Let's Talk About Death

[Kyriakos]

Ziggy, not sure where you targeted your nazi-practice-themed question. But i think it is pretty clear that trying to save one's life is not the same as trying to make him immortal. If you ask me if one million people should get hospital beds and access to procedures they need so as to get better from being ill, then i would surely reply positively for all of them.
And if you asked me that one, sole person, gets access to tech which would allow him to live to be 200 years old, etc, i would always say no.

 

[El_Machinae]

But i think it is pretty clear that trying to save one's life is not the same as trying to make him immortal.

They're functionally equivalent. All procedures are intended to just buy more time. When rescuing a kid from malaria (to give him another 50 year), to rescue someone from a heart attack (to give them 6 more years), to treating someone's cancer (to give them a few more months), to just feeding someone so they don't die that week. The goal is to delay their deaths. There's no magic point where you'd say "sorry, you've passed your alloted number of medically derived additional months".

And if you asked me that one, sole person, gets access to tech which would allow him to live to be 200 years old, etc, i would always say no.

Why no? And why are you limiting the scenario to just one person? Would you 'allow' a tech that allowed people to live one more month? Two more months? 3 more months?

 

[Farm Boy]

Norman Borlaug was a bad man? Or is the issue inequitable access to drastic life extension?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Ziggy, not sure where you targeted your nazi-practice-themed question.

What?

But i think it is pretty clear that trying to save one's life is not the same as trying to make him immortal.

We're not talking immortality, we're talking extending lifespans. Something we've been doing for centuries.

Cryogenics won't cure being run over by a truck, Or a space ship.

If you ask me if one million people should get hospital beds and access to procedures they need so as to get better from being ill, then i would surely reply positively for all of them.
And if you asked me that one, sole person, gets access to tech which would allow him to live to be 200 years old, etc, i would always say no.

And if I ask you to expand the reasoning with regard to extending lifespans, you throw Nazi-practice-theme in the mix.

 

[Mouthwash]

We're not talking immortality, we're talking extending lifespans. Something we've been doing for centuries.

Cryogenics won't cure being run over by a truck, Or a space ship.

If yer a computer program you won't really have to worry about that.

The goal is indeed immortality. Cryogenics is just a stepping stone.

 

[Narz]

Lifespans has been growing extremely slowly in the last fifty years (in the first world). That's why people are hoping for some serious medical breakthrus. I don't blame them, the idea of getting old disgusts me.

The idea of transplanting my consciousness into a robot though, I think it's a little far fetched (though I hope it happens!).

 

[Tahuti]

I don't blame them, the idea of getting old disgusts me.

Me too.

So I wouldn't mind dying before my 60s.

 

[Mouthwash]

Me too.

So I wouldn't mind dying before my 60s.

This has to be one of the most disturbing opinions I've ever come across.

 

[Tahuti]

This has to be one of the most disturbing opinions I've ever come across.

Says the guy that wants to go into military service.

 

[El_Machinae]

Most people in their 60s want to see their 70s. People in their 70s want to see their 80s. We can expect this trend to continue. That said, a certain number of people only want to be alive under certain conditions. I can respect that.

 

[Tee Kay]

Lifespans has been growing extremely slowly in the last fifty years (in the first world). That's why people are hoping for some serious medical breakthrus. I don't blame them, the idea of getting old disgusts me.

We've been gaining about 5 years life expectancy every 20 years by the way. The United States lags a fair bit behind the rest of the First World though.

 

[El_Machinae]

We've been gaining about 5 years life expectancy every 20 years by the way.

Or, roughly, one week per month.

Now, I actually kinda dispute what those statistics are saying, but the 'first' victory will be once life expectancy climbs faster than 1:1. It's a function of medical science to get us there and the progress rate, which is why I'll occasionally harp regarding charity donations.

 

[Tahuti]

Most people in their 60s want to see their 70s. People in their 70s want to see their 80s. We can expect this trend to continue. That said, a certain number of people only want to be alive under certain conditions. I can respect that.

I really hate the thought of dying as a very sick person who is physically incapable. I fear getting terminally ill far more than I fear death. Should I reach my 60s, 70s, 80s or higher, I probably will do my utmost to continue living as actively as possible.

 

[Kyriakos]

^I do not see a reason to think that normally a 60-year old should be filled with illnesses/worse. Afaik most of the famous guys from antiquity lived to be older than 60. And that was more than 2000+ years ago...

In fact it would seem pretty logical to assume that such effects are neither sudden nor without an undercurrent in their previous ages. If one is prone to get ill, he will and it is just a matter of time. If one is healthier (mentally and physically) then chances are he will face far fewer and tamer health problems (without counting extreme cases or external parameters).

 

[El_Machinae]

I really hate the thought of dying as a very sick person who is physically incapable. I fear getting terminally ill far more than I fear death. Should I reach my 60s, 70s, 80s or higher, I probably will do my utmost to continue living as actively as possible.

That's my prediction as well. There are also really strong odds that I will make it to my sixties, which (to me) makes it reasonable to help create a world where I'll still want to be alive in my 70s (80s, etc.)

 

[Hygro]

I really hate the thought of dying as a very sick person who is physically incapable. I fear getting terminally ill far more than I fear death. Should I reach my 60s, 70s, 80s or higher, I probably will do my utmost to continue living as actively as possible.

If you take care of yourself while you are young, and continue to do so, you die suddenly at an old age, maybe a year of quick deterioration. This could be around 90.

If you do what my G'ma did which is say the things you are saying, you will take 15 slow years to die in your early-mid 70s.

 

[classical_hero]

1) Do you fear death?
1a) Why do you fear death?

I am not afraid of Davy Jones.

2) Do you feel you lived a full life if you died tomorrow?

I don't believe I have lived a full live due to health problems.

3) Do you believe in an afterlife?

Yes. Thos who trust in Jesus as their saviour will go to heaven to live with and those who don't are going to hell, eventually.

4) If you died tomorrow what would your biggest regret be?

Not getting married.

5) If you had to guess, what age will you die?

With my illness right now it could well be within a decade or it could be never if Jesus comes again.

6) Have you ever seen someone die?

No, but I have seen my mother on death's door and it wasn't great to be in that position.

7) Do you think modern civilizations reduction of exposure to death is a good thing? (i.e., most people die in hospitals and not at home etc)

I do think that is a good thing not to see someone actually die. Seeing the dead body was bad enough for me.

8) How do you want your body to be handled after death? (cremation, buried, etc)

I will be buried.

9) If you somehow knew that you were to die on a desert island and nobody would ever find your remains, would that bother you?

Yes.

10) If you had a memorial or tombstone with a message for the following generations, what would it say?

"Live long and prosper. j/k. I don't know exactly what I would say.