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Life becomes less precious
NickOttens
Posts: 899 admin
The longer we live, the less precious life might feel.
If we all live to be 100+, what's the pressure to start a family, travel, indulge our hobbies? We might feel we have all the time in the world and postpone the things that really matter.
If we all live to be 100+, what's the pressure to start a family, travel, indulge our hobbies? We might feel we have all the time in the world and postpone the things that really matter.
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Maybe if we had more time on this earth in better health to achieve these kinds of life milestones (ex: get an education, find a partner and start a family, get ahead in your career), we wouldn't be so stressed to try accomplishing them all in the 80-year lifespan we are currently given. Expanded life could mean more freedom in making important life choices, and more time to discover what makes you truly happy and fulfilled!
Interesting thoughts! I'm certain that if we find the means to significantly slow down aging or even reverse it, then maintaining fertility would be one of the requirements the public will set for the treatment. I do wonder if that's even a good thing, considering that we don't want to reach a state of overpopulation.
Well, what we see anyway is that in developing regions, where people can suddenly bring to the world plenty of babies without fearing for their lives, the rate of childbirth sharply declines. One of the main reasons for bringing so many children to the world used to be that people were afraid their kids would die and leave them childless - and therefore, with no one to take care of them when they grow old. Now things are different: nearly everyone will survive to adulthood, but parents need to invest their resources in education. So - they bring less children to the world, but support those better than ever before.
One in five Americans wants to live forever
That's an interesting divergence! What do you think explains it?
It does seem understandable to me, though, that the older you are, the less likely you are to want to live forever. After all, the older you are, the more likely you are to have loved ones die and to see some impairment in your own abilities. Who wants to live forever while in pain or with diminishing capacity or alone?
Instead, I hope to spend more time with younger people as I age, living forever by contributing to their lives and memories. Maybe we can all live forever -- if we stop being quite so literal about it?
Tagging on to what @Roey was saying, if we can find ways in the near future towards significant rejuvenation of the body and mind and thus improving quality of life, I suspect many of those people will jump over to wanting to live longer because life truly is so precious!
Close to two in five over the age of 70, have trouble eating, bathing, dressing, getting in and out of bed, or using the toilet on their own. Several factors (food, genes, environmental conditions, lifestyles) determine how long and active you will be at 80 and beyond.
Researchers from the University of Chicago and Harvard Kennedy School, in the 16-page report, recommended five key evidence-based policy recommendations titled ‘A Roadmap Towards Cleaning India’s Air'. They have developed the air quality life index (AQLI), a metric that provides a means to predict the overall reduction in life expectancy caused by living in places with high levels of air pollution.