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Your Life

some1else.github.io

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Re: Your Life

#101

Post by CullingTheHerd »

fizixer wrote: post #76
abootstrapper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you consider aging and death in old age as a negative, perhaps you should reconsider your philosophy, instead of chasing immortality.

If you believe getting old, and sick, and miserable, and then dying, is good or natural or the way it is supposed to be, then I respectfully disagree with you [0]. [0] https://carcinisation.com/2014/07/13/an-anti-deathist-f-a-q/...

eventually even atoms will stop spinning. i think what the commenter was getting at, is that, immortality is impossible, and so finding meaning in a life that must eventually end, is still important.

also, your argument, red herring. the commenter didn't say, let's all be happy that old age is crap. at all. that was you. you said that. why? idk.

Re: Your Life

#102

Post by chatmasta »

Roritharr wrote: post #75
abootstrapper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you consider aging and death in old age as a negative, perhaps you should reconsider your philosophy, instead of chasing immortality.

Without having too much hope for it, it should be noted that the first one who catches immortality will make your post look very condescending and outright damaging to progress.

They'll have plenty of time to dig through old hacker news comments!

Re: Your Life

#103

Post by CullingTheHerd »

fizixer wrote: post #71

Every time an existential post is made here, I have to remind people: As technologists you guys should have a little more confidence/faith/whatever in the progress we're making every passing day, than is evident from the tone of most of the comments here. Smart-phones, social media, startups, IPOs, these are huge blind spots of technology. It makes you think that's all there is to it. Technology is much more than tha…

even if we accomplish all this and more, we have still not answered the question, "what is the 'good life'?" because that is not a technical question. we can put off death. we can increase quality of life during the later years of life. and this is important and beneficial work. but, nothing in this work intrinsically speaks to existential issues we face. we may use these technologies as a paradigm through which to attempt to grapple with existential issues, but none of these issues can only be 'solved' with the correct technical tools.

so when your comment begins: "Every time an existential post is made here, I have to remind people:"

I read that as a global claim (global claims are almost never true) and arrogant (in that you "have to remind people", "thank you for reminding us! what would we do without you!")

Re: Your Life

#104

Post by goblin89 »

greggman wrote: post #77

There was this piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo http://i.imgur.com/6uVRUff.jpg It shows 100 years of days with someone's life highlighted. Kind of sobering. I want to be believe like fizixer but it's hard to notice any medical changes. I'm 50, what's changed since I was born? I'm no a doctor so I have no idea. Sure I know we've got CRISPR and we've mapped the genome but where are the actual changes? Frie…

> There was this piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

> http://i.imgur.com/6uVRUff.jpg

> It shows 100 years of days with someone's life highlighted.

I wonder what do the darker-colored days stand for.

Thanks for sharing this shot.

Re: Your Life

#106

Post by yks »

reitanqild wrote: post #91
D-Coder wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you consider aging and death in old age as a _positive_, well, go for it.

Well. I think it has been a good thing so far. Considering who tends to get access to new things first the ones that would still be living would most likely not be the nicest men and women of all times but rather the greediest.

Exactly.

I don't understand this popular craving of immortality. If you look at the current society and add immortality, you just get horrific dystopian future, where by the way majority of the world is still mortal just enslaved by power-hungry immortal overlords.

Right now however sadistic regimes are, we still know that Stalins/Kim Jong Uns of the day will die and there is at least hope.

In currently(!) non-sadistic regimes we have inequality issue where richer just get richer and poor get poorer, but at least money can't be taken to the grave, how is it good to eliminate the grave?

And the reasons people usually give for immortality are either outright egotistical "I don't want to die" or a bit veiled "my grandpa/mother/Steve Jobs was a golden person, I wish they still were around".

Well, kudos to him/her, but I take your dead grandpa over suffering of the millions, thanks.

The same for your fear of death, deal with it.

There are some nuances though:

1. We definitely should work on non-suffering in old ages.

2. This grim outlook applies only if there is no other relevant technological revolution happening at the same time. For instance, if we have free nano-machines making everything out of thin air, hierarchy of the society will already alter enough as to allow immortality being thrown into the mix.

Re: Your Life

#107

Post by duaneb »

ams6110 wrote: post #98
duaneb wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medical expenses only accelerate if you attempt to fend off death. There is no need for this with assisted suicide laws.

There is no need for this even without assisted suicide laws.

Choosing between months of dying painfully and years of dying perhaps marginally less painfully is not a choice anyone should have to make.

Re: Your Life

#108

Post by taneq »

CullingTheHerd wrote: post #103
fizixer wrote: post #71

Every time an existential post is made here, I have to remind people: As technologists you guys should have a little more confidence/faith/whatever in the progress we're making every passing day, than is evident from the tone of most of the comments here. Smart-phones, social media, startups, IPOs, these are huge blind spots of technology. It makes you think that's all there is to it. Technology is much more than tha…

even if we accomplish all this and more, we have still not answered the question, "what is the 'good life'?" because that is not a technical question. we can put off death. we can increase quality of life during the later years of life. and this is important and beneficial work. but, nothing in this work intrinsically speaks to existential issues we face. we may use these technologies as a paradigm through which to a…

Existential issues are hard. You know what? I'd like a little extra time to work on them.

Re: Your Life

#109

Post by CullingTheHerd »

taneq wrote: post #108
CullingTheHerd wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

even if we accomplish all this and more, we have still not answered the question, "what is the 'good life'?" because that is not a technical question. we can put off death. we can increase quality of life during the later years of life. and this is important and beneficial work. but, nothing in this work intrinsically speaks to existential issues we face. we may use these technologies as a paradigm through which to a…

Existential issues are hard. You know what? I'd like a little extra time to work on them.

Me too. But, again, not the point the commenter was making. Just, noise.
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