Jan 28, 2008

How long will we live?

Recently The Economist has published a very interesting article: Abolishing ageing: How to live forever. Considering that it is not a fringe publication, but a reliable mainstream one, it is certainly worth checking out. If The Economist thinks technologies increasing our life expectancy are worth writing about, they are no longer just a dream of a science-fiction authors.

For a follow up, read the very interesting article by Ray Kurzweil: The Law of Accelerating Returns.


Of course this may not happen. But it looks more and more likely that it will.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind leaving forever. Or at least for a few thousands years :)

And if this seems weird or intimidating, do read Yudkowsky and Anissimov on the concept of shock levels:
* Future Shock Levels
* Future Shock Level Analysis

Lessons for the day:
Don't fear the future just because it's likely to be different.
Don't underestimate the probability of change because change intimidates you personally.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh don't we all... but why?? Personally for me, I'd hate to see all that information I carefully sieved through in my lifetime go to the soil. Well if that's everyone's case, I'm mildly troubled; our minds are simply not adapted to an elongated lifespan - think how long we've lived for the majority of our history! Do our brains have the capacity to store several centuries of knowledge without forgetting a little here and there? I believe they do, and that the secret lies in unlocking their entire potential, which we now utilize to about 10%, as using more would kill us. But, I stay positive and keep hope that we can do something to solve this dilemma. Of course, since I sell life insurance in Canada, it'd also mean I'd go out of business - which I wouldn't finally mind! :D

Cheers from Toronto,
Lorne

Digwuren the Gray said...

One of the many steps: the prosthetic heart. An estimated three years until production.

 
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