I'd rather live in a Tolkien Shire.

[LHookins 3,103]

19 hours ago, Fielder said:

Do away with evil, pain; do away with all sense of loss or frustration. Then everything becomes worthless, boring. Without any satisfaction of having overcome a problem.

Immortality doesn't mean perfection in every little thing.  Tolkein's elves were effectively immortal, but could die of a broken heart or be killed in battle.  The one thing they couldn't do, that I don't recall being mentioned in the books, is have lots of children.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

I remember being taught early in school that if everyone were perfect, life would be incredibly boring.  I was pretty sure, even at that young age, that this was bovine excrement.  I'm pretty sure I could find infinite ways to amuse myself no matter how "perfect" life was.  There is plenty of challenge in simply learning new things and discovering new things, and there are almost infinite "new things" to learn and discover.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "All men lead lives of quiet desperation."  This includes the rich and famous, or as they put it, the well off and well known.  Their lives only look perfect.

 

19 hours ago, Fielder said:

Every girl we propositioned would accept.

She might not find that as perfect as you would. 🙂 

Hook

[Fielder 3,681]

" She might not find that as perfect as you would. 🙂 "

I would not find that perfect. I would find that boring. I would find that Hell.

I believe this episode of the Twilight Zone illustrates my point. The script was written by Charles Beaumont who authored 21 episodes of the show and was probably Rod Serling's favorite source. The theme is that a world without evil could be a nice place to visit, but definitely not nice to live there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XobU_jp2ImU

Edited February 5 by Fielder

[LHookins 3,103]

6 hours ago, Fielder said:

The theme is that a world without evil could be a nice place to visit, but definitely not nice to live there.

The problem wasn't the place or the situation, it was Mr. Valentine.  Heaven and hell are identical.  The difference is our reaction to them.  Mr. Valentine wouldn't have been happy in "Heaven" either.

Hook

 

[birdguy 3,943]

It might just be our perception of things.  At the warehouse here the general consensus is that we lived in the best of times and are entering the worst of times.  Living too long can be a curse.  We compare memories of our youth to the youth culture of today and shake our heads.  Most of you will do the same if you live as long as all of us here have lived.  The age span here is 86 to 100.  We have a lady here who is 100 years old.

Noel

[martin-w 3,238]

Neurological changes take place as we age, though. Those changes make is less adaptable. If aging is switched off, those changes shouldn't occur.  

[birdguy 3,943]

So tell me, how do we switch off aging?

I spent three days in the hospital last week hooked up to a blood thinner IV because of a large blood clot in my leg.  Now I have to be on blood thinner medication for the rest of my life.  Show me where the switch is so I can turn those things off.

Noel

 

Edited February 5 by birdguy

[martin-w 3,238]

Well, we were talking about a future time when aging is switched off and people have much extended lifespans.

Research is currently taking place in this respect by a number of scientists. Doctor David Sinclair's lab is focusing on 'sirtuins' the longevity genes. It seems that discomfort, for example cold or heat like in a  sauna, or calorie restriction while maintaining a high nutrient density, activates the sirtuins. So those swimmers I see in Guernsey, sea swimming in the winter, might be extending their lifespans and healthspans. It's been known for a long time that in pretty much all species tested, low calories but high nutrient density is beneficial.

Sinclar is viewing aging as a disease rather than an inevitable outcome. He's looking at various nutrients too, that slow aging.

There are other teams working on different aspects of aging, targeting other vectors that look promising. Ultimately, a drug is likely that bypasses the need for calorific restriction or the physical stress that activates the longevity genes.

It is said, that somebody alive today will be the first to have the aging process switched off. 

Keeping calories down and nutrient density up, being primarily plant based, keeping as active as possible, seems good advice.

Edited February 5 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,238]

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

spent three days in the hospital last week

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles

[Mace 1,929]

On 2/3/2024 at 9:41 AM, martin-w said:

If it makes you feel any better, the chances are small that your own or a foreign government will snoop on you.

