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Before the comments come in talking about whether we actually want to cure aging, let me present my favorite argument I've seen on the topic: Imagine the situa

by feoren 4y ago

Before the comments come in talking about whether we actually want to cure aging, let me present my favorite argument I've seen on the topic: Imagine the situation were reversed: nobody is aging, and we're worried about Earth's limited resources. Your proposed to solution is to kill everyone over a certain age!?

candiddevmike 4y ago
Not everyone, only the folks that paid less
wilg 4y ago
My opinion on the topic changed significantly after watching these great videos: - Why Age? Should We End Aging Forever? - Kurzgesagt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoJsr4IwCm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoJsr4IwCm4 - How to Cure Aging – Kurzgesagt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdpR-TY6QU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdpR-TY6QU - Why Die? - CGP Grey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8
Nihilartikel 4y ago
You get 200 years but then you're contact bound to hop on the first colony ship to Mars...
elmomle 4y ago
I think this argument presupposes that biological life had found some healthy, deathless equilibrium; it's hard to imagine what that would look like, since we what we have is a system where death is a vital part of all that we see--it is required, in a most basic sense, to rejuvenate the greater system. This isn't to say that "therefore we should all accept the inevitability of death"--just that we should consider carefully whether, in ending (or forestalling) death, we might improve the lot of the individual at the expense of the greater whole (society, other life on the planet, etc.). Another thought--what if avoiding death ends up taking exponentially more resources as one gets older, and society becomes a superorganism oriented around keeping a small number of egos alive for as long as possible, where capacity to age becomes the ultimate expression of power?
- TylerLives 4y ago
  >what if avoiding death ends up taking exponentially more resources as one gets older, and society becomes a superorganism oriented around keeping a small number of egos alive for as long as possible What is society oriented around now? While the idea of living under an immortal human god doesn't sound particularly appealing to me, it would probably be better than the present situation (i.e. living under mortal, short-lived human gods with nukes)
syrrim 4y ago
In either universe, the earth can only serve so many people. Since we're proposing hypotheticals, here's another one: suppose all the babies that would be born in either universe were born already, then we had to decide whether to keep the babies and kill off the old folks, or to kill the babies and keep the eldery. I don't think anyone would propose we let the older generation live. This hypothetical is in fact much closer to the situation we are in...
inspector-g 4y ago
This comment perfectly hits upon something I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on for some time. Thanks.

by feoren 4y ago

candiddevmike 4y ago

Not everyone, only the folks that paid less

wilg 4y ago

My opinion on the topic changed significantly after watching these great videos: - Why Age? Should We End Aging Forever? - Kurzgesagt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoJsr4IwCm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoJsr4IwCm4 - How to Cure Aging – Kurzgesagt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdpR-TY6QU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjdpR-TY6QU - Why Die? - CGP Grey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25qzDhGLx8

Nihilartikel 4y ago

You get 200 years but then you're contact bound to hop on the first colony ship to Mars...

elmomle 4y ago

I think this argument presupposes that biological life had found some healthy, deathless equilibrium; it's hard to imagine what that would look like, since we what we have is a system where death is a vital part of all that we see--it is required, in a most basic sense, to rejuvenate the greater system. This isn't to say that "therefore we should all accept the inevitability of death"--just that we should consider carefully whether, in ending (or forestalling) death, we might improve the lot of the individual at the expense of the greater whole (society, other life on the planet, etc.). Another thought--what if avoiding death ends up taking exponentially more resources as one gets older, and society becomes a superorganism oriented around keeping a small number of egos alive for as long as possible, where capacity to age becomes the ultimate expression of power?

TylerLives 4y ago
>what if avoiding death ends up taking exponentially more resources as one gets older, and society becomes a superorganism oriented around keeping a small number of egos alive for as long as possible What is society oriented around now? While the idea of living under an immortal human god doesn't sound particularly appealing to me, it would probably be better than the present situation (i.e. living under mortal, short-lived human gods with nukes)

syrrim 4y ago

In either universe, the earth can only serve so many people. Since we're proposing hypotheticals, here's another one: suppose all the babies that would be born in either universe were born already, then we had to decide whether to keep the babies and kill off the old folks, or to kill the babies and keep the eldery. I don't think anyone would propose we let the older generation live. This hypothetical is in fact much closer to the situation we are in...

inspector-g 4y ago

This comment perfectly hits upon something I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on for some time. Thanks.