Board index › Topical Discussion › Computers, Math, Science, and Technology

Is biological immortality possible?

Page 1 of 3 [ 34 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Is physical immortality possible?
Yes 52%  52%  [ 13 ]
No 48%  48%  [ 12 ]
Total votes : 25

DeanFoley
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Nov 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 354
Location: England-Birmingham

21 Apr 2008, 11:53 am

A lot of attention has been paid to the prospect of humans becoming biologically immortal-sooner than we may think.

Now, I'm not sure if it can be done or not, but hey, trying to extend out lives can hardly hurt. Even if we don't achieve immortality...

''Old! I'm only 356!''

So, what I basically wanted to ask, is if you believe it is possible for humans to develop enough for immortality.



Mikomi
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Posts: 753
Location: On top of your TV, lookin' at you funny.

21 Apr 2008, 12:00 pm

I think we can advance our lifespan and slow the process of aging. But immortality is far-fetched.


_________________
Curiosity is not a mental illness.
Homeschooling Aspie mom of 2 kiddos on the Spectrum.


DeanFoley
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Nov 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 354
Location: England-Birmingham

21 Apr 2008, 12:02 pm

Mikomi wrote:
I think we can advance our lifespan and slow the process of aging. But immortality is far-fetched.


To the former:-There's no point ''believing'' that, its already been done and still happening. :P



AlteredEgo
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 98

21 Apr 2008, 12:03 pm

I don't think it is possible.



DeanFoley
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Nov 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 354
Location: England-Birmingham

21 Apr 2008, 12:04 pm

AlteredEgo wrote:
I don't think it is possible.


Think you selected the wrong option.



slowmutant
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,430
Location: Ontario, Canada

21 Apr 2008, 1:37 pm

Quote:
Think you selected the wrong option.


Do you know otherwise? How can biological immortality be possible if the body wasn't designed for it? (To say nothing of the mind.) I don't see how the human body can be continually replenished without some horrible side-effect.

There's always a catch.



Last edited by slowmutant on 21 Apr 2008, 1:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

zghost
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,190
Location: Southeast Texas

21 Apr 2008, 1:38 pm

Why would you want it anyway? I can't think of any reasons.



slowmutant
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,430
Location: Ontario, Canada

21 Apr 2008, 1:43 pm

And if immortality in this case means you suddenly stop ageing and remain the age you are from that day forth, how would your metabolism work? If new cells aren't being produced constantly, I believe you would literally fall to pieces. The epidermis stops reparing itself, no new blood-cells ... 8O



AlteredEgo
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 98

21 Apr 2008, 1:47 pm

DeanFoley wrote:
AlteredEgo wrote:
I don't think it is possible.


Think you selected the wrong option.


You mean on the poll?



DeanFoley
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Nov 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 354
Location: England-Birmingham

21 Apr 2008, 2:14 pm

slowmutant wrote:
Quote:
Think you selected the wrong option.


Do you know otherwise? How can biological immortality be possible if the body wasn't designed for it? (To say nothing of the mind.) I don't see how the human body can be continually replenished without some horrible side-effect.

There's always a catch.


No, I mean he clicked the wrong option on the poll. He said it wasn't possible but clicked the option saying it was.



AlteredEgo
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 98

21 Apr 2008, 2:24 pm

DeanFoley wrote:
slowmutant wrote:
Quote:
Think you selected the wrong option.


Do you know otherwise? How can biological immortality be possible if the body wasn't designed for it? (To say nothing of the mind.) I don't see how the human body can be continually replenished without some horrible side-effect.

There's always a catch.


No, I mean he clicked the wrong option on the poll. He said it wasn't possible but clicked the option saying it was.


She ;)

I was sitting in the passenger seat of our car this morning after posting and it dawned on me that I had done that.
Took me a good hour or so to realize... weird.



DeanFoley
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Nov 2007
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 354
Location: England-Birmingham

21 Apr 2008, 3:04 pm

AlteredEgo wrote:
DeanFoley wrote:
slowmutant wrote:
Quote:
Think you selected the wrong option.


Do you know otherwise? How can biological immortality be possible if the body wasn't designed for it? (To say nothing of the mind.) I don't see how the human body can be continually replenished without some horrible side-effect.

There's always a catch.


No, I mean he clicked the wrong option on the poll. He said it wasn't possible but clicked the option saying it was.


She ;)

I was sitting in the passenger seat of our car this morning after posting and it dawned on me that I had done that.
Took me a good hour or so to realize... weird.


Sorry, I have a tendency to refer to people as a he when I don't know the gender :P.



Mudboy
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 May 2007
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,441
Location: Hiding in plain sight

21 Apr 2008, 4:39 pm

Imortality lasts forever. I think we can extend our lifespans many times what they are now, through medical procedures. Immortality might be overrated - What if I get bored after a few thousand years???


_________________
When I lose an obsession, I feel lost until I find another.
Aspie score: 155 of 200
NT score: 49 of 200


slowmutant
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,430
Location: Ontario, Canada

21 Apr 2008, 5:00 pm

Mudboy wrote:
Imortality lasts forever. I think we can extend our lifespans many times what they are now, through medical procedures. Immortality might be overrated - What if I get bored after a few thousand years???


There's your catch. Can the mind withstand the passage of millennia as well as the body? Even if you had a few immortal buddies to keep you company as the centuries fly by, can you maintain your emotional and spiritual health? Or do you become one of Anne Rice's vampires, at odds with the present & ever longing for the past? After 1200 years or so, madness will destroy you. Madness, mindlessness, spiritual malaise. Every moment of life would be a hell, esp. since your life goes on and on.

But being immortal is not the same as being indestructible, Y/N?



sim
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 512
Location: an uneven circle

21 Apr 2008, 7:38 pm

slowmutant wrote:
Mudboy wrote:
Imortality lasts forever. I think we can extend our lifespans many times what they are now, through medical procedures. Immortality might be overrated - What if I get bored after a few thousand years???


There's your catch. Can the mind withstand the passage of millennia as well as the body? Even if you had a few immortal buddies to keep you company as the centuries fly by, can you maintain your emotional and spiritual health? Or do you become one of Anne Rice's vampires, at odds with the present & ever longing for the past? After 1200 years or so, madness will destroy you. Madness, mindlessness, spiritual malaise. Every moment of life would be a hell, esp. since your life goes on and on.

But being immortal is not the same as being indestructible, Y/N?



You know, I've tried to find a way to withstand the mental degeneracy involved in this. Want to be my 'immortal buddy'?



slowmutant
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,430
Location: Ontario, Canada

21 Apr 2008, 8:04 pm

Sure, why not?

Though a lot can happen between two people in the space of 1200 years. We may be good buddies in 2008, but come the year 3208 I may have come to wholly despise you. What's that old saying? Familiarity breeds contempt. Human friendships don't usually last 1200 years. And after that span of time, would we have become something un-human?

Damn, I should write a story about this. I'm in the wrong forum! :)