Would you become immortal, if you had the choice?

Yes...I would watch and learn.

No because I'd have to watch everyone i love die....over and over and over....

Perhaps a little off topic - but if people become immortal (in the sense they can't die, be harmed etc.) then there is nothing to stop them from causing havoc for non-immortal folk. I mean the fear of punishment is all thats keeping society in check right (as much as it can anyway)?

wrong. that sounds like religious talk.


smart people, and i say this abiding by the 95% rule (for those who dont know 95% of humans are so ignorant and idiotic they barely deserve life, only 5% use logic and common sense consistently and objectively) live peacefully and morally because it, just makes sense.

if you steal, why wont he steal from you back? if u hurt someone, why wont they hurt you back?

very simple. action begets reaction, what kind of reaction do you want?

and theres something about networks benefiting mroe from new ocmputers than individual ones obtaining more power.

yeah, i use computer theories on humans.

moores law etc.

: )

The question of the desireability of immortality rests on the assumption that for most of us death is undesireable. Immortality implies that eventually and inevitably we are going to be deprived of our lives. But as I think of the myth of the Flying Dutchman (is that the name?)--wherein people suffer the curse of not being able to die--immortality does seem horrible, like not being able to close one's eyes, even by blinking. Imagine living "forever", even when our species has evolved away from our present form, or when our sun goes nova, or when the skies darken because all presently visible astrobodies move away out of sight.
I remember Nietzsche's dictum: "It is cruel to deprive a man of his life; but it's even more cruel to deprive him of his death."

Ideally, I would like to live as long as I wish, then to be able to die.
But when I think more about it, I will live forever, MY subjective forever.

My point was that if say, person A is immortal (in the sense that they CANNOT die) and person B is not, what is to keep person A from robbing/raping/pillaging/causing harm to person B? If you're telling me that people can be good just for the heck of it I respect your opinion, but to me it seems like most goodness comes from fear of punishment - and generally the fact that it is easier to exist in harmony because it gets us what we need.

I only thought of this because camps seem divided on who would and wouldn't become immortal - so if some choose it and some don't those who don't would be at an evolutionary disadvantage. Which to me means that eventually everyone will want to become immortal (in reaction - action begets reaction like you said OGIONIK) if even one person chooses it to begin with. And if everyone becomes immortal (and watches our sun nova, our galaxy end and what not) - well the universe is a big place and there are plenty of planets out there for us to settle down. In effect we could then colonize the universe :-).

And I am not religious. At all.

I think this person is trying to say that our mind can only hold a certain amount of memories. This could probably be solved by technology, or whatever thing made you immortal.

I would jump at the chance to become immortal. Even with that meaning everyone I love will die. I could stand that. I would stand that. There are so many things I could do with immortility it would be worth it. Iwould strive to cure all the diseases and ailments in this world. I mean anyone can fix things given enough time. The brain gives us a super computer to process with and all the things we could learn and all the people we could help would be worth the price I would pay to do so.

The answer I have is : I don't know, more than likely not.

Surely there would eventually be a stage where one becomes bored (and as none of us live for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever...I don't think any of us can truly claim to know, one way or another). Now, if I could become immortal, but be able to one day day say "I'd like to pass my spirit onto another", that'd be cool. It'd be the pits being bored and unable to die...forever and ever and ever and ever...

Hopefully, if I become immortal, that'll never be the case

There is so much discussion and talk about what people would receive from immortality, gaining knowledge, wealth, etc. But really the benefit is what you could do for others. I believe immortality comes with a price, in my opinion whether or not you believe if God immortality does not mean forever, only a longer period of time - there is always an end. Choosing immortality (if you can really choose) means giving up forever in the religous way. Is that really worth it? Can you really say you would live for 500 years knowing that for 2000 years you would no longer exist? I know i have not answered this question, but that is only because i dont know if anyone can really answer this question unless it was a real choice.

yes i would i would have to burry my whole family though my children my parrents and in millions of years when the sun blows up then what go swin in space i could handle it as i could handle living forever being imortal would be a cure but also a gift speck of the horrible things that happend in the past lead the worl to a better future you would learn so mutch imortality is witin mans grasp science is makeing biological computers that can store in 10-20 years there will be computers that can store more information than a huiman brain i will cost alot to becaome imortal if you can call it imortal to be trapped inside a machine but if i could keep my body and my own thoughs forever i woul i would guid the world to a better place and a stronger tomorrow study for 100 or mroe years to come up with a new type of goverment that wont fail as mutch eventually they all fail but they fail so quick one that offers stability but values freedome mbay it will be a mix of dictator ship/democracy in that you vote on the 1 man.woman you want to lead and a election is held every 1 year or sumthing liek that its not really the goverment thats not working its the economic syestem we have had the same economic system since the 1300's and they still havent learnst when the times are good save alot of money and when it al crashes the world goverments should create jobs by working on invastructre or sumthing


but anyways imortality i would accept it as a honor i would learn and teach accept whatever concequences that come with it even if it means living after every one is dead after every thing is dead

i wont lie i would haqve fun for awhile with it like 10-15 years then i would go into my studies for a long time reading every book on phylosphy i can find and then science then qworld hiostor then mathamatics then i would go and teach every thig i know

after that i would find the end to pi so many mysterious out there that need to be solved first if i could solve any of them it would be imortality then once imortal do my plan as stated abouve if offerd imortality i would accept it


if there are any True immortals out there use this plan this world needs a leader with alot of experience at life

so as a awnser yes i would accept imortality

Perhaps we can protect ourselves from the immortals by simply imprisoning them forever (at least for the duration of OUR lives).

yes! Life is to short. We just start to develop some wisdom and then we die. We try to share that wisdom with the younger generation. They don't listen dooming themselves to repeat the same mistakes. Dooming humankind to have to learn the same lessons over and over. If I could live forever. I would spend my time studying. Learning everything there is to learn. Every profession, Every philosophy. Every language(culture).

Isa 65:20 -There will be more to that place infants a few days old or who does not carry his days as one dies as a simple boy, although the age of one hundred years, and as the sinner, even at the age of a cent years' evil will be relied on him.

yes i want to see whats next.seeing what mankind has done in the last 1000 years makes me want to see what happens in the next 1000 or 2000 etc as for loosing everyone around you ,well your going to do that anyway at some point.

Well stated Kalibas. It would be exciting to see how humanity progresses in culture, socially, and intellectually.

Its HARD to keep up with fast developments in consumer electronics.

Theres a planned obsolescence built in to the marketing and development of consumer electronics

I 'm not aware of any school
that keeps u up-to-date qua newer available technology in consumer electronics.

Everyone knows more about the new stuff than I do.
How do U keep up-to-date on it ?