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  3. If you could live forever, would you want to?

If you could live forever, would you want to?

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  • P PIEBALDconsult

    Maybe, but -- like flying cars -- I wouldn't necessarily want anyone else to have access to it.

    F Offline
    F Offline
    Forogar
    wrote on last edited by
    #17

    Good point. If everyone lived forever, or at least for a long, long time, then the planet would get seriously crowded! Perhaps just for me and my family (including the dog - my wife cries so much each time we lose a little furry friend).

    - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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    • M Mike Hankey

      No I would not want to live forever, without death there is no life!

      I may not be that good looking, or athletic, or funny, or talented, or smart I forgot where I was going with this but I do know I love bacon!

      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriff
      wrote on last edited by
      #18

      Tell that to amoebas.

      Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
      "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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      • F Forogar

        Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

        - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

        D Offline
        D Offline
        Dominic Burford
        wrote on last edited by
        #19

        It would depend on whether my loved ones were also taking this new medical breakthrough. If they were, then yes. I could live a longer life surrounded by those I love. If they weren't, then I would prefer to live out my allotted years as nature intended.

        "There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult." - C.A.R. Hoare Home | LinkedIn | Google+ | Twitter

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        • F Forogar

          Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

          R Offline
          R Offline
          realJSOP
          wrote on last edited by
          #20

          Retire...

          ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
          -----
          You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
          -----
          When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

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          • R Richard Deeming

            That depends. Does this treatment halt, or reverse, physical and mental decline? Or do we get to look forward to 900 years of senility, arthritis, and getting up ten times a night to pee? (Although I supposed getting up ten times a night is better than not getting up. :) ) Also, how much does it cost? If you're still paying off the cost of treatment as a quincentenarian, then it doesn't sound like a good deal. Even worse if you have to regularly repeat the treatment.


            "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

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            Leng Vang
            wrote on last edited by
            #21

            Meh, if I live that long, I would've figured out how to replace parts of my body with synthetics anyway, save the brain off course.

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            • F Forogar

              Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

              - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

              L Offline
              L Offline
              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #22

              If I put 10K in an index fund at let's say 5% annually, what would that be in 1000 years?

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              • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                Tell that to amoebas.

                Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                F Offline
                F Offline
                Forogar
                wrote on last edited by
                #23

                You mean Tardigrades[^]?

                - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                • F Forogar

                  Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

                  - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                  L Offline
                  L Offline
                  Leng Vang
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #24

                  Some may not want to live pass tomorrow. Me? I would love to live several hundred million years. Imagine what you could've accomplished. Mere 70-80 years is really a blink. You spent 30 years learning to barely walk. And spent another 35 years just to get establish and then you ran out of time to do what you really born to do. If scientists figured out how to prolong cell delay (hence live longer), they would have figured out how to cure most diseases too.

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                  • L Lost User

                    If I put 10K in an index fund at let's say 5% annually, what would that be in 1000 years?

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Leng Vang
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #25

                    Monetary concept may not live pass the next 100 years. ;)

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                    • L Lost User

                      If I put 10K in an index fund at let's say 5% annually, what would that be in 1000 years?

                      F Offline
                      F Offline
                      Forogar
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #26

                      After 100 years it would be: $1,315,012.58 After 750 years it would be: $77,978,396,963,807,380,000.00 After that, the calculator overflows.

                      - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                      • F Forogar

                        Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

                        - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                        abmvA Offline
                        abmvA Offline
                        abmv
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #27

                        As if its not hard enough ....

                        Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                        We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. - Greta Thunberg

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                        • F Forogar

                          You mean Tardigrades[^]?

                          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                          OriginalGriffO Offline
                          OriginalGriffO Offline
                          OriginalGriff
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #28

                          No, amoebas - they reproduce by splitting, so technically the first ever one of 'em is still out there somewhere. Or more realistically, lots of somewheres. And Tardigrades have sod all on cockroaches! :laugh:

                          Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                          "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
                          "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

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                          • F Forogar

                            An extra thought is: Would I retire? My wife wonders why, when I get home from work, I start working on my computers at home. It's because I enjoy programming - creating new software is fun (usually). A few years ago I was given the opportunity to give up the management line (Director/Manager of Software Development) and went back to "pure" programming as a Senior Software Engineer. It was actually slightly more money and much, much more fun! It was the best decision I made, career-wise - and probably health-wise as my stress levels dropped considerably. Since then I moved to another job, also as a Senior Software Engineer, which paid a lot more money, with shorter hours and even less stress - and I got learn a lot of new stuff. Fascinating. Eventually, I suppose, the amount of new stuff that I want to learn may drop off but, until then...

                            - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                            Leng Vang
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #29

                            I get your point. Coding is my hobby and I too passed up on management offer. The idea of going to work and just talk to people, sitting through mind numbing meetings after meetings and writing reports is not my idea of fun. For retirement, as the way economy is going, most of us would not be able to retire. Social Security may be dried up by the time we get to call it permanent vacation. I will work until I dropped dead on my keyboard. :laugh:

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                            • F Forogar

                              Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

                              - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                              R Offline
                              R Offline
                              Rick York
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #30

                              Robert Heinlein wrote an interesting book on this topic called, "Time Enough For Love." The central character is Lazarus Long who deals with this question because they have all of the treatments available to do just that. I'll refrain from mentioning his decision.

