Friday, March 30, 2007

What if Humans were Designed to Last?

In the absence of planned form and designed function, what we have is a living machine that appears well thought out, but which fails when operated beyond its biological warranty period. Some anatomic fixes could make a difference in aging populations: Most men older than age 50 can attest that the prostate gland has the functional plan of an apprentice's first effort rather than the end result of intelligent design. Anyone who understands how time takes its toll on the body and mind, however, will recognize that designing a human body built to last requires far more substantive changes than meddling with simple anatomy.

(Via Betterhumans.)


Roy Batty from "Blade Runner" said it succinctly: "I want more life, fucker."

12 comments:

Doc Conjure said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Doc Conjure said...

"I want more life, fucker, I ain't done."

More Human Than Human. More Human Than The Human.

(Then again, Roy only had 4 years to live while the average human gets like 76 years or so.)

-Jason

Katie said...

I've never understood this fascination with wanting to live longer. But then, I don't fear death either.

In most fiction, immortals are often portrayed as bored with their eternal existence. I don't want to end up that way. I want to experience life as fully as I can while I'm here, and when it's over, it's over.

razorsmile said...

"I want more life, fucker."

Couldn't have put it better myself.

--------

Re: katie's comment

See immediately above.

Mac said...

Katie--

Do you honestly equate the prospect of *real* immortality with dystopian science fiction?

There's a whole *universe* out there to experience!

"Bored"? Not likely!

Katie said...

Ok, yeah, that was kind of a stupid comment, but it was early in the morning for me. :o)

I can't really put into words why I find the whole idea so distasteful, though.

Maybe because if this were to happen, and we were all given an extra fifty or sixty years to live, I would imagine that unless you had immense wealth you'd be spending the majority of those years working to support yourself. Not tooling around the universe, or hell, even our own planet.

Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but that just doesn't appeal to me.

People die for a reason. Our world is crowded enough. Think of the complications of overpopulation, not to mention what it would to our natural resources, if everyone was suddenly living to 200.

I think it would end up rather dystopian.

Mac said...

Katie--

Maybe because if this were to happen, and we were all given an extra fifty or sixty years to live, I would imagine that unless you had immense wealth you'd be spending the majority of those years working to support yourself. Not tooling around the universe, or hell, even our own planet.

There's good reason to think a civilization capable of halting aging could also eradicate most (or even all) of the ills that make life in the early 21st century so relatively unattractive.

Technological breakthroughs don't occur in a vacuum. Chances are you *would* get to do some cool celestial sight-seeing.

People die for a reason.

People get cancer for a reason too. Some people die lingeringly of AIDS for a reason. Yet we fight these things, and justly so.

Why is decrepitude and death any different? Why do we glorify it?

Katie said...

There's good reason to think a civilization capable of halting aging could also eradicate most (or even all) of the ills that make life in the early 21st century so relatively unattractive.

There's also good reason to believe that a lot of corrupt bigwigs out there that might take advantage of a people that could live an extra 100 years, and make their lives a living hell, whether it be through slave labor, or through war.

Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic. On the other hand, maybe I'm being a realist. I guess we won't know until it happens.

Why is decrepitude and death any different? Why do we glorify it?

I don't glorify death, I just understand it as a natural end of life, and thereby don't fear it. What happens, happens, and maybe it's not possible to extend life much further than where it already is.

Instead of hoping for a longer life, I just simply...don't care.

If given the chance to live an extra 50 years would I take it? That depends solely on how well I'd be able to live those years.

Mac said...

I don't glorify death, I just understand it as a natural end of life, and thereby don't fear it.

Brain tumors are natural, too. And since most of us are rightly afraid of such things, we try to stop them from happening.

What happens, happens,

So what happens to this defeatist cliche when we're able to modify our own fate?

Katie said...

I have a feeling that you and I could go around and around on this forever. :o)

So what happens to this defeatist cliche when we're able to modify our own fate?

First, we have to actually do it. When it actually happens? Then that can be addressed. Until then, it's a moot point.

Or am I just being too pragmatic?

Mac said...

When it actually happens? Then that can be addressed. Until then, it's a moot point.

It's called *thinking ahead*. And in the case of negligible senescence, probably not that far ahead ...

You're not being pragmatic at all; you're sticking your head in the sand.

Katie said...

Gah, I don't think I'm saying things just the way I want to, so I'll try it one more time.

Believe me, I'm all for trying to cure cancer, AIDS, and any other terminal disease out there.

I lost my mother to cancer, and have lost (and am losing) other family members to the same. Of course I would rather them have been cured than seeing them die the horrible and painful deaths that they did.

And I don't have a problem with extending a person's life span either. As long as by doing so they can have a good quality of life, and that it's done by their own choice, and not by someone who's ultimate goal is to take advantage of them.

But is it something that I would choose for myself? Honestly, I don't know. I guess it would depend on how old I already was when the option became available.

I wouldn't want to be 90 years old, and be given another 100 years in a body that's already hovering on the cusp of failure.

Hell, if someone came to me today and told me that I could tack on another 100 years to my current life span I don't know if I would do it.

I believe that when the science happens, it should be an option for anyone who wants it. But on a personal level, the idea scares the shit out of me for some reason.