-jones 9y ago
  No, nobody is going to object to feeling like a 25-year-old for their entire life. It's not about vanity. I would be totally fine with appearing to age, if I could run and jump, and recover the same at 70 as I did at 25. Is there any more universal dream than eternal youth, or even youth for a lifetime?
  - milquetoastaf 9y ago
    Ironically, the whole point of the 'fountain of eternal youth' stories is that people wasted their entire lives looking for it rather than enjoying life / what they were given. Age extension technology is going to be the doom of humanity as we know it. Death right now is the only equalizer we have to our own destructive and damaging tendencies to the planet and ourselves at large. Living longer just means more waste, more war, more inequality, all the behest of the richest who get access to life extension technologies first. Don't kid yourself.
    - randallsquared 9y ago
      > Ironically, the whole point of the 'fountain of eternal youth' stories is that people wasted their entire lives looking for it rather than enjoying life / what they were given. On a meta level, perhaps those stories are an example of 'sour grapes'? :)
    - trey-jones 9y ago
      I think the greater irony is that the Fountain of Youth was sought by people who weren't going to actually live to what we would call today "old age" anyway. I'm not actually looking for it by the way, but if somebody else finds it, I would like to get in on that action.
- CWuestefeld 9y ago
  If you want to be incredibly vain, sure. You clearly haven't hit 50 yet. Many mornings when I wake up my back is so stiff I can barely stand. A bit of yoga stretching has me operational again, but too much stress through the day can make my knee pretty sore, too. So no, it's not all about vanity.
  - jcadam 9y ago
    At 37 I'm already beginning to feel it. I have to be careful with my back lest it decide to punish me (backs are quick to strain/injure and very slow to heal). Also, my knees no longer permit me to run more than about 3 times a week and I have to watch my diet closely because everything gives me reflux. Not looking forward to 50 :( Unfortunately, like fusion power, the cure for aging seems to be perpetually "20 years away."
- kukabynd 9y ago
  If you want to die it doesn’t mean all of us want to. To imagine those many geniuses and visionaries that have died in their peak just because they’ve aged is sad.

Even if you want to keep it finite, it would still be better to have the body of a twenty-five year old for ~sixty years and then die.

by lodi 9y ago

Even if you want to keep it finite, it would still be better to have the body of a twenty-five year old for ~sixty years and then die.

milquetoastaf 9y ago

If you want to be incredibly vain, sure. I think we'll see a huge backlash to artificial age reduction / life extension, much in the same way that plastic surgery / cosmetic enhancement is viewed as an indulgent activity.

trey-jones 9y ago
No, nobody is going to object to feeling like a 25-year-old for their entire life. It's not about vanity. I would be totally fine with appearing to age, if I could run and jump, and recover the same at 70 as I did at 25. Is there any more universal dream than eternal youth, or even youth for a lifetime?
- milquetoastaf 9y ago
  Ironically, the whole point of the 'fountain of eternal youth' stories is that people wasted their entire lives looking for it rather than enjoying life / what they were given. Age extension technology is going to be the doom of humanity as we know it. Death right now is the only equalizer we have to our own destructive and damaging tendencies to the planet and ourselves at large. Living longer just means more waste, more war, more inequality, all the behest of the richest who get access to life extension technologies first. Don't kid yourself.
  - randallsquared 9y ago
    > Ironically, the whole point of the 'fountain of eternal youth' stories is that people wasted their entire lives looking for it rather than enjoying life / what they were given. On a meta level, perhaps those stories are an example of 'sour grapes'? :)
  - trey-jones 9y ago
    I think the greater irony is that the Fountain of Youth was sought by people who weren't going to actually live to what we would call today "old age" anyway. I'm not actually looking for it by the way, but if somebody else finds it, I would like to get in on that action.
CWuestefeld 9y ago
If you want to be incredibly vain, sure. You clearly haven't hit 50 yet. Many mornings when I wake up my back is so stiff I can barely stand. A bit of yoga stretching has me operational again, but too much stress through the day can make my knee pretty sore, too. So no, it's not all about vanity.
- jcadam 9y ago
  At 37 I'm already beginning to feel it. I have to be careful with my back lest it decide to punish me (backs are quick to strain/injure and very slow to heal). Also, my knees no longer permit me to run more than about 3 times a week and I have to watch my diet closely because everything gives me reflux. Not looking forward to 50 :( Unfortunately, like fusion power, the cure for aging seems to be perpetually "20 years away."
kukabynd 9y ago
If you want to die it doesn’t mean all of us want to. To imagine those many geniuses and visionaries that have died in their peak just because they’ve aged is sad.