Actually, compiling all the data in your brain and saving it on a hard drive is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. This is not something that is going to happen in our lifetime, but immortality might actually be attained by transplanting memories in robots / biological clones.
And yes, I know the ethics-o-meter just exploded there.
I don't know about that, 60-70 years(assuming you're around 20-25) is a long time, brain/computer connectivity is already happening today allowing users to control machines with signals from their brains, so I could see some form of memory capture being available by the time I die.
Statistics: Posted by Scar — March 22nd, 2013, 12:58 am
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People think about what comes next in "their" life if this ever did occur to them and the depressing thoughts of how the people you are close to are not immortal too. I wouldn't mind it happening to me... Just in a few years. Being stuck at 17 would have a tonn of downsides haha.
Statistics: Posted by Arya — March 21st, 2013, 7:09 am
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And yes, I know the ethics-o-meter just exploded there.
Statistics: Posted by ZxC — March 20th, 2013, 10:46 pm
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In the movie tuck everlasting, their fountain of youth immortality is considered a curse, because unless you find the love of your life right when they happen to be around your same age appearance, and somehow convince them that they should become immortal too, your kind of screwed. But at the same time in that movie, even when all that DOES happen, he destroys the tree so she cannot suffer the same fate as him. (also in the movie, whatever age you started at was the age you appeared as, FOREVER.)
In the TV show Alphas, the main Bad Guy/Misunderstood Guy, happens to have immortality. What he does not have however, is the ability to make his brain be able to hold the centuries of memories he has made of his life and descendents.
The book flash forward ends up actually being about getting the choice of living forever, past everyone you know, and will ever know. even past the life span of your sun and planet, as kind of a robot. due to some LHC shenanigans, he realizes, maybe not the best choice.
Now if I had the choice of keeping a spare copy of myself as say, an immortal robot, then I would say yes, as long as it had a built in shut off switch that only i knew the password to. maybe have it set to like a 500 year minimum for living, then give the choice of renewal.
This way, my real/original life would live out its normal course, but at the same time I would be hypothetically living as long as I wanted.
Of course what would sweeten the deal is if several people, (that I hopefully get along with) also chose the immortal robot. Thus solving the problem of loneliness from no social continuity, which seems to be the main problem in most immortal stories.
So yeah anyway sign me up for the LIFE+BOT upgrade is my answer.
Statistics: Posted by SparkyAMS — March 19th, 2013, 10:07 pm
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-Phat
Statistics: Posted by Phat Hobo — March 19th, 2013, 9:34 pm
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Statistics: Posted by Kikori — March 13th, 2013, 6:42 pm
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But yes, it would get tiresome. But...I fail to believe that the *exact* same thing/s could happen in the loop. Like, there are no variables? I think there would be, which would make it a lot more interesting.
But one question...if I didn't already have a girlfriend, how would I get sex? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
I'm a big, big fan of the show the Highlander, so I'd choose the passage of time option. But this is assuming that the very real limitations of the human brain and memory do not apply, as your mind can only hold so much information so this "wisdom" would have to take the place of other information. But it would be sweet to obtain hundreds, or thousands of years of practice of a martial art, for instance. Then to go and take the MMA world by storm, hehe.
But I think there would be circumstances that would destroy an immortal person, such as the universe imploding on itself. Can an immortal person survive outside the universe? Would I witness the birth of a new universe? Would I come to know God (literally)?
Bottom line, it would also be a bitch, much like in the Highlander, to keep creating identities so I can continue to drive, go to the hospital, get a job, etc etc. Though I would also open an antique store filled with stuff I had collected myself over the years.
Customer: "How do you know this is real?"
Me: "I was
there."Statistics: Posted by Landerpurex — March 12th, 2013, 11:48 pm
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Option #1 means I eventually lose anyone who I grow close to, but that's only the start! Then I have to suffer the loss of my entire species, then my planet. Even if humans populate the whole galaxy, there's nothing we can do to stop the universe's inevitable expansion. Eventually I'll be left all by myself, without even the stars as company because they've all redshifted the
away. Then it will be eternal darkness and silence, eventually I'll forget what it even feels like to feel anything. And this emptiness will last FOREVER. Do you know how long that is? Even the universe has an expiration date. But not you. You'll have to stick around even after everything that ever existed ceases to exist.
I can live with that.
Personally, I wouldn't want to be eighteen forever. Being eternally "almost" physically/mentally developed to adulthood wouldn't be fun.
Statistics: Posted by Eadwulf — March 12th, 2013, 6:29 pm
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I'll take the immortality route, thanks.
Statistics: Posted by Sighence — March 12th, 2013, 6:07 pm
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Statistics: Posted by Nate — March 12th, 2013, 9:37 am
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However, though the tragedy of immortality is possible, I'm more optimistic of how enjoyable immortality could be. Disregarding the eventual nonsense that you somehow stay intact and alive even as whatever end the universe eventually comes to occurs, I believe immortality might be a positive experience, given the right mindset. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" as Dr. Seuss said, would make the experience positive rather than the very negative eternity that others have proposed. However, there is also the good chance that this sort of ideal would be impossible to maintain for all eternity, which would drag into a sad sad forever. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about how positive I could stay for all of eternity, but it's certainly a possibility.
If I had to choose one I would pick immortality, but I might pick neither if I could.
Statistics: Posted by PenguinGuy — March 11th, 2013, 10:34 pm
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Although, given enough time you might be able to develop a way to make other people immortal as well. And maybe come up with a system that lets you preserve or create new planets/universes. Sounds crazy? Maybe, but infinite time also means infinite possibilities.
Statistics: Posted by ZxC — March 11th, 2013, 7:45 pm
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Option #1 means I eventually lose anyone who I grow close to, but that's only the start! Then I have to suffer the loss of my entire species, then my planet. Even if humans populate the whole galaxy, there's nothing we can do to stop the universe's inevitable expansion. Eventually I'll be left all by myself, without even the stars as company because they've all redshifted the
away. Then it will be eternal darkness and silence, eventually I'll forget what it even feels like to feel anything. And this emptiness will last FOREVER. Do you know how long that is? Even the universe has an expiration date. But not you. You'll have to stick around even after everything that ever existed ceases to exist.Option #Murray means nothing I say or do will result in anything meaningful. Every day would just be a what-if scenario, but there's only so much you can do in a single day, so your options are finite. Wanna form a relationship with someone? They won't remember who you are for more than 24 hours. Wanna write a book? Whatever work you write today will disappear tomorrow, so I hope you have some pretty amazing memorization skills and/or lightning-fast typing. Wanna stab yourself in the face just to see what it feels like? C'mon, you're stuck in this loop for the rest of eternity, might as well experience all that you can! But an eternity is a goddamn long time. Eventually you'll have exhausted every possible scenario. Bored yet? Too bad, you are stuck here forever, and you cannot leave no matter what you do.
Both options would be fun for a while, and
for an eternity. They're basically Hell, but it just takes you a while to notice it.Statistics: Posted by Jackstick — March 11th, 2013, 1:21 pm
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