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What does "absolute limit" mean in this context? And does it imply that we are somehow closer to what would need to be "solved" to extend life? I mean if you kn
by version_five 5y ago
What does "absolute limit" mean in this context? And does it imply that we are somehow closer to what would need to be "solved" to extend life? I mean if you know what the bottleneck is, it seems like it would represent a target for future research. Or does that approach not make sense here?
- derbOac 5y agoYes, the way to interpret something like this is "unless something dramatically changes." Which it will eventually. I think at some point in the not-too-distant future civilization is going to have to contend emotionally, institutionally, and ethically with interventions that fundamentally alter basic dynamics of human biology. Things like eliminating aging, and things like fundamentally altering neuropsychological identity. Just the other day there was a paper posted here on HN about somatic mutations underlying the aging process. What happens when we fix that? What happens when we can change someone's basic neuropsychology in a way to eliminate criminal propensity or lack of intellectual deficit? I'm not saying any of these things are going to happen 2, 5, 10, or any particular number of years from now but I do think it will happen. Things like aging and violence will be seen in the same way that we see viral disease or electromagnetic physics: things that we only have a fuzzy grasp of now, but will be able to manipulate at will in the future, even if imperfectly.