X-Message-Number: 20742 Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 00:56:33 +1100 From: Philip Rhoades <> Subject: CAN AN IMMORTALIST HAVE A LIFE? References: <> People, A short essay for a future web page. R&LL, Phil. CAN AN IMMORTALIST HAVE A LIFE? I want to live forever. A simple enough desire you might think, not very creative but genuine. Lots of people who wanted to live forever, didn't. Is that why I am upset? Am I upset because my earnest desire is not attainable? No, I am upset because it is not possible YET. It almost certainly will be possible in some decades but not just yet. So what is a dedicated immortalist to do? We are on a cusp in history between a very long period of having no choice in the death stakes and another period, not so far away now, where aging and death will be a personal option. This is what I am upset about - I may not make it to that point in time. At 50 (I am surprised I made it this far), with the current state of health and taking into account the family genes etc, I could reasonably expect to last another 35 years or so. So if can avoid going under the proverbial bus and if the Americans don't get us all killed and if there is no nuclear war or global environmental catastrophe, I will probably be a few years short of where I need to be. What can be done? The only option is Cryonics - freeze me when I'm dead, mate. So I signed up. However, The Freezer is the last option, only for use after I've run out of all the other death-postponing tricks e.g. eating/sleeping right, no drinking/smoking, food supplements, regular exercise, gene therapy, stem-cell treatments, classical music, reading all the life extension stuff, anti-war demos etc. This sounds like a good plan, I hear you say, even if I wasn't Freezer bound. I'm sure you would be right too. Unfortunately there are a couple of minor snags in my master plan. Firstly, according to my part-time partner (full-time is too much hard work) I am full of internal contradictions and she says I am bordering on obsessive compulsive disorder. Secondly, because we haven't arrived at nano-tech nirvana yet, we immortalists spend lots of time working out how to stay alive long enough so that we can make it to the time when all the aging and dying problems have been solved. With respect to the First Snag: Unlike when I was 20 and already knew that I was immortal, prescient, infallible and insanely attractive to women (no matter what evidence there was to the contrary) now I will admit to some personality deficiencies. I work strange (IT) hours; I slave over a hot computer all night; I watch Star Trek and then channel-flick until the sun comes up; I don't eat much junk food but I should eat more vegies and fruit; I have a fridge full of food supplements that I forget to take most of the time; I am burnt out by the weekend and sleep for most of it; my partner calls me a "Westie" made good who is camping in a luxury unit. Okay, so the road to immortalism is littered with baked bean tins. With respect to the Second Snag and ignoring the First Snag: Extending one's current life is not easy. You need to keep up with all the different research that is going on in all sorts of different areas that affect aging. Like nutrition advice, there is conflicting scientific evidence about what we should be doing. You need to read a lot, post lots of emails on appropriate mailing lists, persuade family and friends to join the cause while still working to pay the rent and studying etc. The end result of Snags One and Two is that you end up being very boring because you don't do much of what normal people call "fun" i.e. You don't have a life. Now it is a distinct possibility that after attempting to spend the next 35 years trying to delay the unpleasant moment, that I might still go under the proverbial bus or meet my demise in some other (irretrievable) way and therefore I will seemingly have wasted the time that I could have spent partying. So should I forget about all this immortality nonsense and just start partying? It is definitely a gamble. Live now or live later, what to do, what to do. If I had just been born about four decades later I would be in a much better position - I think. I reckon kids of today, assuming we can survive the previously mentioned world problems should be able to live to 120 at least. Maybe I will just post another note to Cryonet -- Philip Rhoades Pricom Pty Limited (ACN 003 252 275) GPO Box 3411 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia Mobile: +61:0411-185-652 Fax: +61:2:8923-5363 E-mail: Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=20742