Would you really want to live to be 400? (Bill Moyers NOW)

[Bundbuster]

A futurist on Moyers tonight said that by mid-century scientists may be able to extend the human lifespan to 400-500 years.

1) Can you really embrace that scenario for yourself and the planet, with all its implications?

2) What would you do with all that extra time?

[LastKnight]

1. only if the aging process could be slowed...

i dont want to get to the situation where i would be in diapers again... no matter the age. weather its 80 or 400, no thanks. and we know how good these futurists are, arent we supposed to have flying cars by now?

lets not forget thiers going to be rampant overpopulation, more people competeing for the same amout or LESS jobs (advancements in technology on other fronts will require less workers to do the same job). and we all know what a high unemployment rate means... crappy economy. i dont think i like that. na im good with the current human lifespan.

-LK

[davidinalameda]

6. exactly

who wants to be on a respirator for 200 years?

unless I can look like and act like I do now when I'm hitting 130, I'd say forget it

it would be really cool to live that long--but I think that it would create a two-tiered society--those who could afford to live that long and those who couldn't

sounds like a really freaky sci-fi story

[n0_data]

21. OT

I have no doubt mass produced flying automobiles could be built, but who would shoulder the costs of such a thing? It would require a mountain of money to implement.

I imagine they (scientists/engineers) are waiting for some kind of a propulsion breakthrough.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

2. First, they'd raise the retirement age to 380

Even though most people won't be able to afford the technology. I'd also seriously wonder about the quality of life we're talking about here. Would I have someone changing my diaper for 200 years? :puke:

[punpirate]

3. Umm... don't think...

... my 401(k) will last nearly that long....

The issue later, as now, is quality of life. Staying alive is for the conservatives. Being alive is for everyone else.

[Bundbuster]

4. Possible nightmare scenario -

Since that genetic engineering WOULD no doubt be available only for the wealthy power elite, imagine a world with 400 year-old Cheneys, chimps, and Rupert Murdochs, as you or your children lay on your deathbeds at 80 knowing that these eternal creatures have an extra 400 years to do their thang...shudder, shriek, gag.

[tedoll78]

5. It all depends on..

quality of life. If I can work for 30 years, save-up a good chunk of money, invest it in really conservative holdings, and live off of the interest without touching the principle, I'd have to consider living that long. I'd be able to just sit around and watch TV for 300 years.. I'd be able to meet my great-great-great-great grandkids, and watch human progress from the comfort of my home theatre. And we'd have another liberal voter here :)

Sounds good, asssuming that the aging process is proportionate. I also wonder - when is "mid-century"? I'm 25 right now. I need to live long enough to make it to these technological improvements..

[Bundbuster]

9. He was talking 2050 - ish

So you'll have to hold on for another 47 years. Supposedly the post-maturity aging process would be proportionate, and thus your "productive years" would be increased about 6-fold. Most likely there would also be a China-style limit of one child per family.

[camero]

7. Gosh I'm only 36

And I think I've lived too long already.

[NoPasaran]

8. No way

I'm not sure I'm happy to have lived past 40.

[supernova]

10. I'd do it

Why not?

I assume that with everything else medicine would keep up with us so that we could remain reletively healthy (read independent) for much of that time.

I would expect to work longer, however, say, till I'm 200. that's like 50 now.

Imagine all the things you could learn in that time.

[proud patriot]

11. darn it I missed the show tonight

In some ways yes living 400 years is quite intriguing
but nightmare scenarios ...Ack wouldn't want to do that .

[Wonk]

22. Here you go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=979329#980572

[DieboldMustDie]

12. I'm still waiting for the flying cars...

that, in the 1960s, we were told would be around by the turn of the century. A vacation on the moon would be nice too.

Anyway, considering the direction our country and the world seem to be headed in, I don't see increased longevity as such a big plus. Maybe when I'm in my 80s I'll see things differently. ;)

[camero]

13. Think about this

Then you can say, "I haven't been laid in a HUNDRED YEARS." :)

[LastKnight]

15. would you want to be able to say that

and be truthful? i think that alone would make me turn down the extra years lol

-LK

[camero]

16. No I would not

And imagine a 300 yr old Bob Dole with his Viagra dating a 20 yr old.
Creepy.

[LastKnight]

17. you mean hes not...

that old? he certianally looks like it. and for the record

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...

that is all

-LK

[camero]

18. Not to mention the commercials

I'm 350 yrs old and I can throw a football thru a tire. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. :)

[LastKnight]

19. lol

yea. they can keep thier longevity... no thanks...

-LK

[Shanty Oilish]

14. With that extra time I'd give a lot more advice

& doubtless better advice.
Implications? Fertility would be severely regulated, I would think. That's fine. Better quality of life for children, if parents have to compete for the privilege.
Speaking of competition, people might have to qualify for longevity too. Freedom's out the window. Government will decide who's most beneficial to society, and then govt will screw it up.
Life will cheapen, as if it's not already gotten too cheap. People aren't designed to appreciate the difference between 4/500 yrs and "forever." You think you have all the time in the world to get around to what matters, you never will.
Since I've already been everywhere else I'd grab some puzzles and fly to other planets. When I returned I'd be more interested in people again, and spend a couple of decades in China, about which I know too little at present.
Then a medical education. Gerontology is out, huh? And pediatrics? And obstetrics? Then, emergency medicine. I've always been real good in emergencies.
Oh, and I'd start exercising hard. No sense living long if you don't feel good.
Downside---I guess I'd have to publish my own writings and live with the hassle.

[Hillsey]

20. Oh, God no! I want to die before I reach 100!

Lord have Mercy!

[Lost4words]

23. Hell I'm disappointed I didn't die in my sleep last night!

The rich 400 year olds would have to control the population, only so much natural resources to go around. and think of the transplants needed.

The idea of being a slave to self important piles of flesh and organs is nightmarish to me. Do you think for a moment the opportunity would go to the the best and brightest on the planet, the ones who could do the most good, or to the most corrupt.

I think its a great premise for a book.

[cryofan]

24. I absolutely plan on living forever....so far, so good

To that end, I have signed a contract with www.alcor.org to have my head cryopreserved immediately after death. Since I am my brain, and the brain is simply information, whatever is "me" can be preserved with reasonable fidelity until such time as science improves enough to recover the information in my frozen brain. This may take hundreds or even thousands of years. That's OK. At minus 390 degrees F, chemistry is essential nil.

As for boredom, or whatever, if I am revived, the society that is capable of restoring my frozen brain will almost certainly be capable of manipulating the brain far beyond what we can now do. Thus, I find it likely that in that future, humans will be able to have complete control of their moods and feelings. So therefore people would not have to feel bored--they could just take a pill to make sure they are not bored. Whatever feeling you would WANT to feel, that is what you WOULD feel.

Also, work would be unnecessary in such a future. I would have all of time to explore the universe and learn and do everything possible.