5 ms·

> What is the particular appeal of e.g. living to be 130 years old? Assuming you can stay mentally and physically healthy during that time, what is the downsid

> What is the particular appeal of e.g. living to be 130 years old? Assuming you can stay mentally and physically healthy during that time, what is the downside? Why would someone _not_ want to live as long as they can? There is so much that has happened in the last 130 years, it'd be great to see what happens in the next 130 years.

braingenious 4y ago
I think that having a normal human lifespan encourages a person to accomplish and experience as much as they can within that timeframe. The limited nature of time is a big part of what makes it valuable, so it motivates people to find meaning. I suppose if I looked at say, 85 or 90 years and thought “That’s not enough time for me to figure out what’s meaningful to me and realize it. I’ll need at least another five decades.” that would seem kind of morose to me.
- blep_ 4y ago
  That's one sort of life philosophy. There are others. If I had to point out exactly where I disagree with this, I'd say I don't view "doing a meaningful thing" as a thing you do once and then you're done with life. If I can do meaningful things for a few extra decades, that's a good thing.
  - braingenious 4y ago
    It’s not that you do a meaningful thing and then you’re done with life, it’s that since you have limited time, it’s a good reason to at least attempt finding something meaningful to pursue or accomplish. When I’ve talked to longevity enthusiasts in the past I’ve never really gotten a good answer to “Why?” in a philosophical or even practical sense. It’s never “Outlive my enemies” or “Finish reading Gravity’s Rainbow”, it’s generally been “To avoid dying,” which to me is a pretty depressing proposition. It’s not for something, it’s running away from something, which is kind of the opposite of a search for a meaningful life.
    - samus 4y ago
      Not all of us need a purpose in life. Only when life gets hard do we start to wonder why we keep going on. These people are probably just happy doing whatever else they have been doing so far in their life. Maybe some of these people actually have a passion for pushing the envelope. Sort of like people that pursue fitness as a lifestyle, where one can raise the same doubts about what they are actually training and living for.
      - braingenious 4y ago
        That’s an interesting perspective. I would still love to hear from somebody that is an actual longevity enthusiast rather than speculate as to their motives. As I’ve said, my previous actual conversations with longevity enthusiasts have been quite unsatisfying because I don’t buy “better telomeres for a higher number of years” as an actual pure human motivation. I would buy “a crippling fear of death” or “I want to spend every single dime I’ve ever accumulated” or “Finishing Dwarf Fortress” but the diehards always handwave and say they want to live forever… just ‘cuz. edit: I’ll rephrase the crux of my original question. Assuming you are able to find the magic potion that makes you live until 130 today, that means that you will outlive a whole lot of the planet. You’ll see people you care about die if they’re unable or unwilling to get said potion. If you reframe the question of “Who do you want to outlive and why?” then “idk lol” becomes a less understandable response.
        blep_ 4y ago
        I kind of did answer your original question, but to do so more directly: I enjoy making stuff. More time to make stuff would mean more enjoyment. Recently, I've been experiencing burnout that interferes with my ability to do this. It will pass, with time. But it's easier to think about that the longer my life will be, because I would have lost a smaller proportion of my limited time to it. Repeat for any other thing that one might view as wasted time, and it adds up. The question you've turned this into in your last paragraph is a completely different one. I don't have any desire to outlive or not outlive any particular person. It's nice to have the company of people I like, but my sense of meaning, to the extent I have one, is unrelated to that. People move into and out of my life all the time for various reasons.
paulcole 4y ago
> Assuming you can stay mentally and physically healthy during that time, what is the downside First, this is a comically huge assumption. Second, it’s expensive to live. Third, it might be boring and sad to see friends/family die. Fourth, depending on age now, climate change might exacerbate the cost and misery of existing within the next 100 years.

braingenious 4y ago

I think that having a normal human lifespan encourages a person to accomplish and experience as much as they can within that timeframe. The limited nature of time is a big part of what makes it valuable, so it motivates people to find meaning. I suppose if I looked at say, 85 or 90 years and thought “That’s not enough time for me to figure out what’s meaningful to me and realize it. I’ll need at least another five decades.” that would seem kind of morose to me.

blep_ 4y ago
That's one sort of life philosophy. There are others. If I had to point out exactly where I disagree with this, I'd say I don't view "doing a meaningful thing" as a thing you do once and then you're done with life. If I can do meaningful things for a few extra decades, that's a good thing.
- braingenious 4y ago
  It’s not that you do a meaningful thing and then you’re done with life, it’s that since you have limited time, it’s a good reason to at least attempt finding something meaningful to pursue or accomplish. When I’ve talked to longevity enthusiasts in the past I’ve never really gotten a good answer to “Why?” in a philosophical or even practical sense. It’s never “Outlive my enemies” or “Finish reading Gravity’s Rainbow”, it’s generally been “To avoid dying,” which to me is a pretty depressing proposition. It’s not for something, it’s running away from something, which is kind of the opposite of a search for a meaningful life.
  - samus 4y ago
    Not all of us need a purpose in life. Only when life gets hard do we start to wonder why we keep going on. These people are probably just happy doing whatever else they have been doing so far in their life. Maybe some of these people actually have a passion for pushing the envelope. Sort of like people that pursue fitness as a lifestyle, where one can raise the same doubts about what they are actually training and living for.
    - braingenious 4y ago
      That’s an interesting perspective. I would still love to hear from somebody that is an actual longevity enthusiast rather than speculate as to their motives. As I’ve said, my previous actual conversations with longevity enthusiasts have been quite unsatisfying because I don’t buy “better telomeres for a higher number of years” as an actual pure human motivation. I would buy “a crippling fear of death” or “I want to spend every single dime I’ve ever accumulated” or “Finishing Dwarf Fortress” but the diehards always handwave and say they want to live forever… just ‘cuz. edit: I’ll rephrase the crux of my original question. Assuming you are able to find the magic potion that makes you live until 130 today, that means that you will outlive a whole lot of the planet. You’ll see people you care about die if they’re unable or unwilling to get said potion. If you reframe the question of “Who do you want to outlive and why?” then “idk lol” becomes a less understandable response.
      - blep_ 4y ago
        I kind of did answer your original question, but to do so more directly: I enjoy making stuff. More time to make stuff would mean more enjoyment. Recently, I've been experiencing burnout that interferes with my ability to do this. It will pass, with time. But it's easier to think about that the longer my life will be, because I would have lost a smaller proportion of my limited time to it. Repeat for any other thing that one might view as wasted time, and it adds up. The question you've turned this into in your last paragraph is a completely different one. I don't have any desire to outlive or not outlive any particular person. It's nice to have the company of people I like, but my sense of meaning, to the extent I have one, is unrelated to that. People move into and out of my life all the time for various reasons.

paulcole 4y ago

> Assuming you can stay mentally and physically healthy during that time, what is the downside First, this is a comically huge assumption. Second, it’s expensive to live. Third, it might be boring and sad to see friends/family die. Fourth, depending on age now, climate change might exacerbate the cost and misery of existing within the next 100 years.