Sorry to be that guy, but this is not at all a rhetorical question…
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I’d love to live forever.
It sounds heartless, but I mourn by not really feeling anything. I think I’d be OK. I want to see how far we’re going to get. I want to see what happens. I don’t want to die seeing an unfinished story.
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I could have immortality and I’d still never finish painting all my warhammers.
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(Commentary): Unit Exacitor has often pondered if being Immortal would not be akin to having the job of Algalon the Observer. To be around at the Big Bang, to spend untold ages observing the universe form, seeing worlds form from the debris of long dead stars, etc… On some level this is an appealing prospect. In reality, Unit Exacitor would go utterly insane having to live through every moment of existence.
(Conclusion): Ideal Immortality is having the power to choose when you wish to die.
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Once your immortal you would lose the choice and would be stuck hanging around regardless.
I guess you would just hope that space travel would be invented before humans die off. Explore the universe and what not.
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Took a while to find the reference, but Tithonus was who I had in mind.
I think conditional immortality like the Night Elves used to have (where you can’t die from age or illness but are still able to die by other means) could be pretty great. Undeath/vampire/god type immortality on the other hand could be something of a curse.
But my opinion would likely differ had I been born in a different era – for example a Middle Ages Chroesire might not think too highly of any kind of immortality. The main reason I think it could be positive in our current era is because humanity is at the cusp of wild positive advancement that will be a real trip to watch over the course of the next 200-300 years, and I regret that I’ll only be able to see a small piece of that.
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Very philosophical topic for GD.
TBH, this is one of those things that keeps me up at night. Non-existence terrifies me to no end. If life and time are circular and we’ll get a go around again maybe in a different form or reality I’d prefer not having immortality seeing it as a curse then. Kind of like being stuck in neutral while everyone else is going forward on the freeway.
If life is not circular and all that waits is non-existence when the brain goes then it for sure would be a blessing. If someone was in a tortured existence time can heal many wounds, and in time science can probably heal most physical ailments or bypass physical limitations. There are a few scenarios where death would be preferable though to an individual.
Someone once quoted to me, “You mourn the things you may not see, do you also mourn the things that you weren’t able to see before you were born?” For me the answer would be yes to a good degree there are many things I wish I could have seen, at the same time that would also mean going through the more painful times of the world and humanity though I think it’d be worth it. Even in the current life/situation there will always be pain and loss of loved ones as you continue to move on as if you were immortal anyway.
On the more fun side, it might also depend on the condition of immortality, digitized consciousness, head in a jar, eternal youth/prime health, or body aging with time while your mind stays on par. If you are immortal the universe is not, then it would certainly become a horrible existence. So eye of the beholder for sure.
Sorry for the rant one of those bigger internal debates for myself. Hopefully everything comes back around to existence again or something of us is reused for another purpose in the universe.
On that note, I think I need to watch more Startalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson fun topics like this in some of those.
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Immortality does not require unaging. It just means that you can’t die by natural means (wounds, illness, old age). There’s nothing implicit to suggest that you wouldn’t age. In fact I saw a movie once where that was the twist ending. A person becomes immortal but 100 years later we see him wandering the streets looking ancient and decrepit. What you are thinking of is eternal youth.
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I started out with how it seems to be used in WoW.
And yes, in many ways what is immortality in WoW does seem to be eternal youth. Or was… not sure how it is for night elves now.
Think of all the mundane stuff, though. Like, what about your teeth? How long do they last? and do you get to grow new ones when the old ones break down or do you spend eternity with falsies?
What would happen if you were injured? Your chances of being seriously injured go up the longer time you have. Does your Immortality come with the ability to regenerate lost limbs, or do you get to keep every scar you acquire in your eternal existance?
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Immortality sounds pretty nice to me, life is too short. I’d take it if given the option.
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Depends on the conditions. If I’m a brain in a jar, living out my life in VR WoW, then sure, make me immortal. If I have dementia and am in constant agonizing pain, then I’ll pass.
Not sure how else to put it,
English isn’t my first language
Also if I may quote something else from the thing I quoted previously. Some more context. The character Lucy called someone nothing in anger. So these two have a little chat later.
I time stamped it at 5:29 since hooo boy this is a lot to type. But I just like it as a little “hey you’re not insignificant at all” pep talk.
Also I am wicked jelly over Lucy being able to remember books including page. Being ageless has its perks. ( To help explain. This race of aliens don’t age. But they can die if you destroy the body or specifically the head. Like dumping it in acid or burning it to destroy the dna )
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Ugh for some reason the forums think I’m trying to post a picture when I’m not with my last post. Sorry for the wonkyness of it
No worries!
We are immortal if the laws of conservation of energy are correct. The energy that makes up our form continually takes on new combinations but it remains essential and unchanged.
Immortality while having some form of consciousness is what we generally really mean with these discussions and that is unknowable. We measure our existence sensually, that is, we are incapable of grasping what it is to be without sight, hearing, touching, sensing motion in terms of distance and time. We also know that this physical form eventually dissipates, so if we are saying could we be immortal and also be “us” as we currently know ourselves, the answer is no.
That said, we’ve moved from being little more than a splotch of biochemical activity at our conception to what we are now as we read this. If we are conscious after the dissolution of our bodies, what we are is nothing like the being reading these words.
Perhaps the closest thing to experiencing it is the brief moment when one looks up at the stars and for just an instance we stop seeing, instead we become the majesty, the overwhelming magnitude of the heavens. That moment when we are completely separate from everything that makes us the person who is reading these words, that moment of simply being is immortality. Everything else is left in the grave.
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Kind of a weird question to ask on these forums and not some kind of sub reddit but whatever.
I disagree with this statement because if you look up the many companies currently trying to find a legitimate way to become immortal (like age x). I assume you meant becoming immortal as some sort of superpower but becoming immortal is a legitimate thing normal humans will do in the future potentially even in our lifetime so outliving your friends wouldn’t be a thing… I don’t think actual being immortal forever would be great living like 2x the normal lifespan would be nice though just so I can experience more of the things I want to experience. If you don’t believe me in the immortal becoming a reality I suggest you look up ‘Aubrey De Grey’ who has a plan that by 2050 living to 1000 won’t be so unusual also people like Jeff Bezos (owner of amazon, absurdly rich) is planning on living a lot longer than a 100 due to his many investments in companies like Age X.
I think that because of night elves, nightborne, draenei etc., raising a question regarding immortality makes perfect sense.