Extending life beyond the normal. Should we be doing it?

[Bear Wild]

People are having much more 'experiences' now because we can live longer, I didn't settle down until I was 35 unlike my parents who settled down at 23. I, like many others have had the opportunity to learn and experience much more than previous generations and may that continue.

So I'm all for trying to live longer, it's a large part of human evolution, how far can we go?

How much longer of a lifespan will be enough? At what cost?

 

[MelancholicPotatoChip]

Science has been making significant progress in understanding senescence which is life's slow process of dying. It may be now possible to alter the genetic code and extend life out for an unknown amount. There are several billionaires who have been helping fund this research. The question is do you think this is a good idea. The character that Jeff Goldblum played in the movie Jurassic Park gave this thought - "Yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they didn't stop to think if they should." Although it is tempting to want to extend life, Is there any reason this could actually be a bad idea?

Interesting post and I love the Jeff Goldblum quote.

 

[Quintessence]

That was the point of the question. Unfortunately we live in a world that is so disconnected with ecology that people are trying to find the fountain of youth with full disregard to the rest of the world.

It's believed to be disconnected - in reality the human world remains entirely connected to dependent upon the gods just as it's always been since the human species emerged from the gods in the first place. Modern domesticated humans often delude themselves into thinking they are above dependency on the gods and that they have no limits. Its idiotic - hubris of the highest order. And there are many tales of where that sort of hubris leads. The tale of Daedalus and Icarus should be required reading these days. Trying to 'outsmart' the gods ends in disaster. Sure, it might work for a little while, but laws are laws and limits are limits. Modern domesticated humans have built ways of living that are not sustainable. The will collapse as they must, just as Icarus who flew too close to Sun melted his own wings and crashed back to Earth.

 

[Heyo]

How much longer of a lifespan will be enough?

It will never be enough.

At what cost?

What we can afford.

I see it as an ever more sufficient process, like it has been over the last century and a half. It just naturally developed - and will so in the future.

 

[Madsaac]

How much longer of a lifespan will be enough? At what cost?

How long is a piece of string?

I have faith in humanity and it's future, maybe the longer we live, the better we'll get at it.

 

[Heyo]

How long is a piece of string?

I have faith in humanity and it's future, maybe the longer we live, the better we'll get at it.

There are pros and cons to longer lifespans. A con here on Earth is the turnover rate for mutations. In a changing environment, the adapted population will spread faster and take over the older generations with shorter lifespans. The faster the environmental change, the better species with shorter lifecycles will fare.
When we eventually migrate into space and live on stations and ships where we control the environment, we don't need adaptation to it.

 

[Madsaac]

There are pros and cons to longer lifespans. A con here on Earth is the turnover rate for mutations. In a changing environment, the adapted population will spread faster and take over the older generations with shorter lifespans. The faster the environmental change, the better species with shorter lifecycles will fare.
When we eventually migrate into space and live on stations and ships where we control the environment, we don't need adaptation to it.

Yes that is all a strong possibility and I enjoy thinking about this stuff.

And what about when our brains are inside some 'robot' type body that cannot faulter or deteriorate. Or could we even put our 'brainwaves' into hardwire circuitry that will never deteriorate.

We could end up living for a very, very long time but like you said we may have to be able to control the environment.

 

[Heyo]

Yes that is all a strong possibility and I enjoy thinking about this stuff.

And what about when our brains are inside some 'robot' type body that cannot faulter or deteriorate. Or could we even put our 'brainwaves' into hardwire circuitry that will never deteriorate.

We could end up living for a very, very long time but like you said we may have to be able to control the environment.

There is a channel on YouTube which deals with these concepts: https://www.youtube.com/@isaacarthurSFIA
Isaac really thinks these things through, and I happen to agree with a lot of what he says.
We will become cyborgs, heck, some of us already are. What is a pacemaker other than a combination of an electronic device with a biological entity? We can already replace limbs and connect the electronics to nerves.
What we can't do, and won't be able for quite some time, is uploading.

 

[paarsurrey]

Extending life beyond the normal. Should we be doing it?

What is "norm"-al please, right?

Regards

 

[Twilight Hue]

Science has been making significant progress in understanding senescence which is life's slow process of dying. It may be now possible to alter the genetic code and extend life out for an unknown amount. There are several billionaires who have been helping fund this research. The question is do you think this is a good idea. The character that Jeff Goldblum played in the movie Jurassic Park gave this thought - "Yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they didn't stop to think if they should." Although it is tempting to want to extend life, Is there any reason this could actually be a bad idea?

Cheating death will have its consequences.

Too many people will drain resources and the over crowding will eventually result in war by virtue of our nature.