If You Could Be Immortal, Would You Be?

[Maximus One]

It would depend. If I could still die just not age then yea. I just wouldn't wanna end up like Meryl Streep/Goldie Hawn style in Death Becomes Her. I'd like death to still be an option but I'd like to stick around and see just exactly what comes of humanity and of course what the film industry of the future would be like haha

 

[QueenChaos]

Hmm...
Well, I have this need to see how things develop in the future. It seems like there are plenty of exciting developments currently underway, and ideas that are out there but won't come to fruition for years. I want to be there to see what happens.
I enjoy life, so perhaps..the more the better.
There is also just so much I want to do. It's difficult to settle on just a few plans, or only fulfilling them to a smaller extent, simply because I won't have the time for everything. Kind of frustrating to think about having to limit myself.
I am not the type that simply aims to gather the basic necessities out of life - reaching a comfortable place, and then live in contentment at that point for the rest of my days. I want a lot more than that, which means that having extra time would be awesome.

 

[Anubis]

Okay, would you transfer your consciousness into the body of an indistructable artificial body capable of trans-light speeds to try and explore and record the universe?

 

[Lighthouse]

I would do it only if I had the option to die if I wanted to.

 

[WildcatNC]

Okay, would you transfer your consciousness into the body of an indistructable artificial body capable of trans-light speeds to try and explore and record the universe?

As long as it was anatomically correct and I could plunder yon alien **** while I was at it then I might be game. Captain Kirk look out.

 

[Anubis]

Well, you'd look more like the Silver Surfer, only Gold, but you can warp and reshape your body anyway you want. Also, you have a fin on your head like Starman. I MAKE THE RULES! Don't question me!

 

[WildcatNC]

Well, you'd look more like the Silver Surfer, only Gold, but you can warp and reshape your body anyway you want. Also, you have a fin on your head like Starman. I MAKE THE RULES! Don't question me!

 

[Tex]

The downsides to immortality are worse than the downsides to death.

Please explain.

 

[Bubonic]

I'd go for it if I could live out the rest of eternity at my physical prime, and especially if I could somehow build upon that prime without ever losing it.

As it is all I've got for family is my father and he's already 66 with questionable health, I'm not at all at peace with losing him but I know it'll happen within my lifetime unless I die all of a sudden.

I've got one good in real life friend and that as it.

I feel if I had an eternity to live I'd eventually learn how to live and take advantage of it before it all slips away from me.

I'd take great interest in watching the world change, constantly experiencing new things, and hopefully watch the human condition better itself.

 

[kedrell]

Lonliness wouldn't be an issue for me. I live alone already and am fine with it(people bug me). I guess the real question would be if you could still change(specifically meaning physically) after it happens. Also, the question if it's permanent or if there's a way to undo it if you change your mind. I guess it's one of the reasons I like many of Anne Rice's books so much. She deals with the potential problems involved(and not just the obvious 'need to suck blood' kind).

With her vampires, they can't change. You better really like the hair style you have or your body shape when you become immortal because you're going to be that way forever. If you're a balding fat-ass, you'll be that way forever. All the dieting & sit-ups in the world won't help. That would suck. But at least you still technically CAN die, if you really want to(sunlight/fire).

But if you're like her Mummy character, you better be damn sure you want it because once done you WILL live forever, no matter what. No going back and no way to die. Oh sure, you can sleep for really long periods if life gets too much for you but you'll be around when the universe re-collapses back in on itself many billions of years from now. You can have yourself chopped into hamburger but you'll still be alive.

I guess I'd say I'd want it as long as there's a way out and that I'm not stuck in the current physical shape I am now. As long as those 2 work, immortality seems great to me.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Please explain.

My 5 reasons why immortality would be worse than death.

In a relatively short timespan:

1. Everyone you love will die.

2. Evolution will make you a freak.

3. Your mind will still age.

4. You could still contract diseases, but now you suffer forever.

Relatively long term:

5. You're immortal. Everything in the universe would die. Except you. You would then be trapped alone forever, to the point when you can't even remember the 100 trillion years the universe was capable to support life except your own. And it would never end, purely because you exist.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

It's not lack of clarity that inhibits humanity living forever. It's what we know now. We can record the entire universe from beginning to end. We cannot leave it, as that is a possible fallacy, as a) Other universes are hypothetical, and b) There is no medium to travel upon it to reach the new universe. A more feasible idea would be time travel, but that would require either a) infinite power or b) no mass.





I'm afraid not. The basic outline for the future of the universe is:

In 100 trillion years: Star formation ceases. All Hydrogen capable of coalescing into stars is gone. And the Stelliferous era ends.

100 trillion years- 10^40 years- The Degenerate era. Galaxies no longer exist and only Red, Brown, Black and White Dwarfs remain, remnants of the Stelliferous era. They remain for so much longer as they burn at such a lower rate to stars, but it would be very hard to sustain life on them. Proton decay causes era to end.

10^40- 10^100- The Black Hole era. Matter no longer exists. Black Holes remain, slowly evaporating due to Hawking radiation.

