Ich weiß, das ist eine heiße Einstellung; Wir haben nur ein Leben, warum nicht für immer? Wenn es eine Unsterblichkeitspille gäbe, warum sollte man sie nicht nehmen?
Nun, es ist eine schlechte Idee. Die älteste Geschichte, die es gibt, erzählt uns davon, ebenso wie unzählige Mythen und Science-Fiction-Werke.
Außerdem ist Unsterblichkeit scheiße, für die Unsterblichen und alle anderen.
Bonus: die vier Reiter der Unsterblichkeit!
https://open.substack.com/pub/heyslick/p/immortality-the-billionaires-fools-errand?r=4t921l&utm_medium=ios
14 Comments
I know this is a hot take; we only have one life, why not make it forever?
If there was an immortality pill, why not take it?
There’s already a lot of research and money going into it. Plus, the science of longevity and immortality will benefit us all, right?
… right?
Well, it’s a bad idea. The oldest story on record tells us as much, and so do countless myths and works of sci-fi.
Plus, immortality sucks, for the immortals and everyone else.
Bonus: the Four Horsemen of Immortality!
Yea, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever read. Let’s base the notion of immortality and its morality / benefit on ancient stories.
I’m taking that pill 100% of the time.
> and so do countless myth and works of sci-fi.
I think “sour grapes” have played a huge role in their creation as well as coping.
Realistic immortality will not be a chug-along under some sort of a magical protection, it will be a quest for solving more and more difficult problems, and, ultimately, the problem of the heat death of the universe.
Immortality is not the same as indestructibility. If we eliminate natural death there will probably be ways for you to properly game end yourself whenever you want. Let people choose on their own how long they want to live instead of yapping about your own “objectively superior” view which no one will really care about.
I can’t believe someone actually wrote all of this seriously. None of it makes any sense whatsoever. You can’t point to sci-fi stories to show why something *in real life* would be bad. It’s right in the name, fiction. The stories referenced here all go in completely different directions such that there is no central argument even made. Immortality is lonely because all your friends die? Not if there is an immortality pill, they will be immortal too. It is completely ignoring the fact that society and technology change to adapt to new circumstances. Nothing is static.
Also, who gives a fuck about Gilgamesh? Do you credit ancient people with getting anything else right? Why don’t we all still worship their gods and burn witches if they were so smart? I guess my biggest frustration is that this article doesn’t even really attempt to make any argument at all, it just references a hundred different things and takes them all at face value without any critical analysis.
That article is some whack shit, I’ll give you that!
I can’t make heads or tails of the thesis, but I think it’s equating immortality with “impossible to die”. That’s not what people mean by immortality (except in superhero fantasies or something).
They mean the ability to choose to live as long as you wish, not having time of death dictated to you by an aging body or external circumstances.
I’m relatively good-looking, tall, and fit, and I never get tired of traveling or reading books or learning things. What would be so tiring about immortality? I just don’t really get this hot take.
Please yes. We could live exactly as long as we want and [commit sudoku](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=commit%20sudoku) when we don’t want no more.
This is so stupid. Instead of relying on religious texts, stories, and sci fi, why not chat with any of the many 85-100+ crowd who still have their health and get their real life perspectives?
People made up stories about how immortality sucks is not a good argument that actual immortality would suck. People write about it because it is a popular fear, not because it is true.
My only opinion on this is that I don’t think immortality is possible.
So the moralizing is kind of moot.
Every second of the day is a second we could die for any number of reasons. Eventually the odds are against us, no matter what we do.
Immortality is perfectly reasonable if we also include the right to die.
Already too many old rich dudes hanging around meddling. God forbid they live forever, we need people to move on (die) and make way for new ideas, new ways of doing things.
Sounds like the same lie as “money don’t give happiness”.
But as much as we can practically prove having money helps immensely, and easily gets at least relative happiness, we can’t prove anything regarding immorality or longevity. After all being old sucks always, and once one gets past as late as 80 it’s downhill no matter what one will do. And usually it gets shitty, sometimes literally, even faster.