Get over what?
I'll certainly feel grounded in my decision to become a transhuman; despite religious claims that the world will end, or that it's against God's will. I'm not afraid to live, I simply choose to look at our existence as something for us to shape, something that we have always played a small part in shaping by working with what is under our control, not that we're being shaped by a primal super-intelligence of any kind what-so-ever.
Originally posted by siriuswriterYour sentence is flawed and you should feel bad. If aging is a part of being human, then if you take it away you're only taking away a part of the experience. Not the whole "very" experiences itself. Silly human, you write funny.
Aging is part of what it means to be human... take that away, and you take away the very experiences that give meaning to humanity.
So, no.
Srsly, I'd argue the opposite. Aging is part of what it means to be a lifeform, nothing more. Conquering the aging process--on purpose and perhaps permanently, please--is closer to the "human experience". It's a direct, meaningful act on the part of earth's one and only thinking, understanding species who can comprehend death and mortality. I can think of few other expressions of sapience and humanity than the eternal fight to conquer old age, because we're the only ones here who really know what it is.
It's a selfish part of being human, sure. But if you respect the whole "Circle of Life" theory, the wheel that turns and returns, then you have to realize that death is as much a part of being a human being than birth is.
IMO, you shouldn't think of that as control, it should be thought of as... taking your place in the grand tradition of Nature.
Of course humans will always struggle to have longevity - I, myself, would have died at age 13 if it weren't for life-saving medicine and top-of-the-line medical advancements.
But avoiding death altogether is just not Natural, and so I don't believe in it.
Originally posted by siriuswriter
It's a selfish part of being human, sure. But if you respect the whole "Circle of Life" theory, the wheel that turns and returns, then you have to realize that death is as much a part of being a human being than birth is.
IMO, you shouldn't think of that as control, it should be thought of as... taking your place in the grand tradition of Nature.
I always thought of birth as a 10 pound creature of intricately intertwined young cells - that have the potential to grow into anything through interacting with its environment and by its own intrinsic motivations - being viscerally shot out of an organic body.
I always thought of death by aging as just that, cells deteriorating and ruining that life-form over time, until it cannot fend for itself and is eliminated, no longer able to experience. Death by fire, bullets, explosions, swords, drug overdose, are to me merely the quickening of that same process. It's all very real to me, not metaphorical, and definitely not comforting.
Of course humans will always struggle to have longevity - I, myself, would have died at age 13 if it weren't for life-saving medicine and top-of-the-line medical advancements.Is struggling for longevity - when do you draw the line between defying nature and just trying to live a long life? 100 years? 120?
But avoiding death altogether is just not Natural, and so I don't believe in it.
Death is the absence of experience, all the possibilities are stripped away from you.
Originally posted by siriuswriter
It's a selfish part of being human, sure. But if you respect the whole "Circle of Life" theory, the wheel that turns and returns, then you have to realize that death is as much a part of being a human being than birth is.
IMO, you shouldn't think of that as control, it should be thought of as... taking your place in the grand tradition of Nature.
Of course humans will always struggle to have longevity - I, myself, would have died at age 13 if it weren't for life-saving medicine and top-of-the-line medical advancements.
But avoiding death altogether is just not Natural, and so I don't believe in it.
It's selfish to want to survive? What kind of madness is this? So you don't have survival instincts? You don't look forward to the future and all the good thingd you can experience or do? Do you not find the wisdom which comes with longevity a virtue?
Or do you think running in front of mack trucks is for a higher purpose? Really, this argument makes no sense, even from a neutral point of view.
Originally posted by siriuswriterNot to be all smartass or anything, but plastic and steel aren't Natural either, but you're still using them to read these words.
It's a selfish part of being human, sure. But if you respect the whole "Circle of Life" theory, the wheel that turns and returns, then you have to realize that death is as much a part of being a human being than birth is.
IMO, you shouldn't think of that as control, it should be thought of as... taking your place in the grand tradition of Nature.
