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Even if we discover the secret to everlasting life there are going to be plenty of people who would like to die eventually. Also if I’m 90 and in poor health th

Even if we discover the secret to everlasting life there are going to be plenty of people who would like to die eventually. Also if I’m 90 and in poor health the idea of living forever doesn’t sound very appealing in general. I think your premise is incredibly ambitious but even if it’s true the vast majority of people aren’t going to get access to the veritable fountain of youth anyways, at least not for a very long time because society will have to fundamentally change both to accommodate the idea and also to allow your average person to have the means to obtain it.

true_religion 5y ago
If you are 90 and in poor health, it's likely because you are dying albeit slowly. The technology for everlasting life will likely reverse or halt the breakdown of basic bodily functions due to 'old age' and may rejuvenate organs who are simply suffering from maintenance issues. So in the end, a cure for death is also a cure for myriad amount of ailments.
- hellotomyrars 5y ago
  Maybe. This is speculation on speculation. It certainly makes a lot more sense for people to plan their lives around our current understanding of mortality than an increasingly hard to believe pyramid of hypotheticals as the GP has contended.
  - adrianN 5y ago
    The speculation is very convincing, it goes like this: 1) Senescence is a collection of symptoms caused by incomplete repair mechanisms allowing damage to build up, 2) some level of damage has very little ill effects (e.g. the amount you've collected on your 25th birthday), and 3) there are interventions that stop the accumulation of damage or even reverse it. I believe currently only 3) is a bit controversial, but since there are biologically immortal organisms I find it plausible that it's possible.
- lamontcg 5y ago
  > So in the end, a cure for death is also a cure for myriad amount of ailments. Not if you're an amputee. There's a certain amount of damage to the body that isn't due to just aging.
  - grishka 5y ago
    Google Michael Levin or watch his lectures here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLvA7pB41pDk27XOjqbXi4sSvPfLOu1zW https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLvA7pB41pDk27XOjqbXi... We'll probably figure out how to regrow limbs and organs soon.
    - lamontcg 5y ago
      Full Self Driving soon?
      - grishka 5y ago
        Lol. It should be easy to make a self-driving car that would coordinate its actions with surrounding self-driving vehicles. It's extremely hard to make it behave well in an environment where some of the cars are driven by humans. So, no, not soon. Unless we introduce dedicated lanes where only self-driving cars are allowed.
        krapht 5y ago
        When is the singularity going to happen?
        lamontcg 5y ago
        2012. We're all machine elves now.
      - hhjinks 5y ago
        That's just egocide. We've had plants that do that for millennia.
- robwwilliams 5y ago
  The current best treatment for death is to contribute to social health and knowledge. Transmit both to your progeny and younger colleagues. Your particular atoms and molecules are really not all the unique and wonderful.
  - grishka 5y ago
    Your atoms and molecules might not matter, and indeed get replaced many times as a normal process throughout your life, but your consciousness is wonderful and valuable.
orangecat 5y ago
and also to allow your average person to have the means to obtain it It's basically the opposite. Health care for old people is very expensive, precisely because they're old. Reversing or preventing aging to the point where everyone has the health profile of a 30 year old would save a fortune.
- hellotomyrars 5y ago
  I won't contend the point you're making regarding the costs of healthcare for population that is healthier on average vs one that isn't (elderly). That's true. The idea that our collective human society is going to be handing out everlasting life to anyone who wants it is, even in light of this, something I can't begin to fathom. Perhaps if the arrival of the immortality drug also coincides with the arrival of a utopian society that actually cares about people beyond their basic (and incredibly power-imbalanced) economics that are skewed to benefit corporations not only over people, but over governments, then I can accept it. But in context of the way the world currently works, this is an incredibly optimistic or naïve assertation to me. People die every day even in the most developed nations due to a lack of access to healthcare, food and/or shelter.

true_religion 5y ago

If you are 90 and in poor health, it's likely because you are dying albeit slowly. The technology for everlasting life will likely reverse or halt the breakdown of basic bodily functions due to 'old age' and may rejuvenate organs who are simply suffering from maintenance issues. So in the end, a cure for death is also a cure for myriad amount of ailments.

hellotomyrars 5y ago
Maybe. This is speculation on speculation. It certainly makes a lot more sense for people to plan their lives around our current understanding of mortality than an increasingly hard to believe pyramid of hypotheticals as the GP has contended.
- adrianN 5y ago
  The speculation is very convincing, it goes like this: 1) Senescence is a collection of symptoms caused by incomplete repair mechanisms allowing damage to build up, 2) some level of damage has very little ill effects (e.g. the amount you've collected on your 25th birthday), and 3) there are interventions that stop the accumulation of damage or even reverse it. I believe currently only 3) is a bit controversial, but since there are biologically immortal organisms I find it plausible that it's possible.
lamontcg 5y ago
> So in the end, a cure for death is also a cure for myriad amount of ailments. Not if you're an amputee. There's a certain amount of damage to the body that isn't due to just aging.
- grishka 5y ago
  Google Michael Levin or watch his lectures here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLvA7pB41pDk27XOjqbXi4sSvPfLOu1zW https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLvA7pB41pDk27XOjqbXi... We'll probably figure out how to regrow limbs and organs soon.
  - lamontcg 5y ago
    Full Self Driving soon?
    - grishka 5y ago
      Lol. It should be easy to make a self-driving car that would coordinate its actions with surrounding self-driving vehicles. It's extremely hard to make it behave well in an environment where some of the cars are driven by humans. So, no, not soon. Unless we introduce dedicated lanes where only self-driving cars are allowed.
      - krapht 5y ago
        When is the singularity going to happen?
        lamontcg 5y ago
        2012. We're all machine elves now.
    - hhjinks 5y ago
      That's just egocide. We've had plants that do that for millennia.
robwwilliams 5y ago
The current best treatment for death is to contribute to social health and knowledge. Transmit both to your progeny and younger colleagues. Your particular atoms and molecules are really not all the unique and wonderful.
- grishka 5y ago
  Your atoms and molecules might not matter, and indeed get replaced many times as a normal process throughout your life, but your consciousness is wonderful and valuable.

orangecat 5y ago

and also to allow your average person to have the means to obtain it It's basically the opposite. Health care for old people is very expensive, precisely because they're old. Reversing or preventing aging to the point where everyone has the health profile of a 30 year old would save a fortune.

hellotomyrars 5y ago
I won't contend the point you're making regarding the costs of healthcare for population that is healthier on average vs one that isn't (elderly). That's true. The idea that our collective human society is going to be handing out everlasting life to anyone who wants it is, even in light of this, something I can't begin to fathom. Perhaps if the arrival of the immortality drug also coincides with the arrival of a utopian society that actually cares about people beyond their basic (and incredibly power-imbalanced) economics that are skewed to benefit corporations not only over people, but over governments, then I can accept it. But in context of the way the world currently works, this is an incredibly optimistic or naïve assertation to me. People die every day even in the most developed nations due to a lack of access to healthcare, food and/or shelter.