How to live forever

[GhastlyLocke]

Here is where I would like to put any ideas on how you can live forever. The first idea that I would like to present is replacing all of your organs and bones with mechanical counterparts. If the brain was just by itself, how long would it last?

[insane_alien]

probably not much longer than 150 years. even then you would still have all the mental health problems associated with old age, senility for example. Personally unless i could keep reasonably fit(both physically and mentally) i would not want to live forever. actually come tho think of it if i was given the choice of living forever with reasonable(or even enhanced) fitness i would only take it up for maybe 500 years. i don't want to live forever as i would get bored, possibly bored enough to watch big brother.

[Sisyphus]

Why not replace the brain as well?

[AzurePhoenix]

then would it even be you? Simply a copy, no matter how complete.

[Sisyphus]

What do you mean, simply? Practically none of the matter that was in your body a year ago is still there. Does that mean you died, or that you're not the same person? Ultimately what you consider to be "you" is more or less arbitrary, so there never really is an answer to that question. But would it make you feel better if your brain was replaced a few hundred neurons at a time, while you're awake, so the consciousness is continuous?

[AzurePhoenix]

Good point. I was imagining the single complete download of sorts favored by fiction

[JohnB]

Here is where I would like to put any ideas on how you can live forever.

Don't die?

[MindOfChaos]

Don't die?

 

Good plan. Im gonna try that one.

[Democomputer]

"Don't die." I'm going to think about that one, but I am not sure if it will really work.

[JohnB]

"Don't die." I'm going to think about that one, but I am not sure if it will really work.

It's quite simple really. When Death knocks, tell him you're out.

[ecoli]

eat really healthy. All home-grown organics and all that.

 

You won't really live forever, but my goal is 120.

[-Demosthenes-]

What do you mean, simply? Practically none of the matter that was in your body a year ago is still there. Does that mean you died, or that you're not the same person? Ultimately what you consider to be "you" is more or less arbitrary, so there never really is an answer to that question. But would it make you feel better if your brain was replaced a few hundred neurons at a time, while you're awake, so the consciousness is continuous?

 

Except for your brain, which does not replace itself very often at all.

[padren]

I think bascule's idea is pretty cool, even though I wouldn't try it myself.

 

 

One thought, is nano-bots could probably repair brain tissue that gets old, if it is desired to maintain the biological brain. Imagine if we had these sorts of things that replaced pathway by pathway in the brain with something that could handle the same functions, but be capable of more, and not depend on biology to keep it alive.

 

Of course, would it replace you, or enhance you....since I have no rational way to understand what makes my consciousness my consciousness, I'll let myself be ruled by irrational fears of what may make me loose it.

[bluesteel]

Aubrey de Grey (Cambridge University) is working hard at pathways to 'immortality' by ending cellular degeneration due to aging with his Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) and Methuselah Mouse Prize (the X-Prize of life extension).

 

http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/sens

 

Is worth checking out

 

Julian

[mr d]

hello

 

religious question: how do you know your not already dead, this is puratory and you are here awaiting judgement.

 

partical question: why would you want to.

 

1) down loading of your electic consciousness on to a neural network.

 

2) if body needed download, clone body and grow till brain developement can handle replacing neural mind back into body. repeat as needed.

 

3) ingestion of nanobots to fight disease and repair damaged tissue.

 

4) gene manipulation to remove\repair that pesky end section that controls replication and eventually wares out causing cell to be reproduced incorrectly. natures way of getting rid of you.

 

strange thoughts

 

mr d

[ecoli]

hello

 

religious question: how do you know your not already dead' date=' this is puratory and you are here awaiting judgement.[/quote']

 

technically, you don't know. But I wouldn't recomend that you lose sleep thinking about it... it shouldn't effect how you lead your life.

[JohnB]

Another option would be to only listen to Pink Floyd played on pan pipes.

 

You may not live forever, but it will feel like it.

[JustStuit]

I don't think I would ever want to live forever in this world.

[starbug1]

I don't think I would ever want to live forever in this world.

 

that's kinda negative. what world then, if not earth?

[JustStuit]

that's kinda negative. what world then, if not earth?

none

[Sashatheman]

i have an interesting idea aswell that i thought of after reading this post.

 

We are fairly close to cloning humans, and doing it well. If we egnore all the ethical mumbo jumbo and actually concentrate on acheiving a fullproof way of cloning a humans.

 

Then also achieve a full proof way of tranfering a human brain to another body. similar to the experiments Dr. Robert White did with monkeys, could we possibly transfer our brain to a clone of ourselves, who has matured to a right age eg 16-18 years old, and in turn have all the fresh organs ( except brain)

[silkworm]

You're brain can stay healthy well in to old age as long as you keep it active and learn new things, and stay healthy.

 

I think if you constantly have sex and keep properly hydrated while eating fresh fruits and vegetables and staying intellectually stimulated while taking an 8 hour break to sleep every night, you'd live a long, wonderful life. But you couldn't smoke.

[Edtharan]

Then also achieve a full proof way of tranfering a human brain to another body.

technically this would be murder, as the new body will have developed it's own personality and therefore be its own person. An equivalent proposition is that you have an identical twin and you are dieing. If you could transfer your brain into their body you might live, but they would have to die to do this.

 

The ethics of treating people like this asside, it would not give everyone in the world immortallity. At best it could only give immortality to 1/2 the world as the other half is just there to be a new body for the first half of the population.

 

A better solution is to develop the ability to grow organs and cells for implantation in vats and then just use these to replace the ones that have worn out. Brain cells could be replaced in small batches, giving them time to intergrate into the curent brain.

 

If these organs and cells could be grown from adult stem cells then there would be less ethical objection to it, as there is not cloneing (and harvesting), no terminating of fetuses, etc. they are your cells from your body, which would also greatly reduce the risk of rejection of the transplants.

 

I also think that life suport systems that can be used to sustain almost any patient until these vat grown replacements are ready will also be needed, incases of major organ failure or major trauma.

 

Eventually we could survive almost anything, solong as the brain remains intact and you are able to get to a hospital in time to save at least that much.

[JohnB]

The ethics of treating people like this asside, it would not give everyone in the world immortallity. At best it could only give immortality to 1/2 the world as the other half is just there to be a new body for the first half of the population.

"You will fall upon one another like wolves, you will make what we did pale in comparison. The billions who live forever will be a testimony to my work, and the billions who are murdered to buy that immortality will be the continuance of my work .. not like us, you will become us. That's my monument, Commander."

-- Jha'dur [Deathwalker] in Babylon 5:"Deathwalker"

[Cloud]

that's kinda negative. what world then, if not earth?

Thats not negative. This world sucks.

 

(I did not say the above).

Secret to live longer - well if you look after yourself, seclude yourself from society, go live in the mountains like a sage and practice yoga 24-7, I would say 150 years max (for the human body).

 

So the answer to this question is RE-INCARNATION. Thats right folks. Thats the answer. Keep getting reborn - you'll live forever. Guaranteed.

(I just realised ~ this is a science forum, my bad).