Of course humans will always struggle to have longevity - I, myself, would have died at age 13 if it weren't for life-saving medicine and top-of-the-line medical advancements.
But avoiding death altogether is just not Natural, and so I don't believe in it.
No other creature here can grasp what life and death really are like we can, nor can they understand the impacts that an interrupted cycle can bring. No other creature has the option of "taking their place". For us it is an option. Given a very small amount of relative time we're the only ones capable of defeating the birth-life-death cycle. In each way we may (likely will) have the power and ability to stop being "born" the natural way, stop "living" the biological way, and stop "dieing" both physically and mentally.
We didn't steal or even truly create this power, it's something the "natural" universe already possesses, and we, as creatures of the very same universe have understood how to harness. We're breaking no laws, defying no code, uttering no taboo--other than our own self-imposed ones that we impose for strictly self-imposed purposes. And we only impose them because as humans, we're the only ones who think there's any value in their use.
The Circle of Life thing is self-regulating through an intricate manner of just the right amount of killing--something we are retardedly good at. We achieve true immortality, and we achieve the possibility to remove ourselves from Earth's Circle of Life. No longer a menace or threat to such a fragile, closed system. Literally transcending and sparing an entire planet's biosphere through choice. How is that not the ultimate expression of what some of you would call "the best" in humanity?
Originally posted by Stealth MooseI think that's an important thing to think about.
the future and all the good thingd you can experience or do?
We should all start thinking about possibilities. Humans have what's known as multiple intelligence, each person's brains automatically develops a unique aggregate intellect composed of many pocket intelligences - and the combinations of intelligence type skills we have are one of endless assortment of what can truly be developed. Everyone is well within their own limits, and time, initiation, persistence and intensity allow us to mold ourselves to our liking. The longer you have to improve and grow into your skin, the more well-adjusted you become to life.
There is always going to be more to adjust to, death is an absence of that, your ability to experience something you've never experienced, to unlock something within you you've never known was there, is gone.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Your sentence is flawed and you should feel bad. If aging is a part of being human, then if you take it away you're only taking away a part of the experience. Not the whole "very" experiences itself. Silly human, you write funny.Srsly, I'd argue the opposite. Aging is part of what it means to be a lifeform, nothing more. Conquering the aging process--on purpose and perhaps permanently, please--is closer to the "human experience". It's a direct, meaningful act on the part of earth's one and only thinking, understanding species who can comprehend death and mortality. I can think of few other expressions of sapience and humanity than the eternal fight to conquer old age, because we're the only ones here who really know what it is.
IMO, aging provides wisdom, a better understanding of one's self, a better understanding of one's position in the grand scheme of things, plus an essential view of a person's past mistakes that can help that person learn and improve. It's why a parent tries to tell their children that doing "suchandsuch" is a mistake - because the parent knows from experience. [Although I admit that I'm the first person to say, "I can't know the consequence if I don't make the mistake for myself!" to anyone who tries that with me. 😄
I don't mean to be so serious about this... obviously different people have different views, and I don't want to push mine. My purpose is more to inform than it is to persuade. 🙂
Originally posted by siriuswriterExperience doesn't really come with 'aging'--you know, senescence--it comes from... experience. Aging will give you experience in biological degradation and eventually death (if you can call personality obliteration 'experience'😉, but in terms of wisdom, that just means time. Knowledge + intelligence x experience = wisdom. You don't need to be a certain age, or in a certain state of "being old" in order to be wise. There are plenty of people who reached old age but never accrued wisdom or even much knowledge.
