What if... there were immortals? - Page 3

Chewbaccus · 08-22-2003, 12:33 PM

Unemployment, high school, E3, college...you know how it is, man.

/me offers thanks to the LAN of Pitt-Greensburg, freeing me from my dial-up hell and restoring me to my old home at the Cellar.

xoxoxoBruce · 08-22-2003, 05:16 PM

Quote:

This would result in a change of the development pattern from the gradual increasing slope we have now as finite beings, to a period of stagnation interspersed with flurries of advancement whenever one immortal should meet his end - it would probably develop almost into a religious tradition, honoring the fallen with an improvement in the way the world is.

Not so sure, Chew. There is the go getters that can't sit still and us procrastinators that can. I'm not so sure "the gene" would change those traits.

Chewbaccus · 08-23-2003, 12:27 AM

Well, immortality would breed procrastination, I would think. I mean, why not say "Eh, I'll do it tomorrow" when there's an infinite amount of them?

xoxoxoBruce · 08-23-2003, 12:49 AM

I could argue that, but since I'm immoral, I've got plenty of time.
What? Er....immortal? Um......nevermind...

Torrere · 08-25-2003, 01:30 PM

I hadn't realized that Ceasar was blamed for the burning of the library of Alexandria too -- I had thought that that was attributed to Christians much later on, that didn't like Hypatia.

Chewbaccus · 08-25-2003, 07:44 PM

I never heard about Christians and Hypatia. The Caesar thing, I heard as I was channel-cruising and landed on History Channel.

Ahh, History Channel. An insomniacal geek's best friend.

lumberjim · 11-22-2003, 03:56 PM

i think they would all be sent on deep space missions. think about it

Razorfish · 11-30-2003, 02:16 AM

The concept of an immortal race has been brought up in a number of books with some success. Anyone who has read the Lord of the Rings series remebers the Elves. An immortal race that was both wise and highly advanced. They isolated themselves from other races and thrived in doing so. Major issues came up when one of their own kind (Arawen) fell in love with a mortal (Aragorn). Understandably, Lord of the Rings is a work of complete fiction, but it does bring up some good points.

Anyway the point I'm trying to make is that an immortal race would most definitely see the need to isolate itself from the rest of humanity. They would gain great wisdom through the abilty to watch events for all time but they would also view mortals as fleeting moments in time. Mortals, including family members and friends, would constantly be passing while they lived on. I suppose this could swing both ways: one could become very bitter and contemptuous or very wise and affluent.

By living together with other immortals in a unique society there would probably be less angry and contemptuous immortals and more wise and learned immortals. When you have forever to work on a problem you know it will be solved eventually (not to mention the unique view on life immortality gives you). Maybe the immortals wouldn't be more technologically advanced then mortals but they sure would rule in thought and philosophy.

The idea that they would see a death among their own kind as a big deal is interesting but not probable. The immortals may see everything but themselves as decaying but the wisdom gained through hudreds of years of life would probably teach them that nothing is immune to destruction.

In summery, I believe that immortals living among us would do the same thing that mortals do: Seek out those like them, live together, and make a unique community.

FileNotFound · 12-01-2003, 08:29 AM

Immortality used to interest me and seemed like a "desired" position for the human race.

Yet Asimov has a very interesting piece on it in his Caves of Steel series.

His idea is that the reason humans have achived so much as individuals and are so willing to share our knowledge is in our short lives.

We want to do as much as possible with out short lives.

Yet we know that out lives are not long enough to fully complete our goals.

So we willingly share it with others.

We work hard on our goals because of limited time.

In an immortal world, you'd have all the time in the world to achieve your goal, you'd be able to do it yourself, even if it took you a million years.

Salvatore expressed very much the same idea, but since he wrote then down long after Asimov, the credit goes to Asimov...

The fact is that it is our mortality that makes us human. If we were immortal we'd not be the same people.

I for one enjoy being a mortal Atheist, I could use another hundreed years, but immortality would suck the fun out of life.

