> Everything dies, or breaks down, or decays. That's just how the universe works.
Sure, that's entropy, but that's only necessarily true at the level of the whole system, energy inputs can and do reduce local entropy.
> The best you'll get is extended life
Sounds good, let's start there. 'True' immortality may or may not be a pipe dream, but it doesn't matter if it is. Almost nobody is talking about living absolutely forever, but looking at ways in which greater longevity can be achieved. I'd bite your hand off for another couple of decades on top of whatever my current 'allocation' might be, I don't give a crap if we've "conquered death" or not, but if we can find ways to give the average person more time, that seems like a win.
> Better that those resources go to something more productive, like healthcare.
How is this not healthcare?
There seems to be this backlash against any talk of life extension, that other things matter more, that it's somehow frivolous, or just morally wrong to seek to live longer. It feels to me entirely arbitrary as we already use all sorts of interventions to help people live longer, and to be healthier for more of that time. This is good and wise and virtuous. But some folks seem to have this weird switch in their heads when extending life gets mentioned, that suddenly they're uncomfortable and the whole thing is not to be discussed by preference.
And I wonder if it's because they don't want to admit to themselves or others that they are terrified, but have rationalised away their fear as "meant to be, can't be changed". Such talk of extension makes them uncomfortable.
Sure, that's entropy, but that's only necessarily true at the level of the whole system, energy inputs can and do reduce local entropy.
> The best you'll get is extended life
Sounds good, let's start there. 'True' immortality may or may not be a pipe dream, but it doesn't matter if it is. Almost nobody is talking about living absolutely forever, but looking at ways in which greater longevity can be achieved. I'd bite your hand off for another couple of decades on top of whatever my current 'allocation' might be, I don't give a crap if we've "conquered death" or not, but if we can find ways to give the average person more time, that seems like a win.
> Better that those resources go to something more productive, like healthcare.
How is this not healthcare?
There seems to be this backlash against any talk of life extension, that other things matter more, that it's somehow frivolous, or just morally wrong to seek to live longer. It feels to me entirely arbitrary as we already use all sorts of interventions to help people live longer, and to be healthier for more of that time. This is good and wise and virtuous. But some folks seem to have this weird switch in their heads when extending life gets mentioned, that suddenly they're uncomfortable and the whole thing is not to be discussed by preference.
And I wonder if it's because they don't want to admit to themselves or others that they are terrified, but have rationalised away their fear as "meant to be, can't be changed". Such talk of extension makes them uncomfortable.