immortality is closer than you think

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by shacro, Nov 26, 2017.

?

do you think it's a good idea to give people immortality

  1. yes

    27.3%
  2. no

    54.5%
  3. yes and no

    18.2%
  1. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    No.
     
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  3. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

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    100
    Ok.

    Do you know of any research being done in this direction? Some article or publication maybe?
     
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  5. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    21,632
    Nope. A few science fiction stories that posit a world like that, and a few court cases where birth control (for both sexes) is mandated for offenders - but I don't know of any studies on it.
     
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  7. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

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    100
    Let's step away from immortality for a bit.

    Have you tried a moral test regarding self-driving cars? You've shown a hypothetical situation when the car is on a collision course and asked to choose who to save and who to sacrifice.
    I'm sure you have, but here's one of the variants:
    http://moralmachine.mit.edu/

    What does it seem to you? There is a lot of, and I quote, "the idea that people would get selected for their worthiness", in this concept.
     
  8. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    18,914
    Yes. I've even raised this argument myself in another thread.

    And no, it won't happen. Cars will not be imbued with the knowledge of worthiness of victims. It would be the same mistake you're making.
     
  9. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    100
    Ok, so, in the event of two patients awaiting a heart transplant, and there's only one donor heart, I assume your solution would be to flip a coin?
     
  10. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    13,077
    The sickest one or the one on the waiting list longest gets it

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  11. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

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    100
    Ok, then, in case of immortality treatment, let's assume that we won't be able to treat everyone at the same time. We'll have to make a priority list, and by this logic, old people who are closest to dying are treated with immortality first. But what if waiting for your turn in the list takes years? So we stop aging of people who are already sick, weak, and struggle to survive, only to let younger people, who can benefit from immortality much more, grow older.

    So so many problems and questions with "just give immortality away to everyone" philosophy, pretty much in every imaginable scenario.
     
  12. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    18,914
    ...said as if that's a bad thing.
     
  13. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    13,077
    Problem with hypotheticals like these is they tend to turn into YABUTS with shifting goalposts

    No matter any answer given somebody will come back with a YABUT

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  14. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

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    100
    A lot of smart and influencial people think it might be a bad thing and a curse, but I'm too lazy to find the links right now. Otherwise, people would not start forum threads like this.

    We have ecological crisis right now because the right people weren't bringing the YABUT argument at the right time.
     
  15. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Define
    • Right people
    • Right time
    • And content of YABUT
    ALL opinions and imI sure there would be contenders just as passionate on a counter view

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  16. Andrew256 Registered Senior Member

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    100
    Look, I'm not against it, ok? If we all could become immortal without repercussions and without irreversibly hurting the ecological and humanitarian systems, this would literally be the best thing ever happening to mankind.

    But, I can bet all my money that should immortality be invented, after clinical trials on a small portion of people and if proven to lack any biological side effects, it won't become available to everyone. There will be some form of selection, either in a form of lottery (similar to green card), a government approved selection, commercialization, e.t.c, but not everyone will be able to just eat the pill and stop worrying about aging. And it's not because I said so, but because this is reality. There are reasons, and to me it seems you want to hear nothing of it.

    But then again, I'm just a small-time software engineer, what do I know about sociology and ecology. My bet still stands though.

    P.S. Talking about reality, prospect of immortality does sound unreal, there's a good chance it won't ever happen.
     
  17. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    18,914
    It will be based on criteria for clinical fitness to the treatment, not some lottery.

    We've got zillions of live-prolonging treatments right now (such as those for Diabetes) but not everyone is suited to the treatment for one reason or another - whether some underlying condition that puts them at-risk, or some intolerance to a treatment, or whether that particular flavour of the disease responds to the treatment.

    In the case of immortality, it is not implausible to suppose that the first generation of treatments can only slow or stop aging, but not reverse it and not repair worn components. Which means it might be a regimen that must be started at an early age - i.e. older people, who already have weak hearts or arthritis might not benefit from it.
     
  18. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    4,885
    I would surely like to be immortal.

    Obviously, if everyone were immortal there would be a problem at some time in the future unless the birth rate went down to almost zero.
     
  19. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    It's not a problem if we are not Earthbound.
     
  20. sculptor Valued Senior Member

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    8,466
    fusion vs immortality
    both promised "soon"
    and the race is on
     
  21. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    18,914
    Fusion-powered jetpacks and immortal flying cars! I've been robbed of my future!
     
  22. gamelord Registered Senior Member

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    673
    Immortality is the result of logic and reason.
    Death is the unknown.
    Stepping into the unknown is foolish.

    If a random stranger you never met before, asked you to step in a room, which he said would cause you excruciating pain, and when you asked him "Why" he never responded, and you knew no details about the room or the door behind the room, or what would happen or what journey you would embark on after you entered the room, who in their right mind would want to go in their room?


    Of course immortality presents its own set of problems, such as overpopulation, thus people would have to be sterilized in order so that they might still enjoy pleasure sex, but not overpopulate the planet.
     
  23. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    18,914
    It is??
    So, if I'm really logical and reasonable, I'll be immortal?

    Stepping into the unknown is how we got to be the dominant species on the planet.

    You should watch "The Croods".

    "Never *not* be afraid!"

    "don't eat it, it's new!"
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2018

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