What's it like on the cusp of immortality?

In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

What would people at this brink feel? Would the religious
amongst us rebel? Would the philosophers amongst us believe
that their lives had been placed in this position deliberately
as a lead in to godliness? What type of religions would spring out
of the improbability of existance coupling into immortality bring?

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

What would people at this brink feel? Would the religious
amongst us rebel? Would the philosophers amongst us believe
that their lives had been placed in this position deliberately
as a lead in to godliness? ...[text shortened]... f religions would spring out
of the improbability of existance coupling into immortality bring?

Those scientologists would proberly think 'twas their right to live for ever. Then since they will have bought all the products that would be makng it possiable, they would belive themselves more important then the rest of us.....................
A new racisim could evolve.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

What would people at this brink feel? Would the religious
amongst us rebel? Would the philosophers amongst us believe
that their lives had been placed in this position deliberately
as a lead in to godliness? ...[text shortened]... f religions would spring out
of the improbability of existance coupling into immortality bring?

I would think fundamentalists would condemn such a development because a devout christian or muslim immortal would never get to heaven or nirvana or whatever they call it. That said, I have no doubt that same person would jump at the chace if it was presented to him or her. There is immortal and then there is immortal. I would think unless you had some real digital internal memory that left to its own devices, so to speak, the human brain would run out of memory eventually and lead to that person basically going insane, maybe always living in the past never enough room in the memory sytem to remember yesterday, only 100 years earlier. So along with the accrudiments of immortality you would need digital download of your memories which you could access like an internal laptop or something but you could still have your day to day memory most of us think neccessary for living sanely. But unless your body gets a new clone every 50 years or so, it would seem eventually your old body would wear out and no amount of regeneration could make if function much past a few hundred years unless they renew everything in the cell including the genetic structure which as you all know, undergoes a slow process of deterioration, telemeres counting off the seconds, etc.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

Possible, but highly unlikely. Fifty years ago we were heading for a new millennium of Martian colonization, global irrigation, robot slaves and jet propulsion for everyone. As it happens, our only notable achievement during this period was to cure baldness in mice.

Originally posted by Amaurote
Possible, but highly unlikely. Fifty years ago we were heading for a new millennium of Martian colonization, global irrigation, robot slaves and jet propulsion for everyone. As it happens, our only notable achievement during this period was to cure baldness in mice.

LOL.

Now if they could just transplant the scalp of a mouse onto the scalp of a human being then we are onto something big! 😛

Originally posted by whodey
LOL.

Now if they could just transplant the scalp of a mouse onto the scalp of a human being then we are onto something big! 😛

😕

Originally posted by sonhouse
That said, I have no doubt that same person would jump at the chace if it was presented to him or her.

It seems interesting to me that many atheists scoff at the thought of salvation via God to live forever and say that they would rather die. However, factor God out of the picture and its a no brainer. The truth comes out. They really want to live. All I can say is good luck with that. If you want to factor God out of the pircture then save yourself.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

What would people at this brink feel? Would the religious
amongst us rebel? Would the philosophers amongst us believe
that their lives had been placed in this position deliberately
as a lead in to godliness? ...[text shortened]... f religions would spring out
of the improbability of existance coupling into immortality bring?

sounds like a good anime.

Originally posted by Amaurote
Possible, but highly unlikely. Fifty years ago we were heading for a new millennium of Martian colonization, global irrigation, robot slaves and jet propulsion for everyone. As it happens, our only notable achievement during this period was to cure baldness in mice.

The only notable achievement? Only a simpleton could utter such a statement with a straight face. Do you really think all we've accomplished since 1957 is to cure baldness in mice?

Originally posted by whodey
It seems interesting to me that many atheists scoff at the thought of salvation via God to live forever and say that they would rather die. However, factor God out of the picture and its a no brainer. The truth comes out. They really want to live. All I can say is good luck with that. If you want to factor God out of the pircture then save yourself.

Tell me, what was the name of the accursed atheist who said that?
The only one who would force such an issue on anyone, atheist, jane, hindu, muslim, christian, whatever, would be other people forcing an unwanted religion on someone. Do you have a link to that atheist who said he would rather die than be saved?

Originally posted by rwingett
The only notable achievement? Only a simpleton could utter such a statement with a straight face. Do you really think all we've accomplished since 1957 is to cure baldness in mice?

For a pseudo-intellectual, you know surprisingly little about the use of hyperbole in humour.

Originally posted by Amaurote
For a pseudo-intellectual, you know surprisingly little about the use of hyperbole in humour.

So that was humor, eh? You disguised it awfully well.

My point is, a driving force behind the creationists dogma is that
it is way way too coincidental that we exist as such intricately assembled
creatures. That time and chaos could never produce such organisation.

But even the creationists believe that humans have been wandering
around and dying for thousands of years.

The window I'm talking about could potentially span 50-100 years
where people born before this date die and those after live for thousands
of years.

That kind of window in the context of the history of humanity for the
creationists and the history of the universe for everyone else, would
be a mind-blowing coincidence.

Try and picture how you would feel, that you had miraculously evolved
over millions of years into a human and that you had miraculously
been born at exactly the cusp of immortality.

Would you believe it?? Or would you be far more inclined to believe
that greater forces are at work?

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
Would you believe it?? Or would you be far more inclined to believe
that greater forces are at work?

We are already enjoying an average lifespan that is for the richer half of the world 100% longer than in the past. That is 150% longer adult lifespan.

My father lived 20 years longer than he expected to, mostly due to medical advances that occurred near or during those 20-years.

I however think it highly unlikely that even if we do achieve near immortality that such a state will be sudden or even universal. There may be a massive cost involved which separates the near immortal rich from the rest of the population. Whatever the case it is likely that lifespans will gradually get longer and longer but not suddenely jump to near-infinite.

Why anyone would find the fact that they were born at the start of this time remarkable but ignore all other advances I am not sure. I find it remarkable that I was born at just the right time to witness computers and the internet but then my children will witness far more remarkable things than I have.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
In a few decades time it is entirely possible that technology and
cybernetics could herald a new era of longevity, heading towards
immortality.

What would people at this brink feel? Would the religious
amongst us rebel? Would the philosophers amongst us believe
that their lives had been placed in this position deliberately
as a lead in to godliness? ...[text shortened]... f religions would spring out
of the improbability of existance coupling into immortality bring?

You should read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, which deals with this issue (amongst many others). At first, recipients of the new treatment feel very unwell...People who can't afford it start rioting on EArth.