4 ms·

They are very much tied together, though. Maximizing longevity is increasing the quality of the time we do have. More time available equals more time you are a

by suby 5y ago

They are very much tied together, though. Maximizing longevity is increasing the quality of the time we do have. More time available equals more time you are able to spend doing things you actually enjoy. I feel a great deal of pressure to accomplish certain things given the very little and limited time I have available to me. It's a source of stress that would be alleviated if there were more time available to me.

burlesona 5y ago
I doubt that added longevity would alleviate the pressure to accomplish. Few things in life work that way. Rather, I expect ambitions would expand to fill the available years.
- suby 5y ago
  That is true to some extent, but I'd argue that there are diminishing returns on this. That is to say that ambitions would certainly be greater if we had more time, but I don't think it'd scale linearly. Another way to look at it would be -- How much more stressful would our lives be if the average lifespan was 40 years instead of 70+?
  - burlesona 5y ago
    I don’t think your question can be truly answered, but as a thought experiment, do you suppose the average person 200 years ago experienced more, less, or the same amount of stress that we do? It’s tempting to say less, since they arguably had “simpler lives.” But it’s also easy to say “more,” since they had a much more present risk of death than we do. My hunch is that stress is (mostly) relative, and that (outside of trauma) how much one experiences is determined more by ones worldview than ones circumstances.
alisonkisk 5y ago
But have you tried not wasting time now which is far easier than adding more years to life? If you lived longer, would you feel better or just feel the same pressure with different goals? Accomplishing something is great, but it's not quality time. Quality time is the time spent working on the accomplishment, which doesn't depend on living to see the result.

by suby 5y ago

burlesona 5y ago

I doubt that added longevity would alleviate the pressure to accomplish. Few things in life work that way. Rather, I expect ambitions would expand to fill the available years.

suby 5y ago
That is true to some extent, but I'd argue that there are diminishing returns on this. That is to say that ambitions would certainly be greater if we had more time, but I don't think it'd scale linearly. Another way to look at it would be -- How much more stressful would our lives be if the average lifespan was 40 years instead of 70+?
- burlesona 5y ago
  I don’t think your question can be truly answered, but as a thought experiment, do you suppose the average person 200 years ago experienced more, less, or the same amount of stress that we do? It’s tempting to say less, since they arguably had “simpler lives.” But it’s also easy to say “more,” since they had a much more present risk of death than we do. My hunch is that stress is (mostly) relative, and that (outside of trauma) how much one experiences is determined more by ones worldview than ones circumstances.

alisonkisk 5y ago

But have you tried not wasting time now which is far easier than adding more years to life? If you lived longer, would you feel better or just feel the same pressure with different goals? Accomplishing something is great, but it's not quality time. Quality time is the time spent working on the accomplishment, which doesn't depend on living to see the result.