4 ms·

For now it looks like death can't be "solved" at all. You may be able to prolong individual human life, even by a lot. But how to solve entropy and the end of

by kbrkbr 2y ago

For now it looks like death can't be "solved" at all. You may be able to prolong individual human life, even by a lot. But how to solve entropy and the end of an empty, cold universe? There is even speculation that life is from a certain angle only an effect to accelerate entropy under the umbrella of the Maximum Entropy Production Principle (but I do not remember the source). So from the standpoint of current knowledge of how nature works this seems to look dire. I also personally disagree. I do not think that the beautiful chaos of life is strictly preferable to the requiem eternam of death. I'll go when I have to, without hesitation and regrets. It's not the things that terrify us, but our opinion of the things.

bboygravity 2y ago
You should see what they can do with mice/rats nowadays: -- Immunity to prion diseasy by epigenetically silencing the prion gene, -- Cure (almost) all cancers -- life long HIV AIDS immunity with 1 vaccination (based on a modified virus) -- Extend life by a factor 2 (if I'm not mistaking) -- Make them light up in the dark with a human ear growing on their back (this one is decades old already). And all of the above is without considering the AGI singularity. Human immunity is really not that far away. Depending on how AGI will respond to us we will soon either be wiped out or be immortal IMO.
- zeofig 2y ago
  AGI singularity is science fiction and, while interesting, none of that research comes close to biological immortality in humans. Don't deceive yourself.
  - ben_w 2y ago
    Every tech is science fiction until it's done, and sometimes continues to be present in fiction even while also being deployed. Not fooling yourself is hard, because it goes both ways.
- kbrkbr 2y ago
  Thanks for your reply! I am not argumenting against curing stuff and prolonging life. I just think it is not immortality. I don't think immortality is to have given our current knowledge. It's like saying: "and then we build the perpetuum mobile. We're just short of it. One or two more breakthroughs". I like ambition, I just don't think we even have a trace of a path

by kbrkbr 2y ago

bboygravity 2y ago

You should see what they can do with mice/rats nowadays: -- Immunity to prion diseasy by epigenetically silencing the prion gene, -- Cure (almost) all cancers -- life long HIV AIDS immunity with 1 vaccination (based on a modified virus) -- Extend life by a factor 2 (if I'm not mistaking) -- Make them light up in the dark with a human ear growing on their back (this one is decades old already). And all of the above is without considering the AGI singularity. Human immunity is really not that far away. Depending on how AGI will respond to us we will soon either be wiped out or be immortal IMO.

zeofig 2y ago
AGI singularity is science fiction and, while interesting, none of that research comes close to biological immortality in humans. Don't deceive yourself.
- ben_w 2y ago
  Every tech is science fiction until it's done, and sometimes continues to be present in fiction even while also being deployed. Not fooling yourself is hard, because it goes both ways.
kbrkbr 2y ago
Thanks for your reply! I am not argumenting against curing stuff and prolonging life. I just think it is not immortality. I don't think immortality is to have given our current knowledge. It's like saying: "and then we build the perpetuum mobile. We're just short of it. One or two more breakthroughs". I like ambition, I just don't think we even have a trace of a path