Live data from Hacker News

Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

nationalgeographic.com

91–100 of 154 posts

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if people really would ossify after hundreds of years or eventually learn to be hyper-adaptable. Current centenarians are a bad example, because their brains and bodies are falling apart. Some sci fi suggests that the fact of our living and dying in just one century means we die as immature children. Maybe it takes a thousand years or ten thousand years to “know thyself” to any useful degree.

In a rather unpopular opinion, I think most people are more of a product of their environments than we like to believe. If you look at the rate at which social change happens and public opinion about certain topics, it happens much faster than new generations replace the old. A good example of this is with same-sex marriage. Opinion changed rapidly and I'm sure many have even forgot all the things said before Obergef…

>A good example of this is with same-sex marriage. Opinion changed rapidly and I'm sure many have even forgot all the things said before Obergefell v. Hodges.

Do you live on one of the US coasts? Because if so, you are probably right - before Obergefell, most people didn't care about your private life and after Obergefell it could all finally be out in the open. But in a big chunk of this country, it really doesn't matter what the courts decided because there is major political and religious pressure that says that ain't ok. Don't pretend for a moment that a wide swath of states wouldn't send us straight back to 1863 if they could.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#93
post #61
post #26

> Buffalofish can go decades between successful reproductions because they require very specific environmental conditions—most of which are still unknown—to procreate. That’s why the fish evolved to live so long: It’s an evolutionary adaptation to account for long periods without breeding, according to Lackmann. This reminds me of "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom [1]. Senescence is engraved in our bra…

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

Nit, there is RD - real death in the altered carbon universe. Happens when an individual's cortical stack is destroyed.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#96
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

This is the premise of In Time (film) too.

I've heard that "In Time" was ripped off from "Repent Harlequin Said The Tictockman" (https://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/cst1010/chs/ellison.html). It's worth the 5 minutes it should take to read it, even if you take 6 ;)

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#98
post #55
post #7

> In one study, bigmouth buffalo had stronger immune systems than younger fish. Or maybe only fishes with a stronger immune system get older ?

You may be into something. I’ve been on the fish keeping hobby for decades and right now the number 1 cause of mortality of captive fish is immune system overload.

what does immune system overload mean as you've observed through fish keeping

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#99
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Altered Carbon brought up the most chilling view of a world without death. In that exploration only the rich are immortal, because the poor can’t afford immortality. Someone being rich for hundreds of years will only cement their their power, position, and their perspective. How do we feel if Rockefeller were still alive and powerful? What if our old kings never died? If any of them had a sexual perversion, w…

I wonder if people really would ossify after hundreds of years or eventually learn to be hyper-adaptable. Current centenarians are a bad example, because their brains and bodies are falling apart. Some sci fi suggests that the fact of our living and dying in just one century means we die as immature children. Maybe it takes a thousand years or ten thousand years to “know thyself” to any useful degree.

People definitely ossify, but certain drugs encourage neuroplasticity. I don't think it's on the scale that would be meaningful in this context though.
Post reply on HN