Living Forever

I was tuning into some talk show on KFI AM 640 earlier—some segment where Radman was chatting with a bunch of college kids. I couldn't catch all the specifics on the science, but apparently, they’re working on ways to stretch the human lifespan as far as physically possible...
What's your take on this?
Do people actually get happier knowing every single day could be their last? Like, does it make you value life more? I remember reading this bit about Greek mythology where the gods were actually jealous of us because everything about being human is fleeting. Or there's that other old story: There was once this emperor who was constantly miserable and never satisfied... (honestly, I can't be bothered to type the whole thing out...) until he met this hermit in the desert. The guy gave him a ring and said, whenever you're feeling down or life gets heavy, just look at this ring. It had an inscription that read: "This too shall pass."
Are we just heading toward a future full of depressed people living forever?

There is a point where nothing lasts forever.

The inevitable question is: at what exact moment does the current state freeze and eternity begin? How long does one continue to age before finally stepping into the eternal? People usually indulge in these thoughts when they are in their prime—healthy 20-somethings fantasizing about immortality. Now, imagine being 80 years old, frail and ailing, yet forced to live forever. A total DISASTER. Personally, I think it's a terrible idea.

I bet by the time two centuries roll around, things will be incredibly dull.
I’m gonna find out for myself. 😁

Life wouldn't be a drag if I actually had friends to hang out with, if things were constantly moving—which they always are—and if my health wasn't such a question mark. "Eternity" is a pretty weird concept to wrap your head around, though. Are we talking about some kind of true immortality where you could jump straight into a volcano and walk away fine, or just the idea of staying alive as long as the basic necessities are there, like oxygen and water?
If you mean the second one, then the real headache starts once those essentials run out. The Earth isn't going to sustain life forever.
But if we’re talking about the first scenario... the only real worry is figuring out what to do once the environment fails and you're just drifting through the vacuum of space after $10^{70}$ or so years have passed.😬

I mean, I’d definitely take that deal if it meant staying in my prime forever, you know? Instead of waiting until you hit 70 and everything just starts falling apart... man, imagine how much worse it gets once you hit 100. 😁

I’m on the same page as placidjackal36, things certainly wouldn't get boring...
And even if we managed to push life to the absolute limit, it wouldn't stop everything from being fleeting or take away that feeling that any day could be your last, because even in some sci-fi theory where we wipe out disease and freeze cellular aging, that doesn't exactly protect you from getting flattened by a runaway freight train 😉

I don't get Radman. He actually said he’d be the first one to test out this "elixir of youth" thing—which honestly just sounds incredibly childish and naive for an adult who’s supposedly got a brain.
I mean, look at the numbers. We’ve already got massive populations in developing nations, and those numbers are climbing faster every single year.
Just try to wrap your head around what happens if that trend keeps going while people also stop aging—either they stay young or whatever.
Where the hell are we supposed to get food, water, or even basic resources? And don't even get me started on the pollution, not to mention we’d eventually run out of room to actually live.
We'd see constant wars over minority groups suddenly becoming majorities...
And if this "elixir" is reserved for the ultra-wealthy, the gap would be insane. The rich would basically become gods, while the rest of us stay stuck as mere mortals.

Bottom line? Everything would just go to hell. It's the same mess we'd face with cloning—thank Bog that hasn't been abused yet.
Nature naturally clears out the old to make way for the new.
The stronger, more evolved species pushes out the weaker ones—Darwin.

Besides, I highly doubt they’ve actually cooked up this "elixir of youth" everyone is buzzing about.
They probably just stumbled onto some tiny, insignificant lead that's barely even a trace of a "real" elixir.

I mean, we’re already moving forward way faster than anything evolution through reproduction could ever dream of achieving. :

Look... I have no desire to be physically active for 40 years only to spend the next 500 living like a decrepit old man who can't even get out of bed.
Honestly, dying young sounds more appealing at this point.
Old age scares the hell out of me for plenty of reasons...
And I highly doubt anyone is going to cook up a cure that keeps us eternally young and attractive.
So, don't go holding your breath for eternity.😉

Living forever kind of reminds me of that brutal insomnia. Just endless hours where time refuses to move? Absolute torture. 🙄...

rapidorca22 said:Living forever kind of reminds me of that awful insomnia, where you're just staring at the ceiling, losing your mind because the clock won't move. It sounds like absolute torture 🙄...

Sorry for going off-topic here, but is there actually a way to get more time? I feel like I never have enough hours in the day. Honestly, sleep feels like such a waste—time that could be used for much better things. 😁

ONT: I don't really need immortality, though. I think living to maybe 150 would be plenty. If aging just stopped once I hit, say, 25, and then I just lived for another 125 years before passing away while still feeling young, that would be perfect. 😛

Eh, I mean, it’s not really a huge deal. Just like we adapt to living longer, maybe we just... adapt how reproduction works? Like, what if women only became fertile once every 24 months instead of every single month? Plus, you could probably use genetic engineering so that male sperm is only capable of fertilizing once every 48 months, and boom. Problem solved, I guess.