41–49 of 49 posts
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Prey species are very aware of their own death.
Found the rabbit. But seriously they aren't aware of death they just act based on evolutionary impulses that in the past made their ancestors not die. A prey creature has zero cognition of its own death.
SciFi author Ian Banks 's culture series explores a future civilization where people is potentially immortal but in that society it happens that lots of people lives 150 / 200 or 300 years an then they choose self termination.
Another interesting treatment of "immortality" in fiction is the Chasm City/Glitter Band/Yellowstone society from Alastair Reynolds' novels. Rather than achieving true immortality through some one-off miracle pill a la Golden Age pulps, "immortality" is a sequence of stopgaps - one life-extension therapy gives an individual enough time for science to advance to the point where it comes up with another extension. Rins…
It's interesting to note that he also wrote some about the style of immortality described by Alastair Reynold's and the cheap immortality of his "Known Universe/Ringworld" novels is after that time period in which longevity has become cheap, commoditized, and easily affordable by all.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another interesting treatment of "immortality" in fiction is the Chasm City/Glitter Band/Yellowstone society from Alastair Reynolds' novels. Rather than achieving true immortality through some one-off miracle pill a la Golden Age pulps, "immortality" is a sequence of stopgaps - one life-extension therapy gives an individual enough time for science to advance to the point where it comes up with another extension. Rins…
There is also the Niven take on cheap immortality where people just become incredibly BORED with life after a few hundreds years, reinventions, and "mid-life" crises. Inevitably they turn to increasingly extreme pursuits as they age and run out of lifestyles to try and an average life expectancy develops organically. It's interesting to note that he also wrote some about the style of immortality described by Alastair…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Found the rabbit. But seriously they aren't aware of death they just act based on evolutionary impulses that in the past made their ancestors not die. A prey creature has zero cognition of its own death.
">they just act based on evolutionary impulses that in the past made their ancestors not die." That's exactly what we do also. "> A prey creature has zero cognition of its own death. " Well, they look scared to me, the simplest explanation is that they feel the same way that us. Why to add anything else to the simplest explanation? In order we can feel superior to them? Sounds like chauvinism to me. Or in order we do…
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Found the rabbit. But seriously they aren't aware of death they just act based on evolutionary impulses that in the past made their ancestors not die. A prey creature has zero cognition of its own death.
You obviously have no idea if the creature has cognition of death and are simply speculating.
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Found the rabbit. But seriously they aren't aware of death they just act based on evolutionary impulses that in the past made their ancestors not die. A prey creature has zero cognition of its own death.
Without knowing the perspective of the animal how can you make that definitive of a statement?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another interesting treatment of "immortality" in fiction is the Chasm City/Glitter Band/Yellowstone society from Alastair Reynolds' novels. Rather than achieving true immortality through some one-off miracle pill a la Golden Age pulps, "immortality" is a sequence of stopgaps - one life-extension therapy gives an individual enough time for science to advance to the point where it comes up with another extension. Rins…
There is also the Niven take on cheap immortality where people just become incredibly BORED with life after a few hundreds years, reinventions, and "mid-life" crises. Inevitably they turn to increasingly extreme pursuits as they age and run out of lifestyles to try and an average life expectancy develops organically. It's interesting to note that he also wrote some about the style of immortality described by Alastair…
Most people don't have sufficient savings to last 5 years after they retire.