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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  4331 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Do you think we'll achieve immortality before the end of this century?

What is "immortality?"

Is it a body that doesn't die? Even the most impeccable machine breaks down. If this is your question, then it is a mechanical one - "will we achieve perfect healing?" For me, I don't think so, but I'm not in an industry where I have any insight.

Is it an ability to transcend the physical? If so, I suggest you read Jeron Lanier. It doesn't take many minutes of contemplating the nature of death before one is forced to contemplate the nature of life.

We are surrounded by immortals. We read of them, quote them, imitate them, and consult them daily. Somebody whose name I should have written down had a quote about how we spend our 40s contemplating death. The Voltaire quote is easier: "40 is the old age of youth; 50 is the youth of old age." I do find that as I age, I find comfort in the words of Mr. Samuel Clemens:

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”





AnalYsis  ·  4330 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I like to think of acheiving immortality equal to the ability to perserve one's consciousness permanently, one way or another. Preserving a physical medium for your consciousness similar to how hermit crabs change shells may be necessary in order to continue interacting with the physical world.

kleinbl00  ·  4330 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Read the Lanier link. It isn't as simple as all that.

thenewgreen  ·  4331 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thank you for that Clemens quote, it's wonderful. Throwing that one in my back pocket.