IMO, aging provides wisdom, a better understanding of one's self, a better understanding of one's position in the grand scheme of things, plus an essential view of a person's past mistakes that can help that person learn and improve. It's why a parent tries to tell their children that doing "suchandsuch" is a mistake - because the parent knows from experience. [Although I admit that I'm the first person to say, "I can't know the consequence if I don't make the mistake for myself!" to anyone who tries that with me. 😄I don't mean to be so serious about this... obviously different people have different views, and I don't want to push mine. My purpose is more to inform than it is to persuade. 🙂
If wisdom is what you value, then more experience--i.e. longer life--is something you should view as an extraordinary tool. The ironic part is that, absent any damage or neurological disease, the brain becomes more capable and more efficient the older it gets. Having a brain stuck permanently at 25 would deprive someone of the plasticity inherent in the aging process. If we can somehow ensure the brain retains that trait while purging it of all the downsides of biological aging... f*cking A.
Originally posted by Stealth Moose
Sirius not.... serious? What is this heresy?
It's a life-long devotion to Harry Potter.
Without bad, there is no good. There's no such thing as a painless existence, whether you're 25 or 75. I'm not saying it's bad to want to live longer, I'm not saying it's bad to want to live forever - or work toward that goal.
All I'm saying is that if there was an option to be young "forever," or make it so that life has no death, I would not take that option.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
If wisdom is what you value, then more experience--i.e. longer life--is something you should view as an extraordinary tool. The ironic part is that, absent any damage or neurological disease, the brain becomes more capable and more efficient the older it gets. Having a brain stuck permanently at 25 would deprive someone of the plasticity inherent in the aging process. If we can somehow ensure the brain retains that trait while purging it of all the downsides of biological aging... f*cking A.
You get it, you really get it!
bye
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Big down side: The retirement age would be changed to 900 years. That is a lot of years of hard work for little pay.
I can make a lot of money by virtue of being unbeatable in chess. I go from a dependent to a millionaire in one year of pro. Chess.
Millionaires don't have to work - if education continues to improve, it might be difficult to motivate anyone to do conventional work as they have been able to cheaply earn doctorates and worked high, high paying jobs for only a few years and earned millions: and as technology becomes increasingly advanced non-high education jobs might be eliminated altogether.
People will only need to work extremely scientific and education-related jobs for a decade before they've earned enough to just take breaks; there won't be businesses, corporations or politicians or people in government either, but rather scientists and computers accounting for resources and maintaining steady production on their own -- one generation only works for a decade before the next one works theirs, each successful generation has earned enough in that decade to get their pension.
All urbanized systems will contain the most efficient building blocks, every single manufactured product will be able to retrofit to another. Customized houses designed from a similar template will literally slide across an urbanized expanse into place out of an assembly line.
A good adaptation of this was the technology of Krypton in the New Man of Steel film. Indeed digitized versions of one's consciousness will be uploadable if nanites, introduced into the system via pills, can gradually fill in the space of, and operate as, all the neurons within the nervous system and brain.
Nanites will also have the capacity to rearrange matter by operating on the molecules, allowing for spontaneous generation/materialization of, for instance, a toy or a perfectly edible granola bar.
It would be more difficult to control a more sophisticated system, not easier.
As far as using the technology enslave the mind, they already are. That's why they're trying to keep the social hierarchy, that's why their banning scientific research through the government, slashing R&D funding through the oil companies, and that is why they, in fact, do not want a techno-utopian techo-progressive society.
All though your waking rational side couldn't be brainwashed without obvious and directly terminal implications, your subconscious, animal side, can be altered directly through its neural neural network as electrical signals within nanites generate stimuli to certain areas of the brain, changing it to match the projected opinions one's remote viewer, a "brain operative" of the shadow government.
If a person that you need to help you doesn't like you, there is a good chance that it's because a brain operative is acting under the order to sabotage your efforts to achieve a goal that might be conflicting to the shadow government's interests. That's why we must value our logical, rational thoughts more than our inward feelings and intuition.
Because personality is the product of intrinsic motivations redirected from their original purpose to adapt to its environment, our rational thoughts can become our inward desires, through harnessing emotions, for better regulation and control when its in our best interest to befriend someone that we're repelled by (because someone else is in us, making us repelled).