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The noteworthy distinction is we can rebuild a car from scratch - a great many human "parts" are irreplaceable. I hope we're really considering the effect of w

by nkozyra 12y ago

The noteworthy distinction is we can rebuild a car from scratch - a great many human "parts" are irreplaceable. I hope we're really considering the effect of widespread longer life might have instead of barreling toward longevity - people living 10 years longer on average could have a pretty devastating effect on a lot of things. And I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, but we should be really thinking about how we'd mitigate that impact.

CmonDev 12y ago
I am happy to cause a devastating effect as long as I am living 10 years longer.
RankingMember 12y ago
Maybe we could stop freaking out about keeping birth rates high? "Devastating" carries a negative connotation. If the quality of life for that additional 10 years is good, I'd call it a positive. If it's 10 years hooked up to machines where your brain's working at half capacity, then yeah, that's a negative.
- nkozyra 12y ago
  I'm speaking more about devastating to infrastructure. Social systems (social security, employment rates), healthcare availability, etc.
  - PeterisP 12y ago
    Well, if it turns out to be such a big problem, then we can just kill everyone at a specific age. That's sarcasm, of course, but IMHO saying that we shouldn't prolong life because of possible consequence X is morally exactly equal to saying that we should kill old people to avoid that consequence X. For every X, either X really is so bad that it's worth killing people for it; or X shouldn't be considered as a valid argument against longevity.
    - nkozyra 12y ago
      I didn't say we shouldn't prolong life, I'm saying we should be proactive about the unintended consequences of longer lives in aggregate.
      - synkarius 12y ago
        Could you give an example of how to be proactive as such? I agree that being prepared is good, but I don't personally know enough about old-age care / geriatrics / Social Security to really be in favor of or against any particular policy changes.
seanflyon 12y ago
> people living 10 years longer on average could have a pretty devastating effect on a lot of things. Could you say a bit more about what problems you foresee? Are you talking about over-population, because I don't think we are at all close to that point. Other than medical costs and systems built around an expected retirement age I don't see any problems.

by nkozyra 12y ago

CmonDev 12y ago

I am happy to cause a devastating effect as long as I am living 10 years longer.

RankingMember 12y ago

Maybe we could stop freaking out about keeping birth rates high? "Devastating" carries a negative connotation. If the quality of life for that additional 10 years is good, I'd call it a positive. If it's 10 years hooked up to machines where your brain's working at half capacity, then yeah, that's a negative.

nkozyra 12y ago
I'm speaking more about devastating to infrastructure. Social systems (social security, employment rates), healthcare availability, etc.
- PeterisP 12y ago
  Well, if it turns out to be such a big problem, then we can just kill everyone at a specific age. That's sarcasm, of course, but IMHO saying that we shouldn't prolong life because of possible consequence X is morally exactly equal to saying that we should kill old people to avoid that consequence X. For every X, either X really is so bad that it's worth killing people for it; or X shouldn't be considered as a valid argument against longevity.
  - nkozyra 12y ago
    I didn't say we shouldn't prolong life, I'm saying we should be proactive about the unintended consequences of longer lives in aggregate.
    - synkarius 12y ago
      Could you give an example of how to be proactive as such? I agree that being prepared is good, but I don't personally know enough about old-age care / geriatrics / Social Security to really be in favor of or against any particular policy changes.

seanflyon 12y ago

> people living 10 years longer on average could have a pretty devastating effect on a lot of things. Could you say a bit more about what problems you foresee? Are you talking about over-population, because I don't think we are at all close to that point. Other than medical costs and systems built around an expected retirement age I don't see any problems.