Moog wrote:
If we engineered ourselves into beings of super longevity, would we feel more compelled to create changes in our own lifetimes, or would we get stuck in longer ruts of stagnation?
Empires that rise, then rise, then plateau, then rise, then plateau, then fall?
I imagine that more life wouldn't erase fear of death. I imagine if it would actually make death seem weirder and harder to deal with, unless the culture dealt with it in a useful way.
That's an interesting point. I think you're probably right about it making death seem weirder and harder to deal with. As for the question of whether people would produce more changes in their own lifetimes--I would hypothesize that societies would change more slowly, since people become stuck in their ways and fear change. At the same time, though, I would expect things which are bad for the future of humanity and the environment (accruing trillions of dollars of debt, using up all the world's oil and forests, etc) to decrease, as these problems would seem more personally relevant to people.
Lace-Bane wrote:
I can't really think of why I would want to live to a 100

. The only reason I can think that I would want to grow that old was if I was married and my wife was reaching that age. I'd want to out live her so I could make sure she was safe, and when she passed, I could pass on too. Otherwise, I don't really think I'd care to see how the world changes... I'm sure I won't like the changes, so it seems rather pointless

.
^_^ That is very sweet. And I agree. I don't expect to like the path humanity will take, and I'd rather not be stuck on their road. I also don't think I get enough out of life to want to stick around for quite that long, and would prefer to die healthy, which is less likely at that age.
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"A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it."