- What If ... ❓

JamesCalifornia

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~ Imagine if you will that human beings did not die. As a result of scientific breakthrough our DNA and cells continued to replicate perfectly forever. No degenerative disease, cancer, organ failure. Our body would age only to 25 years and stop - Older people would rejuvenate back to that age. We could be killed by accident, fire, falls, suicide etc. However death by "old age" would no longer occur.
How would our world change ... ? :think:´
 
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JamesCalifornia

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Oh my, James. Everything would change! There would not be enough room on planet Earth for all the population for one thing.
~ Perhaps every birth would then be special to everyone ...
 

Maria Bayote

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That would be a bit scary and nice at the same time.

But people would probably ultimately fight for food, for space, even for air to breathe.
 
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JamesCalifornia

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But people would probably ultimately fight for food, for space, even for air to breathe.
~ Hopefully people would become far more intelligent as they lived longer and control the population . ( like we do with our cats )
 

Jem

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Well first, even with population control, our planet would eventually become a wasteland if we did not also have the advanced technology to make and regenerate the resources necessary for life, without killing the planet in the process.
We would also hopefully have developed the technology to travel the universe and populate other planets or at least live out of our atmosphere. (think WALL-E), otherwise, we would eventually be packed like sardines on this planet, because people will still want children.
Maybe there would also be those who choose to take their life after say 200 years, out of sheer boredom of continuing to live. That would have to be something that is no longer seen as a bad thing (suicide), but more of a selfless act to allow prosperity and growth. "Making room for the new generation." And if our fear of death, disease and old age is gone, death after a long full life will not be a sad thing anymore, our perception of death will change dramatically.

You know there are so many things to consider, that I could write a novel, but I'll wait for others to post.
 

denice

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I wonder if that instinctual need to have children would decrease and eventually fade away. If it didn't we would be in trouble really quickly. If we quit having children then there would be no expansion of the gene pool, I wonder if that means we as a species would eventually become stagnant.
 

Graceful-Lily

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I know I'd live my life to the fullest. As of right now, the thought of death already plauges my mind. It alters my life choices and decisions because I keep thinking, "What if I don't have time for this?"

So, if we could live without the fear of getting older, I'd do all the things I want to do. For example, I want to go to school for a lot of things but because I only have so much time to pick a career and start working on it, if we lived "forever", I would definitely go to college for lots of things. I'd learn dance, engineering, study science more indepth, get more serious about music.

I also feel like if we lived forever, our existences would have more meaning. I'm just the by-product of my parents union. I doubt I'll become super successful in life. Then, when I am old, I will die. The end. If I had 200 more years to worry about, my existence would have more meaning because that's extra time to make the lives around me better. Extra time to change the world I guess... There's so much more that can be achieved if we all had more time.

This goes for those who have already made an impact on the world in a big way. If they were around for longer, there is so much more they could do for our planet.
 

maggiedemi

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You said we could still die by accident, fire, poisonous snakes? so I would still have all my fears about dying. I would prefer it if we never die for any reason. If that happened, I would be free from all my fears. I would definitely go to college and become wealthy. Then I would just live like I've always wanted to, and do all the things I've always wanted to do. I would definitely have more cats! And probably a llama. And definitely a couple human babies!
 

Kieka

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~ Imagine if you will that human beings did not die. As a result of scientific breakthrough our DNA and cells continued to replicate perfectly forever. No degenerative disease, cancer, organ failure. Our body would age only to 25 years and stop - Older people would rejuvenate back to that age. We could be killed by accident, fire, falls, suicide etc. However death by "old age" would no longer occur.
How would our world change ... ? :think:´
There is a YA series with this premise. The Arc of the Scythe, Arc of a Scythe Series | Neal Shusterman, which explores a future where illness and death have been conquered. Even death by accident isn't permanent as science allows for the regeneration of any damage (except fire). An AI has taken over managing the day to day functions of humanity too so hunger, pollution and poverty are a thing of the past.

For being a YA series, it really is gripping. I am waiting anxiously for the conclusion to the series this November. The author also has one where America had a second civil war over abortion and the "solution" that comes up.

As for the non-fictional literature aspect. I don't think our minds are made for living past a human lifespan. Even if the body could be repaired, what kind of psychological impact would eternal life have? I'd like to think we'd become a more peaceful society. But I think you'd just end up with corruption running rampant and life would mean less. Part of what makes life so intense is it is so short and we all know it could end at any time. We are never promised tomorrow so you have to live for today; if we are promised tomorrow we'd probably become workaholics to save money for dreams that just never come true. Overpopulation would run rampant as people have more children then they know what to do with. The rich would just get richer and poor would become poorer.
 

Willowy

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Well, politicians would certainly have to think about things that they currently dismiss as the future's problem. That might be helpful.

I wonder how long the average lifespan would be if people could still die by accidents. How long can you go without having a fatal accident? Probably not that long.

But realistically, powerful people would just make it legal to kill less powerful people. For the good of society, etc.
 

Kieka

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If nothing could kill us, then we could just live on other planets.
Not necessarily. We haven't successfully established even an orbital long term livable community. We haven't built structures on the moon. We haven't sent humans to other planets. The technology might just not he there yet OR we might not have the ability. There hasn't been a human fetus formed in space, what if fetuses need planetary gravity to form properly. Terraforming is science fiction, something we think can be done but hasn't been done on a large scale on a planet that is vastly different from our own. So many things can go wrong in space where there are no second chances and no plan B. What if humanity gets disheartened after multiple failed attempts and stops trying? That's what happened in the aforementioned book, when nothing could kill you as long as your remains could get to a revival center a death in space was a final death. Enough people truly died trying to settle Mars that they gave up the idea out of fear of dying. After all, who wants to volunteer for what amounts to a suicide mission when staying home means living forever?

While most people think developing colonies off world is a when statement instead of an if statement; we can't know that for sure. Especially with the current climate towards science and technological developments and current interest in space there is no guarantee that it would ever happen. I have gone to the NASA JPL open house the last several years and they are currently focused more on imagining the universe and how to better mointior the health or our own planet.
 

tabbysia

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Oh my, James. Everything would change! There would not be enough room on planet Earth for all the population for one thing.
In James' scenario, people would continue to die for every other reason except old age though, so it could balance things out a little. Accidents, such as car crashes, drownings, drug overdoses, etc., would continue to happen. Also, with as violent as our world is becoming, a lot of people would continue to die due to murder. Crimes such as mass shootings have become the norm, and it doesn't seem likely to change. Everytime I am in a public place, I always think of where I would hide if a person with a gun stormed in and am aware of all of the exits. When I am subbing at school, I make sure to keep the classroom door closed and locked (most schools require it) and make a mental note of the best place to hide the children.

I do like the idea of being young again, starting over, and having all of the time in the world to learn from mistakes and make better choices. There are a lot of things I would change in my life. It is halfway over, and I have wasted a lot of time and missed out on a lot of opportunities. Being able to turn back time would be a gift.
 
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