10^100- 10^1000- The Dark era. The universe is only populated by photons, leptons, electrons and positrons. Once they all reach c, in terms of expansion, time no longer exists and the universe dies.

This will happen because it is ultimately more likely to happen. And that is due to the second law of Thermodynamics, and the arrow of time.




Impossible. We literally cannot exist in another dimension. We cannot even imagine another dimension. It is literally beyond comprehension, it would be like trying to explain going up to Pac-Man, who can only mover forwards, backwards, and sideways.



Impossible once again. Dimension are the frame on which things exist. You don't become one, they were made in the Big Bang. And you cannot exist formlessly. Every memory you have, exists within your brain. Your brain has a physical mass.



Matter and energy are the same thing. And we understand them well enough. They trip you up now and again, but it just gets added in.

Ok, that's for replying and giving me the lowdown on where science is with that nowadays.

But, that is the thing, that is the sum of our knowledge in that regard at this point in time.

Let's say there were a group of bugs living in a power box or something, y'know, an electrical box, and it had a couple of bulbs in it.
The bulbs were what kept the bugs warm, generated warmth for bacteria for the bugs to live off of, and gave them light.
and the bugs had some super smart scientists who figured out exactly when the lightbulbs would run out, to us, a couple of months, to the bugs perception of time, it would be years.

but then, just before the bug's projected 'end of the bulb', there is someone who comes along one day, opens the power box and changes the bulbs. Totally beyond the edge of the bug's universe, beyond their ken, some guy who has been upstairs watching the television and would only come down to the power box if there was a power cut, or the little bulbs inside needed changing.

 

[QueenChaos]

My 5 reasons why immortality would be worse than death.

In a relatively short timespan:

1. Everyone you love will die.

2. Evolution will make you a freak.

3. Your mind will still age.

4. You could still contract diseases, but now you suffer forever.

Relatively long term:

5. You're immortal. Everything in the universe would die. Except you. You would then be trapped alone forever, to the point when you can't even remember the 100 trillion years the universe was capable to support life except your own. And it would never end, purely because you exist.

After a few hundred years, couldn't you have learned to create other life forms? I mean, this is the very distant future we're talking about, who knows what you'd be capable of by that time.

In relation to this point, how do you know everything else will die? How do you know that others won't develop some sort of immortality or ability to withstand drastically changing conditions through genetic and cybernetic enhancements, with transhumanism on the rise? Or that purely artificial intelligence won't take the place of the general human population, and keep you company possibly forever?

How do you know everything beyond your planet, in the universe itself will die? If there is other life out there, they are obviously different from us, so you can't be entirely sure of their fate. (Although... they may not keep you company, as we also can't be sure that they will be fond or tolerant of individuals from this planet.)

It's true though, that if you are hoping to end at some point, true physical immortality would become depressing. Knowing this, you simply wouldn't choose to be immortal in that sense if given the chance.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Ok, that's for replying and giving me the lowdown on where science is with that nowadays.

But, that is the thing, that is the sum of our knowledge in that regard at this point in time.

Let's say there were a group of bugs living in a power box or something, y'know, an electrical box, and it had a couple of bulbs in it.
The bulbs were what kept the bugs warm, generated warmth for bacteria for the bugs to live off of, and gave them light.
and the bugs had some super smart scientists who figured out exactly when the lightbulbs would run out, to us, a couple of months, to the bugs perception of time, it would be years.

but then, just before the bug's projected 'end of the bulb', there is someone who comes along one day, opens the power box and changes the bulbs. Totally beyond the edge of the bug's universe, beyond their ken, some guy who has been upstairs watching the television and would only come down to the power box if there was a power cut, or the little bulbs inside needed changing.

But that metaphor implies a creator and a god. God does not factor in to science.

After a few hundred years, couldn't you have learned to create other life forms? I mean, this is the very distant future we're talking about, who knows what you'd be capable of by that time.

Yes. It is possible. But they would not be immortal, unlike you.

In relation to this point, how do you know everything else will die? How do you know that others won't develop some sort of immortality or ability to withstand drastically changing conditions through genetic and cybernetic enhancements, with transhumanism on the rise? Or that purely artificial intelligence won't take the place of the general human population, and keep you company possibly forever?

Because there will literally be nothing for them to be made of. Everything that will ever exist is made up of quarks. They are bound together to form protons, and protons have a finite lifespan. Once all the protons are gone there is nothing else left. There is nothing for life to be made up of.

How do you know everything beyond your planet, in the universe itself will die? If there is other life out there, they are obviously different from us, so you can't be entirely sure of their fate. (Although... they may not keep you company, as we also can't be sure that they will be fond or tolerant of individuals from this planet.)

The universe will die because it is finite, we can measure how it changes, which is how we know how it began. We also know it is not infinite, for example, if the universe is infinite and unchanging, everywhere you look in the night sky should end at a star and the sky would be as bright as day. So when we measured it, we found out space is getting bigger. And the bigger it gets, the faster is grows. Which means at some point though, it had to begin.


Read above as to why it does not matter whether you find aliens. You will outlive them, their planet, their star, their galaxy.

