Mook Endorses Life

So, a while back there were some questions raised by Layli in some commentary on a post by GeneThug on the coming age of techno-immortality. The gist of it was, "Hey, seriously-- do we really want to live forever? Never mind that-- do we actually want to live forever around the kind of people who would also want to live forever?" I failed to weigh in at the time, other than to thank GT up and down for the enlightening links (of which there were so many the reader might have been very much in need of some anti-aging therapies just to get through them. Snort!) Not sure why I didn't, but I would like to, now.

I'd like to live to be 1000 years old.

Here's why:

Our lives are, in fact, much too short. I mean, look at the potential within the least of us, this uber-critter known as the human being which, choose your own adventure: [God Himself created in His own image] and/or [reigns supreme in the 4 billion-year Earth Contest for specie supremacy]. Our brain is the most complicated thing in the entire universe, or so I'm told by smart people in my new-age science & math books with no science or math in them so that people like me (complete with said "brain") can understand them (or at least the first three pages that I actually read). Bottom line, no other creature on this planet exhibits anything remotely close to the intelligence we possess. But when it comes to longevity, we're beat out by a host of evolutionary slackers. Tortoises can live into their 170's, and Japanese koi fish living well past 200 years are commonplace. Rockfish, sturgeon, bivalves, whales, and possibly lobsters are said to live far longer, without showing any signs of aging. To do what? Float more? But the average lifespan for the being of infinite latency that is us? Something like 75-80 years.

Let's break it down. We are invested with boundless creative possibility, the entire cosmos is our canvass, but by the time we've figured out how to finger-paint with any flair we've already cashed in 1/15th of our allotted chips, assuming a life-span of say, 75 years. Obtaining (or at least having been offered) a remedial education, I mean really basic math and language, requires handing over a full 1/5th of our stash to the deadly dealer. College? Graduate school? Good luck without it-- if you finish it all on time, you've now blown a third of your life just getting ready to live. Now squeeze finding a mate, raising a family, mastering your profession, figuring out how to make some money, developing your talents, seeing some of the world you live in, figuring out how to be happy in it, and accomplishing something of worth to be remembered by into the remaining 50 years. Oh, and 20 of those years gets escrowed to sleeping and pooping. Good luck.

Okay, yes-- amazingly, there is time to do all or much of that in 75 years. Of course. One can live a very full and exciting life in even a few decades. This fact in and of itself is a testament to the miracle that is humanity. And sure, you could live past the age of 75, and if you do-- great, good for you, bonus-- except that you'll be OLD. Your bowels will lock up, your bones will become brittle, your hearing, sight, and sense of wonder will cloud, hair will grow in unpleasant places, parts you didn't even know you had will hurt, sex will become a distant memory, and life will center around Bob Barker. Go for it-- have fun.

The point is, you could do so much more, if only you had the time and the vitality to go with it. And who likes deadlines? Maybe the reason life can be so stressful is because we all feel so rushed to accomplish all these very basic things before our sands come a' tumbling down. Many of us discover fascinating inventive personal propensities along the way that never get explored-- no time. Never mind your talents-- think of all the cool things you could learn to do by shear determination and perseverance if you only had an extra couple hundred years to blow. You could carve your own David, write and perform all the parts in your gorgeous symphonies, recite breath-taking poetry in dozens of languages, cure cancer, win the White House in 2542, travel to distant planets in ships engineered by your design-- there's no end to the possibilities when there's no end.

There again, I don't think I'd want to live in this world forever. I do happen to believe in an afterlife, and I'd like to check it out. I hear good things. If reincarnation's the deal, than maybe taking a chance on a fresh new start might get tempting after 1000 years or so of staring at Mook in the mirror. And if the grave is really the end, then at least I would have had the time to do something really worthwhile for the world before being buried in it. Anyways, chances are I'd end up there eventually, if only by accident. And if that's the case, why succumb prematurely?

1000 seems like a nice round number. Assuming 75 years for me as is, given my diet and inclination to exercise, which are both lacking-- then 1000 years would give me 10 times that long to accomplish success in my pursuits and pleasures, plus an extra 250 years just to fart around. Sounds about right. And heck-- if at any point in between I decide I've had enough-- then I'm free to go. Vice versa-- if I get there and want to stay, I've got options.

Of course, I haven't explored the really interesting socio-economic/environmental impacts of an age-defying populace here. This piece is already plenty long, and the issue of "would I even want to not die naturally" seems to be enough to tackle for most. But there's certainly much to explore in another post. It's funny-- I wonder if there have been any serious polls out there on how many Americans (or any other large sample) would opt for immortality if they could? Google turned up nothing, but I didn't look that hard. I really am curious to know what you all think on this matter. Alright, that settles it-- I'll look into setting up my own poll here on the Mookblog, and you can answer the question for yourselves.

Cheerio, and to your health!

Mooks