4 ms·

I think an interesting side effect of extremely long lives would be people would be a lot more careful. Driving fast, not wearing a seatbelt, skydiving, going

• gcheong 18y ago
  I'm not so sure. Did people become twice as cautious when life expectancy doubled in our fairly recent history? The retirement age of 65 was originally set because it was deemed so unlikely that anyone would reach it, now it is almost considered a given that people will live past it and I don't think people have become more cautious as a result. The other thing is that if people feel that medical technology has advanced enough that they can be pulled through ever increasing traumatic circumstances they are more likely to attempt higher risk behavior.
  • ars 18y ago
    "Did people become twice as cautious when life expectancy doubled in our fairly recent history?" Yes! Very much so they did. So many sports have been gutted due to "safety", chemistry sets have most of the good stuff gone for the same reason. Kids can no longer just go and do what they want because it's "not safe". People took far far more risks in the past.
    • FlorinAndrei 18y ago
      But they didn't have a choice.
    • gcheong 18y ago
      This is probably more due to companies trying to protect themselves from lawsuits and a greater understanding of how to safely to things than any conservative attitude developed due to an increased life span. People routinely jump off cliffs with every expectation that they will live, given the appropriate safety measures these days, and the Darwin awards do not seem to be lacking any candidates.