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I only want to live as long as I am able-bodied and of sound mind. I've seen the ugly side of aging and illness. I'm not interested in extending my life if it means..feeding tubes...ventilators or being unable to wipe my own behind. What's the point of living to 95 if you have to eat unsalted pureed food and not have sweets? What's the point of wandering around confused with a wet/poopy diaper waiting to swallow half a dozen or more pills crushed with applesuace everyday? What's the point of living to old age if you have to sit in the dayroom while some idiot does a puppet show...sings horrible music...or just sit there watching t.v shows you don't care about surrounded by people you may not like? If that's what living to be really old is...then I will gladly check out at an earlier date.
The worst future I can think of is one in which a human can, with medical technology, be kept alive for many centuries, and tyrants and despots are in place who use those humans as a slave labor pool from which one cannot escape, even through death. It is not outside the realm of both technical and political evolution for this to occur within the lifetime of some of you.
I'd caution you to be careful what you wish for.
You make a good point. If that's the case, I think I might want to be part of the ruling class. Then again, wouldn't we all?
Of course being able to live almost indefinitely you'd be able to wait out the despots and maybe try reshaping society during any turmoil that might arise when there aren't any heirs.
As long as I can wipe my own ass, not have to wear a bib and otherwise regress backward to the age of 6 months, I dont have a problem living to be old. I see nothing wrong with being responsible for our own end of life....sort of like Soylent Green...unfortunately others have to butt in with their OWN desires and that being on the $$$$ cha-ching side.
The worst future I can think of is one in which a human can, with medical technology, be kept alive for many centuries, and tyrants and despots are in place who use those humans as a slave labor pool from which one cannot escape, even through death. It is not outside the realm of both technical and political evolution for this to occur within the lifetime of some of you.
As long as I can wipe my own ass, not have to wear a bib and otherwise regress backward to the age of 6 months, I dont have a problem living to be old. I see nothing wrong with being responsible for our own end of life....sort of like Soylent Green...unfortunately others have to butt in with their OWN desires and that being on the $$$$ cha-ching side.
Yeah sorry about that. I'm a bit selfish. Although I always thought power/fame/money are just means to an end.
Some claim that Li Ching-Yuen was born in 1326 in Qi Jiang Xian, Sichuan province.[citation needed] In a 1930 New York Times article, Professor Wu Chung-chieh of the Chengdu University discovered Imperial Chinese government records from 1827, congratulating one Li Ching-Yuen on his 150th birthday,[2] and further documents later congratulating him on his 200th birthday in 1526. In 1928, a New York Times correspondent wrote that many of the old men in Li's neighborhood asserted that their grandfathers knew him when they were boys, and that he at that time was a grown man.[3]He began gathering herbs in the mountain ranges at the age of ten, and also began learning of longevity methods, surviving on a diet of herbs and rice wine. He lived this way for the first 40 years of his life. In 1749, when he was 71 years old, he moved to Kai Xian to join the Chinese army as a teacher of the martial arts and as a tactical advisor. He lived until about 1239 years old. One of his disciples, the Taijiquan Master Da Liu told of Master Li's story: at 130 years old Master Li encountered an older hermit, over 500 years old, in the mountains who taught him Baguazhang and a set of Qigong with breathing instructions, movements training coordinated with specific sounds, and dietary recommendations. Da Liu reports that his master said that his longevity "is due to the fact that I performed the exercises every day - regularly, correctly, and with sincerity - for 120 years."[4] Returning home, he died a year later, some say of natural causes; others claim that he told friends that "I have done all I have to do in this world. I will now go home." After Li's death, General Yang Sen investigated the truth about his claimed background and age and wrote a report about his findings that was later published. He worked as a herbalist, selling lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shou wu and gotu kola along with other Chinese herbs.[5] Li had also supposedly produced over 200 descendants during his life span, surviving 23 wives.[6][7] Ching-Yuen lived off a diet of herbs and rice wine including lingzhi, goji berry, wild ginseng, he shou wu and gotu kola.
i got a newflash for you, only a very people right NOW care if you live or die, and in 10,000 MINUTES after you die, you will have been forgotten by nearly everyone who ever knew you..:-)
I have talked to a co worker of mines, he is in his 60's, and attended a fair share of funerals.
I asked him how long would he want to live, and he told me not too long. while i see many people on the news living to their 100's, or even 90's, my co worker told me that at that age, most of the time their friends are gone, and their kids have their lives, and their grandkids also have their lives. and they camp out in a nursing home or at their house, and it seems like life at that point is not great at all. all the wealth in the world dont mean anything if they cant move around or is in pain.
after talking to him, it made lots of sense to me, as i am 26. i thought living long was a good thing, but then again i never thought about the people i know is going to leave, and i will be lonely.
My wife just buried her maternal grandfather who died at the age of 104. A decade and a half ago he told her, "Trust me, kid, being this old is not all it's cracked up to be. You don't want to live this long." He spent the last 20 years of his life in a nursing home, although he was in decent health and in no great discomfort. But as others have pointed out, your friends and colleagues are all dead by then. His wife died 10 or so years back. One of his daughters, my wife's mother, died over 40 years ago of Hodgkin's Disease, and his surviving two daughters are in their late 70's, and could not visit often because of age and distance.
In his final years his short term memory faded and he seemed to be in a pleasant, detached, amiable haze when we visited him. I suspect when we left the room, we ceased to exist as far as he was concerned.
Given all that, his continued existence was increasingly pointless. Fortunately he had prepared well and there was no financial drain on his extended family, but he would not have wanted that, to be sure.
If you could live with good quality of life it'd be a different story, but even Grandpa's near best-case scenario doesn't sound very attractive.
I tend to regard even a good life as something that needs a beginning, middle, and, yes -- an end. No matter how terrific a movie is, you don't want it to drag on for 12 hours. No matter how brilliant the script, how skillful the direction, how eloquent the acting, at some point you just want to pee and go to bed.
I suspect that even if you could live indefinitely in perfect health, you'd be like the alleged 1200 year old Chinese guy someone else posted about -- at some point you would just want to move on.
after talking to him, it made lots of sense to me, as i am 26. i thought living long was a good thing, but then again i never thought about the people i know is going to leave, and i will be lonely.
You can always meet new people...don't have to be lonely exactly...
I want to live long only if I am happy. If I am not happy, then there is no point to life.
I'm all for government run euthanasia. After reaching say 85, you know it's coming but never sure when. Something quick, relatively painless and efficient. Other than Betty White, I don't see a lot of folks in their late 80s or 90s enjoying life. Some do but they are the minority. Most are ailing, infirmed and socially isolated by then. Just shoot me, but make it a surprise.
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