                              "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

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                              • F Forogar

                                Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

                                - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                K Offline
                                K Offline
                                kalberts
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #31

                                The priest talks with this lady of his congregation: - I haven't seen you much in church lately, why is that? - Well, you see ... my daughter has started playing the harp ... - Is that true? But can her harp replace our wonderful church organ? - Oh, that's not it. But I have been considering ... I am not sure that I will be able to handle harp music for an eternity... For answering your question: I am happy to be as old as I am, as close to death as I am. The world changes, and as every aged person knows (and it has been that way for at least a hundred years in the Western world), it changes away from my own ideals, values and principles. When I was young, I expected to be allowed to live my life in my way, not the way my parents and grandparents would rather see it. Now, I grant young people the right to live their way, and shape the world and the society accordingly. I feel like a stranger to a lot of the music being produced nowadays. To the books written. To movies. How people behave even out in the wilderness. Or at parties. The intense turf wars both in my own profession (SW development) and in social arenas. The way people communicate: When I want to ask or say something to another person, I cannot just say it. First I have to wave my hands before their face to make them look up from the smartphone screen, then wait for them to remove the earplugs before I start speaking. I get a brief answer while they impatiently hold the earplugs ready for plugging back in, with an attitude that clearly says: When are you done disturbing me? ... Not evrybody are that way, but quite a few. Noone will read any thorought and well thought out explanation - I can't tell how many times I have received a "tl;dr" in response (and I will for this post as well!). So always when I write something, I read it over to see if I can delete words, shorten sentences, remove marginal arguments... to make it accessible to more readers, by being short enough. I do not relax until I am back in my own living room, with my own music, books, movies, and way of expressing myself. I am getting weary out in the real world. The day I retire, I guess I won't be leaving my house for anything but the food store. If there were anyone that might come to visit me - smartphone in hand - I would lock my door for them. I guess there will be noone. Then, when I have read all my books that today are sitting unread in my shelves, when I have watched all my movies enough times to start boring me, and heard my music

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                                • F Forogar

                                  After 100 years it would be: $1,315,012.58 After 750 years it would be: $77,978,396,963,807,380,000.00 After that, the calculator overflows.

                                  - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #32

                                  Well, if they have the same calculators in 1000 years, that would be one of the problems :)

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                                  • F Forogar

                                    An extra thought is: Would I retire? My wife wonders why, when I get home from work, I start working on my computers at home. It's because I enjoy programming - creating new software is fun (usually). A few years ago I was given the opportunity to give up the management line (Director/Manager of Software Development) and went back to "pure" programming as a Senior Software Engineer. It was actually slightly more money and much, much more fun! It was the best decision I made, career-wise - and probably health-wise as my stress levels dropped considerably. Since then I moved to another job, also as a Senior Software Engineer, which paid a lot more money, with shorter hours and even less stress - and I got learn a lot of new stuff. Fascinating. Eventually, I suppose, the amount of new stuff that I want to learn may drop off but, until then...

                                    - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                    K Offline
                                    K Offline
                                    kalberts
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #33

                                    I do program in my spare time, but that is not because I find programming fun [any longer]. I program because I encounter lots of tasks in fery different fields where some software can be a nice tool to solve another issue. Like keeping track of my music collection. Like illustrating how real life objects might interact, in a small simulation model. Like making a workable backup system for my computer. Yes, a backup system is directly related to the computer, but what I strive for is to have the software completed and available, not the programming of it. Maybe I want to "solve problems". But those problems are not in multiple inheritance and sofware paradigms and self modifying code and patterns. Those are not the real problems. Even if my problem solving uses software as a hammer and a saw, the real problem has little to do with the compiler. I care for some real problems, not for the tools as such.

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                                    • T theoldfool

                                      I don't think about dying. It is the last thing I want to do. :)

                                      If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.

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                                      K Offline
                                      kalberts
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #34

                                      "I am not afraid of dying. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Woody Allen, if my memory is correct.

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                                      • F Forogar

                                        Good point. If everyone lived forever, or at least for a long, long time, then the planet would get seriously crowded! Perhaps just for me and my family (including the dog - my wife cries so much each time we lose a little furry friend).

                                        - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                                        Leng Vang
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #35

                                        I don't know. I would like the entire world have access to it. Have your heard the Chinese are going to dominate the world, because of their shear numbers. There are lots space out in the cosmos to uncrowded. :-D

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                                        • F Forogar

                                          Assuming a new medical breakthrough allowed you to live as long as you like, barring accidents and murders, how long would be long enough? What problems, apart from having to deal with Y10K issues (still probably in COBOL) do you see coming up?

                                          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                          S Offline
                                          S Offline
                                          Slacker007
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #36

                                          yes, I would love to be immortal. Then when I smite my enemies down, I can rear my head back, and with hearty cry, I wold say "There can be only one!".

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