You and I are gonna live forever...

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Fri, 2007-08-10 16:43

well not quite but a new book by Dr. Aubrey de Grey to be published soon poses the question 'Must we age?'

"Recent progress hold forth the promise that someday science will enable us to exert total control over our own biological aging. Nearly all scientists who study the biology of aging agree that we will someday be able to substantially slow down the aging process, extending our productive, youthful lives. Dr. Aubrey de Grey is perhaps the most bullish of all such researchers. "

I do not believe that people alive today will live to be 1000 years old but I can buy the idea that the babies being born to my friends (and there seem to be a lot of them this year!) at this time may well live to be 150 + years old and 100 - 125 years will be common.

What a whole range of sociological and economic issues this raises. Is life extending technology to be a preserve of the elite or will people regard it as part of the basic right to healthcare? Where do we set retirement age? Will the elderly have had so long to accumulate and invest they will become wealthy at the detriment of the young? Will there be enough young people to support the pensioners? How will this impact the housing crisis - will future government be forced to 'land-grab' for housing?

Do people want to live that long (assuming they stay young and healthy ) ?

Fri, 2007-08-10 22:18

Yan2

If I remember rightly (which is rare) a survey was carried out to ascertain whether people would like to live forever. Strangely enough (or maybe not) most people said they would not. Hardly surprising, really :) When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we'll find peace. - Jimi Hendrix

~It's a maze for rats to try, it's a race for rats to die.~

Sat, 2007-08-11 02:29

Foster

and i thought this thread was gonna be about Oasis...

Sat, 2007-08-11 09:09

pepsoid

Eternity sounds like a scary prospect... :-/ Stephen Baxter, in his "Transcendent," speaks of the undying, rather than the immortal - the subtle distinction being that one would live for the forseeable future, rather than literally forever. The prospect of average lifespans even doubling raises all sorts of issues! Too many for li'l ole me to get my head round. However... putting aside for now the question of whether, under such conditions, we should start having less children, do you think people's urges to procreate may reduce? - If, for example, one exists with the prospect of living for 1000, 2000, 5000 years, the need to leave behind a living legacy becomes less of an issue; or at least a less urgent one. I, for one, am glad this thread isn't about Oasis! ;-) pe ps oid Blogs! "the art of tea" "that's an odd courgette"

The All New Pepsoid the Second!

Sat, 2007-08-11 09:35

TheShyAssassin

I had a bucket load of red wine last night. I don't want to live past about half-past ten.

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