It's true though, that if you are hoping to end at some point, true physical immortality would become depressing. Knowing this, you simply wouldn't choose to be immortal in that sense if given the chance.

Exactly my point.

 

[QueenChaos]

Yes. It is possible. But they would not be immortal, unlike you.



Because there will literally be nothing for them to be made of. Everything that will ever exist is made up of quarks. They are bound together to form protons, and protons have a finite lifespan. Once all the protons are gone there is nothing else left. There is nothing for life to be made up of.



The universe will die because it is finite, we can measure how it changes, which is how we know how it began. We also know it is not infinite, for example, if the universe is infinite and unchanging, everywhere you look in the night sky should end at a star and the sky would be as bright as day. So when we measured it, we found out space is getting bigger. And the bigger it gets, the faster is grows. Which means at some point though, it had to begin.


Read above as to why it does not matter whether you find aliens. You will outlive them, their planet, their star, their galaxy.

Your points are very fair, of course. I responded with the mindset that I personally just do not believe it's that simple - and that we can truly be certain of the aspects you point out. To each their own, though.

The one point amidst this that I hold onto which should still be considered even with what you put forward, is the idea that you can't be sure you are the only "immortal". Or that things will not develop to the point where other humans achieve resilience against the changing conditions of their environment - possibly to the point where the formation of beings is altered drastically and their ability to exist reaches a similar level to one who is immortal.
The primary point is just the initial idea posed, if it were possible for you to be immortal and outlive everything, then it would mean it were possible that there are others. And so your scenario is in assuming you would be the only immortal of this particular type - which is fair enough to focus on, but it's reasonable to address the possibilities if you could be granted immortality.

Consider if therefore, any element of existence were offered immortality and what that would mean. Elaborating upon that with all the different possible scenarios is unnecessary however, since it specifies on too many levels to the point where the idea of a human being immortal wouldn't mean as much - in terms of the natural world as we know it vs. one who beats the odds. Just putting the thought out there since it came to me as I am typing this, that's all.

What then if there were at least a group of humans who were all truly immortal in this way? How would that change things?

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

The reason I assume you would be the only immortal is because immortality is not an evolutionary trait and the question asks if you would be immortal, not you and a bunch of other people.

 

[QueenChaos]

The reason I assume you would be the only immortal is because immortality is not an evolutionary trait and the question asks if you would be immortal, not you and a bunch of other people.

I'm not going to argue that. As I mentioned previously I understand that the focus is on "you" - but I extended upon that as I considered it, since it seems perfectly reasonable to think that since "you" are immortal there could be others this applies to.

The original post also doesn't suggest that it would certainly be some freak occurrence, simply asks : if you could be, would you be? So technically if all of this discussion on the details of an individual immortality isolated from all else is relevant, so is any related idea. The factor I brought up would simply broaden the discussion between us, but if you don't feel like entertaining the potential for that aspect it's perfectly understandable.

Moving away from that,
I do find the idea of living an extended lifespan more desirable than living FOREVER given what is commonly accepted about the nature of the universe. It would probably be nicer to have a little more power over your existence.

 

[elgaz]

Immortal? No, I think I'd get bored after a time - even if you set out to explore the universe or go on some crazy adventure there's only so many new planets and species you could meet before you'd yearn for something different.

But a longer lifespan, say 1000 years? Yeah I could do that. See lots of advancements in technology and society, have time to pretty much do everything I want to do ........ 1000 years would be nice.

 

[Hound55]

No, I would not choose to be ImmortalFire. Sure, the Falcons look like they have a pretty good future coming, but God knows what kind of trauma he's suffered following those mediocre Hawks teams until they started coming good in recent years and how and when that trauma will show itself...

 

[Tex]

My 5 reasons why immortality would be worse than death.

In a relatively short timespan:

1. Everyone you love will die.

2. Evolution will make you a freak.

3. Your mind will still age.

4. You could still contract diseases, but now you suffer forever.

Relatively long term:

5. You're immortal. Everything in the universe would die. Except you. You would then be trapped alone forever, to the point when you can't even remember the 100 trillion years the universe was capable to support life except your own. And it would never end, purely because you exist.

I could care less about any of those reasons but thanks for your answer. The sun and earth are not suppose to burn out/be destroyed for millions of years so I guess that would be the only time I would want to die.

 

[kedrell]

^I think in that time you could find a way to move on to a place where there's a sun & planet that aren't dead yet.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

^I think in that time you could find a way to move on to a place where there's a sun & planet that aren't dead yet.

Most of the universe's lifespan is a universe without stars. People try to get around it saying "I'd be immortal up until x amount of years", but that isn't what the question asked so your answer doesn't really count.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

Only if by doing so I could attain unlimited power. Just be immortal in my mortal body, even if I could stay relatively young, does not interest me. The prospect of attaining Godlike status does.

 

[Hurm...]

I would accept the offer.

Not only would I be able to achieve everything I want out of my life today, but I could go at a slow pace.

Also, just imagine how much good you can do with all that knowledge.

 

[bell110]

No, because I wouldn't want to spend trillions of years floating through space or traped in the core of a star.