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Actually there is a physics based reason. It’s entropy. Entropy can only increase over time in an isolated system. The human body is a complex multicellular org

Actually there is a physics based reason. It’s entropy. Entropy can only increase over time in an isolated system. The human body is a complex multicellular organism largely isolated from the environment and largely in homeostasis once fully grown. Increasing entropy over time is inevitable. It would require increasingly larger amounts of energy to counteract its effects on our body, which over time would become impossible to supply. If stars cannot sustain themselves forever, how can we compete? We are far more complex with a far smaller energy budget.

fossuser 5y ago
When the human lifespan is on the order of a star's - I'll be a lot happier.
- 8note 5y ago
  Do you really want to see everyone you care about burn up in a supernova?
mLuby 5y ago
Entropy may win in the very end, but that's after trillions of years (unless we're in a Big Crunch or Big Rip universe), and asserts that no intelligence will ever find a way to circumvent it (see Clarke's First Law). On a more relatable scale, humans do grow in complexity, order, and capability in their early years, until eventually decay turns the tide toward the end of our natural lifespans. It would be rather odd if it's physically impossible to re-activate those growth and healing mechanisms—much more likely that we just haven't figured out how yet. [Edit: I'm amazed at the posts saying it's not worth trying to live longer because you'll never outlast A STAR. It's not a competition people!]
- 8note 5y ago
  If you're not living all the way till dark energy rips your atoms apart, what's the point? Seriously though, what is the point? You're gonna have the same fomo with death in the future as you do now. We've already found out how to reactivate those growth and healing mechanisms. Have children, then grand children, then great grandchildren, etc. Each generation gets its own activation
  - mLuby 5y ago
    > You're gonna have the same fomo with death in the future as you do now. I'm sure my ancestors worried constantly about their next meal because starvation was a very real possibility, but luckily I don't think about starving even though it's technically still possible. I hope that in the future the same is true of disease and non-accidental death. The point is having as much time as you want to do the things that interest you. Nobody should be forced to live when they don't want to, and nobody should be forced to die when they don't want to. Pretty simple really. > We've already found out how … Have children Come on now, we both know that a legacy isn't remotely the same as not dying.

fossuser 5y ago

When the human lifespan is on the order of a star's - I'll be a lot happier.

8note 5y ago
Do you really want to see everyone you care about burn up in a supernova?

mLuby 5y ago

Entropy may win in the very end, but that's after trillions of years (unless we're in a Big Crunch or Big Rip universe), and asserts that no intelligence will ever find a way to circumvent it (see Clarke's First Law). On a more relatable scale, humans do grow in complexity, order, and capability in their early years, until eventually decay turns the tide toward the end of our natural lifespans. It would be rather odd if it's physically impossible to re-activate those growth and healing mechanisms—much more likely that we just haven't figured out how yet. [Edit: I'm amazed at the posts saying it's not worth trying to live longer because you'll never outlast A STAR. It's not a competition people!]

8note 5y ago
If you're not living all the way till dark energy rips your atoms apart, what's the point? Seriously though, what is the point? You're gonna have the same fomo with death in the future as you do now. We've already found out how to reactivate those growth and healing mechanisms. Have children, then grand children, then great grandchildren, etc. Each generation gets its own activation
- mLuby 5y ago
  > You're gonna have the same fomo with death in the future as you do now. I'm sure my ancestors worried constantly about their next meal because starvation was a very real possibility, but luckily I don't think about starving even though it's technically still possible. I hope that in the future the same is true of disease and non-accidental death. The point is having as much time as you want to do the things that interest you. Nobody should be forced to live when they don't want to, and nobody should be forced to die when they don't want to. Pretty simple really. > We've already found out how … Have children Come on now, we both know that a legacy isn't remotely the same as not dying.