If you could live forever if - poll

If you could live for ever by saving your mind and sense of self to a computer, would you do it?

  • Total voters
    56
It would be fun for a while... but really who wants to live for ever when love must die?
The idea is tempting in the least, just think you could be ... godlike!
But I think one of the advantages of the human race is the relative life span. Sound illogical? Picture this: Stalin living 200-300 years... due to the relative short life span the human society has a higher chance to rid itself of old, outdated ideas and beliefs.
But when you draw the line my selfishness would prevail: I want to live! And I am willing to do whatever it takes!
 
Ratty said:
welsh said:
What if, in the end, we all became part of the same digital self?
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You mean a collective consciousness? Quite obviously, that would be awesome, because then I, being mentally superior to all other humans, would rule everyone else.
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You're merely one rat; if you were to merge in a many-as-one way your collective power would rise, but you would still remain a single rat.
 
I think that that the whole collective consciousness thing just means you loose your identity for the betterment of the "WHOLE" and that would suck big time. I like my uniqueness, I am an unique snowflake :lol: .
 
Nah, i recon that it it will be boring, i agree with jhon, when i`m done i will be done.
 
Well, I'm really looking forward for the future of medical science. With some luck, they will be able to string along this body until the point my mind can live on somewhere else.

Anyway, they installed the first robotic eye not to long ago, fixing a camera with a resolution of 100 pixels directly into the optic nerves. Sure, right now they can't really see anything, only basic shapes, but it's a start. There is also experimentation into robotic limbs hooked up to the nervous system. Exciting stuff.

As our consciousness changing, well, it is always in flux. Our personalities are constantly changing and evolving. With digital people merging, I can see it happening, but I also see people purposely setting up barriers to prevent such things from happening without their consent.
 
I personally think it would be hard to separate the mind from the body, so much of what we are is shaped by the sensations we take in. Unless you would do some sort of Matrix thingy where you have a faked physical body in the "mental" realm I believe people would go crazy. The problem is also how you define the mind, is it something separate from the biological functions of the body or is it nothing more than a series of electrochemical impulses? Another thing that comes to mind is what you would do with all that time in the computer? Wouldn't life get boring after the first couple of hundred years, if not a lot sooner? Granted, assuming that you'd try to create some form of Utopian society where everyone could eat lobster and Chateau Briand whenever the wanted, go to the opera or theater at any time or whatever it is you enjoy doing for all eternity without worrying about the duller aspects of life (unless you want to), it could be fun. Throw in some hooker programs and I'm in.
 
Azael, your mind would obviously change, and so will your personality. Which doesn't matter in my opinion, because people's personalities do change as they grow older anyway. Besides, you can theoretically "emulate" the body (brain including).
 
c0ldst33ltrs4u said:
I like my uniqueness, I am an unique snowflake :lol: .
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Hehe, anybody see the new Lewis Black on Broadway. Pretty clever guy...

If it was straight up live forever, or die now, die. If it was live for a while longer, 100+ years, yes. I think that the curiousity of what happens in the end would pry too much at me. As for the whole collective consciousness thing, it would drive me insane and I'd go lawnmower man on some ass's.
 
Loxley said:
Nah, i recon that it it will be boring, i agree with jhon, when i`m done i will be done.
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I do not understand how people can ever be bored as long as they are free to act as they wish, without damaging society too much of course. Even infinity would not be enough time to experience all the things you would want to do. There is the risk of having one's personality radically and adversely affected but I would be willing to give it a fair go. But then again I find everything interesting so it might only be me who who defines personal boredom as being 'forced to engage in an unpleasant or simple activity for a long period of time which is not mentally stimulating, challenging or entertaining' such as doing monotonous simple tasks.

Unfortunately, if biological life could be greatly extended it would likely cost alot of money leading to a fatally high density of wealthy businessmen and lawyers. I am no economist but IMO, this would be catastrophic for the survival of humanity (well at least the lawyer bit).
 
Living forever would be boring...once you have done everything once or twice or ten times, or have seen all that there is to be seen, what next?

I think i would go mad if i lived forever, heck i think i'll go mad if i reach 60 :P
 
If mind and memories were to be transplanted to a mechanical vessel, then by lack of hormones and the likes, feelings and desires would be non-existant.

I for one couldn't bear the thought of eternity with a memory of feelings, and the knowledge that you will never experience them again.

Plus: no penis = no sex. Fuck no.
 
Ugly John said:
Living forever would be boring...once you have done everything once or twice or ten times, or have seen all that there is to be seen, what next?
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There is always more to do and you can always attempt to develop/exercise your own imagination to create new things (like fallout 3!!!!!) or try those difficult quests such as attaining a state of nirvana.
 
ExtremeRyno said:
I'm pretty sure I won't die.
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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

And when I'm ready to feed the daisies, I'm ready to feed the daisies. Download your consciousness onto a computer? Not in a million years. I already hate this mortal coil, how do you think I'd feel when I'm trapped in an aluminium box with wires connected to my nerves and whatever?
 
Ugly John said:
Living forever would be boring...once you have done everything once or twice or ten times, or have seen all that there is to be seen, what next?

I think i would go mad if i lived forever, heck i think i'll go mad if i reach 60 :P
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Good point. Boredom.

One of the realities we can anticipate is death, thus time becomes important and valuable. If you can live forever as an electronic person, than where is the pressure to evolve, change or appreciate time.
 
The force that drives us, well some of us at least, is insatiable curiosity and a love of life's variety. That is why I am never bored.

Younger children do not understand the concept of death and yet they live happily. If we do understand time and the existence of death, we can better appreciate every moment of experience. Although most people are conservative by nature, the changing world around them and for some, the fear of boredom is the instrument of evolution and the pressure to change. As life will always be dynamic and interesting one with a curious personality will forever be content (once or if they battle and defeat their own demons of the psyche).

In a best-case scenario, the sun will die eventually, destroying life on Earth and wiping out the human race. This is a bit of a problem if you do strive for self preservation and interstellar migration or radical genetic modification would be necessary for saving humanity, if you wanted to.
 
I answered yes, but not for ever I think, my mind probably getting tired of life after maybe a few 100 years or so...
 
I voted no, since I don't think Mind and Body should be separated, if it would, I would loses my sense of being and self, just becoming a "ghost in the machine".
On the other hand, the idea is interesting. I have though about it, since it’s something that’s repeated in comic books. The access of my conscience to all information known to man, it could drive me mad or make me a superior form of life…
But still, I stick with no.
 
It'd be great to live forever, we all have the instinctive desire to prolong our lives as long as possible. But when you actually stop to think about it "living forever" would be EXTREMELY boring. Eventually, you'd run out of things to do. Even if we were connected to the internet eventually you'd just be cylcling through recycled information. Can you even begin to comprehend the immense boredom of looking at and reading the same thing for all of eternity?
 
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