4 ms·

As important as this is, I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality that they go without much of what makes life worth living. Pu

by DanI-S 15y ago

As important as this is, I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality that they go without much of what makes life worth living. Pursuing the life of an ascetic and munching on supplements in the hope that you'll still be around when the singularity hits - it's not too far from giving yourself to religion.

nostrademons 15y ago
When I was in 5th grade, Tuck Everlasting was required reading: http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Sunburst-Natalie-Babbitt/dp/0374480095 http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Sunburst-Natalie-Babb... Yes, it's aimed toward 10 year olds, but it's pretty relevant here. It'd probably take less than an hour for an adult to read, which should be just a blip on your quest for immortality. :-)
stcredzero 15y ago
As important as this is, I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality that they go without much of what makes life worth living. This is a synopsis of a short story by Larry Niven.
- Eliezer 15y ago
  Yes, it's a synopsis of a lot of stories. But I feel obliged to point out that, in real life, I know a number of people in quest of immortality who lead quite awesome lives on a day-to-day basis, because the same style of rationality and nonconformity that leads you to seek world optimization and indefinite life extension also leads you to, say, polyamory. I also know some sad people in quest of immortality, but they were generally sad before they found out about that stuff. In general, I think that seeking immortality has surprisingly little effect on your prior personality. It's just something you do if you have enough of a logical frame of mind to think "Life is good, death is bad, and Voldemort isn't a real person", but the logical mind is the cause, not the effect.
  - stcredzero 15y ago
    In general, I think that seeking immortality has surprisingly little effect on your prior personality. The phenomenon of people getting too involved in X to enjoy life is a common theme for stories. When X has to do with the extension of life, there's a pleasingly ironic self-reference. So really, the moral lesson of such stories has to do with life balance generally, and the ironic twist is more akin to a rhyme in a poem.
  - fbailey 15y ago
    If I could guess, 100% of the people are male. Polyamory is usually one guy and more women and is usually quite the sexist thing. Seeking life extension is at the current point of science not really rational.
    - stcredzero 15y ago
      I know a polyamourous married woman. She's also one of the most intelligent women I know. Not seeking life extension at all is definitely not rational. Perhaps it's rational not to seek it personally, but that's a personal choice. I think our society should seek life extension as an ethical choice.
    - Eliezer 15y ago
      "If I could guess, 100% of the people are male." Thank you for making a testable prediction. Your hypothesis is thereby falsified. "Polyamory is usually one guy and more women and is usually quite the sexist thing. " Good heavens, what sort of culture-free hole were you raised in? Do you know anyone polyamorous in real life? "Seeking life extension is at the current point of science not really rational." And there you have it. If you're anti-fun, you're probably also anti-life.
Eliezer 15y ago
> I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality Name three. And please note that Voldemort doesn't count because he's not a real person.
- ignifero 15y ago
  Hundreds of movie celebrities come to mind. I would reverse your question and name people who, even though they could have lived more, they chose not to do so: I will name a heavyweight: Albert Einstein
  - Eliezer 15y ago
    > Hundreds of movie celebrities come to mind. If they're not signed up for cryonics, at their income level, I don't buy that they're actually consumed by anything remotely resembling a quest for technological immortality, as opposed to merely trying to grab onto their fading youth using conventional and uninteresting methods.
DennisP 15y ago
I have a hard time understanding that argument. Cheeseburgers don't make my life worth living. Healthier food can be quite tasty. Exercise can be fun. Supplements are a very minor inconvenience taking up maybe a minute per day. Even without the singularity argument, a healthy lifestyle can help avoid some really miserable life experiences. Heart disease, for example, can make it difficult to enjoy taking a nice walk.

by DanI-S 15y ago

nostrademons 15y ago

When I was in 5th grade, Tuck Everlasting was required reading: http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Sunburst-Natalie-Babbitt/dp/0374480095 http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Sunburst-Natalie-Babb... Yes, it's aimed toward 10 year olds, but it's pretty relevant here. It'd probably take less than an hour for an adult to read, which should be just a blip on your quest for immortality. :-)

stcredzero 15y ago

As important as this is, I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality that they go without much of what makes life worth living. This is a synopsis of a short story by Larry Niven.

Eliezer 15y ago
Yes, it's a synopsis of a lot of stories. But I feel obliged to point out that, in real life, I know a number of people in quest of immortality who lead quite awesome lives on a day-to-day basis, because the same style of rationality and nonconformity that leads you to seek world optimization and indefinite life extension also leads you to, say, polyamory. I also know some sad people in quest of immortality, but they were generally sad before they found out about that stuff. In general, I think that seeking immortality has surprisingly little effect on your prior personality. It's just something you do if you have enough of a logical frame of mind to think "Life is good, death is bad, and Voldemort isn't a real person", but the logical mind is the cause, not the effect.
- stcredzero 15y ago
  In general, I think that seeking immortality has surprisingly little effect on your prior personality. The phenomenon of people getting too involved in X to enjoy life is a common theme for stories. When X has to do with the extension of life, there's a pleasingly ironic self-reference. So really, the moral lesson of such stories has to do with life balance generally, and the ironic twist is more akin to a rhyme in a poem.
- fbailey 15y ago
  If I could guess, 100% of the people are male. Polyamory is usually one guy and more women and is usually quite the sexist thing. Seeking life extension is at the current point of science not really rational.
  - stcredzero 15y ago
    I know a polyamourous married woman. She's also one of the most intelligent women I know. Not seeking life extension at all is definitely not rational. Perhaps it's rational not to seek it personally, but that's a personal choice. I think our society should seek life extension as an ethical choice.
  - Eliezer 15y ago
    "If I could guess, 100% of the people are male." Thank you for making a testable prediction. Your hypothesis is thereby falsified. "Polyamory is usually one guy and more women and is usually quite the sexist thing. " Good heavens, what sort of culture-free hole were you raised in? Do you know anyone polyamorous in real life? "Seeking life extension is at the current point of science not really rational." And there you have it. If you're anti-fun, you're probably also anti-life.

Eliezer 15y ago

> I know people whose lives are so consumed by their quest for immortality Name three. And please note that Voldemort doesn't count because he's not a real person.

ignifero 15y ago
Hundreds of movie celebrities come to mind. I would reverse your question and name people who, even though they could have lived more, they chose not to do so: I will name a heavyweight: Albert Einstein
- Eliezer 15y ago
  > Hundreds of movie celebrities come to mind. If they're not signed up for cryonics, at their income level, I don't buy that they're actually consumed by anything remotely resembling a quest for technological immortality, as opposed to merely trying to grab onto their fading youth using conventional and uninteresting methods.

DennisP 15y ago

I have a hard time understanding that argument. Cheeseburgers don't make my life worth living. Healthier food can be quite tasty. Exercise can be fun. Supplements are a very minor inconvenience taking up maybe a minute per day. Even without the singularity argument, a healthy lifestyle can help avoid some really miserable life experiences. Heart disease, for example, can make it difficult to enjoy taking a nice walk.