08-22-2003, 12:33 PM	#31
Chewbaccus Freethinker/booter Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 523	Unemployment, high school, E3, college...you know how it is, man. /me offers thanks to the LAN of Pitt-Greensburg, freeing me from my dial-up hell and restoring me to my old home at the Cellar. __________________ Like the wise man said: Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

08-23-2003, 12:27 AM	#33
Chewbaccus Freethinker/booter Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 523	Well, immortality would breed procrastination, I would think. I mean, why not say "Eh, I'll do it tomorrow" when there's an infinite amount of them? __________________ Like the wise man said: Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

08-23-2003, 12:49 AM	#34
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I could argue that, but since I'm immoral, I've got plenty of time. What? Er....immortal? Um......nevermind... __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

08-25-2003, 07:44 PM	#36
Chewbaccus Freethinker/booter Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 523	I never heard about Christians and Hypatia. The Caesar thing, I heard as I was channel-cruising and landed on History Channel. Ahh, History Channel. An insomniacal geek's best friend. __________________ Like the wise man said: Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

11-22-2003, 03:56 PM	#37
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	i think they would all be sent on deep space missions. think about it __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

08-25-2003, 01:30 PM	#35
Torrere a real smartass Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 1,121	I hadn't realized that Ceasar was blamed for the burning of the library of Alexandria too -- I had thought that that was attributed to Christians much later on, that didn't like Hypatia.

11-30-2003, 02:16 AM	#38
Razorfish Superhero Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New England Posts: 104	The concept of an immortal race has been brought up in a number of books with some success. Anyone who has read the Lord of the Rings series remebers the Elves. An immortal race that was both wise and highly advanced. They isolated themselves from other races and thrived in doing so. Major issues came up when one of their own kind (Arawen) fell in love with a mortal (Aragorn). Understandably, Lord of the Rings is a work of complete fiction, but it does bring up some good points. Anyway the point I'm trying to make is that an immortal race would most definitely see the need to isolate itself from the rest of humanity. They would gain great wisdom through the abilty to watch events for all time but they would also view mortals as fleeting moments in time. Mortals, including family members and friends, would constantly be passing while they lived on. I suppose this could swing both ways: one could become very bitter and contemptuous or very wise and affluent. By living together with other immortals in a unique society there would probably be less angry and contemptuous immortals and more wise and learned immortals. When you have forever to work on a problem you know it will be solved eventually (not to mention the unique view on life immortality gives you). Maybe the immortals wouldn't be more technologically advanced then mortals but they sure would rule in thought and philosophy. The idea that they would see a death among their own kind as a big deal is interesting but not probable. The immortals may see everything but themselves as decaying but the wisdom gained through hudreds of years of life would probably teach them that nothing is immune to destruction. In summery, I believe that immortals living among us would do the same thing that mortals do: Seek out those like them, live together, and make a unique community. __________________ Mostly lurking

12-01-2003, 08:29 AM	#39
FileNotFound Intouch with his inner sheep rider. Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 603	Immortality used to interest me and seemed like a "desired" position for the human race. Yet Asimov has a very interesting piece on it in his Caves of Steel series. His idea is that the reason humans have achived so much as individuals and are so willing to share our knowledge is in our short lives. We want to do as much as possible with out short lives. Yet we know that out lives are not long enough to fully complete our goals. So we willingly share it with others. We work hard on our goals because of limited time. In an immortal world, you'd have all the time in the world to achieve your goal, you'd be able to do it yourself, even if it took you a million years. Salvatore expressed very much the same idea, but since he wrote then down long after Asimov, the credit goes to Asimov... The fact is that it is our mortality that makes us human. If we were immortal we'd not be the same people. I for one enjoy being a mortal Atheist, I could use another hundreed years, but immortality would suck the fun out of life. __________________ This is a rat. \|This is a hamster.\| This is a chipmunk.\| This is a Sheep Rider.

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