I try to be as uninteresting as possible.  Lil' ol me doesn't have anything anyone would want.  Take my old picture tube TV.  Please.  I'll leave the door unlocked.

Speaking of 161 AD and stoicism -- that sounds like Marcus Aurelius, isn't he considered a stoic philospher, which he worked in amongst his time ruling the Roman Empire?

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I always wondered about mental health and anti aging, keeping a body alive for 200 years will outpace the brains functionality, we will be left with wealthy, privileged 200 year old mad dudes making bad decisions for a generation 2 centuries younger than them 🤣

[HiFlyer 9,362]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

I always wondered about mental health and anti aging, keeping a body alive for 200 years will outpace the brains functionality, we will be left with wealthy, privileged 200 year old mad dudes making bad decisions for a generation 2 centuries younger than them 🤣

Extended memory storage brain chips.....

Ask Elon.

[dmwalker 607]

9 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

keeping a body alive for 200 years will outpace the brains functionality

That's a whole interesting topic by itself. The latest estimate is that only up to 35% of the human brain is used at any time so one wonders what it could be capable of if the remaining 65% could be activated.

"the case of a Sheffield University student who had a measured IQ of 126 and passed a Mathematics Degree but who had hardly any discernible brain matter at all since his cortex was extremely reduced by hydrocephalus. However, it is believed that the subject's brain mass was not absent, but compacted into the small space available, possibly compressed to a greater density than regular brain tissue."

So, imagine a brain made from compacted tissue but the same size as a normal brain. What might it be capable of. Maybe the human circulatory system wouldn't be able to supply a sufficient blood flow or maybe the brain would be unable to dissipate the heat generated.

[goates 576]

1 hour ago, dmwalker said:

That's a whole interesting topic by itself. The latest estimate is that only up to 35% of the human brain is used at any time so one wonders what it could be capable of if the remaining 65% could be activated.

Our brains are already fully activated and we use pretty much of it everyday. The 10% and 35% myths are just that, myths.

https://www.thoughtco.com/percentage-of-human-brain-used-4159438

[dmwalker 607]

54 minutes ago, goates said:

Our brains are already fully activated and we use pretty much of it everyday. The 10% and 35% myths are just that, myths.

I see now that the 35% figure has been debunked but, in the article linked below, there isn't a simple answer.

“They found that almost a quarter—23 percent—of neurons in the visual brain didn’t respond to any visual stimuli.”

“Why would the brain have so many useless neurons? Isn’t this wasteful? Evolutionary biologists have devised an explanation for the phenomenon of neural dark matter on Darwinian grounds. The idea is that, over the course of generations, neurons that never respond are no longer subject to selective forces that would otherwise penalize owners of excess neurons. Following this logic, dark neurons can’t be disposed of. Dark neurons might be called upon if the brain is damaged. They could also come in handy over the course of evolution as species enter new habitats or face new challenges.”

“This pattern is by no means limited to the visual brain. A smaller but still impressive study recorded neurons in a part of the cortex responsible for hearing in rats. It found that only about 10 percent of neurons responded to sound stimuli.”

“But the magnitude of unresponsive neurons suggests that some substantial fraction of neurons is mostly quiet.”

“Evolutionary biologists have devised an explanation for the phenomenon of neural dark matter on Darwinian grounds.”

“Dark neurons might be called upon if the brain is damaged. They could also come in handy over the course of evolution as species enter new habitats or face new challenges.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/your-internet-brain/202102/you-cant-use-100-your-brain-and-s-good-thing 

[martin-w 3,238]

11 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

I always wondered about mental health and anti aging, keeping a body alive for 200 years will outpace the brains functionality, we will be left with wealthy, privileged 200 year old mad dudes making bad decisions for a generation 2 centuries younger than them 🤣

 

😁 Nope, don't think so. The brain deteriorates due to aging, if aging is switched off that wont occur. I don't think the brain is like a container that can be filled up.