Curing Death
Jared Kushner, husband of Donald Trump's beloved daughter Ivanka, causally said something about "Immortality" in an interview that freaked so many people out. I've since seen people, both on the political left and right, going crazy on social media about this. As for me, I thought absolutely nothing of it when I saw the interview.
The truth is, most people don't realise how close to immortality we are. That's because most people are not up to date on the subject. Personally, I'm obsessed with fringe science and I'm constantly reading articles and books about things happening on the edge of current possibilities. This is why I'm quite aware, as is Kushner, how close we are to curing death.
"But death is not a disease!".
Is that so? Well, not from the viewpoint of the various scientists that have been working on this cure for centuries now. You see, every disease that we find a cure for, every new therapy that we invent to prolong life, every new bionic body part that we build, is contributing to defeating the ultimate terminal illness that we all currently have - death.
We've done quite well in recent times as well. In western Europe, we've managed to add about 30 years to the average man's life expectancy. For women, death during childbirth has nearly been eradicated. We've defeated most of the infant mortality causing diseases giving most children born in Europe a chance at life. At some point in history, up to half of those children didn't make it past the first few weeks! The diseases of old age that we see now; heart disease, alzheimer's, e.t.c., are more prevalent now because we are living longer. In those days, people died before their coronary arteries had any chance of developing any issues.
We've also defeated a lot of the non disease related killers of mankind; animal predators, famines, plagues and wars. One might think all these things are still here, and they are, but consider how widespread they were in the past, and how rare they are now. Covid-19 would not even have registered back in those days, compared to something like Small Pox or the Bubonic Plague (pre penicillin and inoculation).
Talking of wars, back in those days, it was expected. Peace times were considered waiting periods between wars. It was always only a matter of time before one group or the other overran your peaceful settlement, killing all your men and enslaving all your women and children unless, of course, you do it to them first.
Famine was also a lot more devastating, especially in Europe. It's hard to believe now but there was a time that famine wiped out one quarter of many European nations' populations. An example is the Great Famine of Estonia. Yes there are parts of the world that go without enough food but nothing like it was in those days.
Of all the things that put humanity in mortal threat, the predators have been the most soundly defeated, it goes without saying. Wolves, bears, lions, jaguars, snakes, sharks, crocodiles, tigers, hyaenas, vultures, eagles, are among some of the animals that enjoyed a healthy diet of human flesh.
So, back to immortality, now that we've removed a lot of the natural threats we have, we've had the time to fight the more difficult ones, and we're winning actually. Yes, of course, we've introduced some new issues due to our sedentary lifestyles and terrible diets, but those issues are resolvable within one lifetime.
When it comes to discoveries and advancement, progress looks more like a zig-zag (or step) graph, and sometimes exponential, and not a straight line gradient. So, at some points in time, something gets discovered, understood or invented that causes a huge step forward; the wheel, Penicillin, nuclear energy, DNA sequence, to name a few. We are at the precipice of such a discovery/understanding that will usher in the era of immortality. Almost all areas of science, technology and medicine are tending towards this singularity. I, in fact, agree with Kushner that there are people alive today that will benefit from this advancement in humanity. We have, walking amongst us, people that will live to be a thousand years old.
There are departments in universities dedicated to this stuff as right now, believe it or not.
It's a serious thing, not science fiction like many may imagine. Stem Cell research, Gene Therapy, Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Nano Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Neural Interface, Robotics, and so on and on. All of them are gearing up for the inevitable. The ultimate aims are Power, Bliss and Immortality.. At this point, humanity will move into the realm of the gods.
Bit of woo-woo. The woo-woosphere states that we have arrived (either already entered or about to enter) the "Age of Aquarius" in which humanity's consciousness evolves into godlike consciousness, and take our place in the Universe as immortal creator gods.
But Wait! ✋
Before you get too excited, consider these factors.
You're not included 🤣
Sorry but immortality, like anything else in this world, will be very strictly a pay to play affair! Only the top elites will be even preview to it, let alone be able to participate. This is why the likes of Kushner and Elon Musk can get giddy with excitement while you and I freak out. So, no, neither you nor I will be immortal on this earth I don't think. haha. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if Ivanka Trump, or her children, were still here in 3022.
You can still be hit by a bus 😵
Yes you could still die of violence or accidents in the early days of biological immortality. Consider, however, that the other areas of science and tech are working on Neural interfaces, AI and Cryogenics. There will come a time when all vehicles will be AI controlled, thereby ending bus accidents forever. If you get shot, you can download your mental self into anther vessel - biological or otherwise. Heck, you could periodically back yourself up to the cloud, much like an iPad, in case of such an eventuality.
Do you really want to live forever? 🤔
Without death, life has little meaning. A lot of the value we give things in the world is because our time here is limited. If we suddenly become immortal, most things would immediately lose meaning; money, property, education, family.
The family one is crucial because of its significance. What would be the point of having children? In fact, the having of children would have to be very strictly controlled, perhaps by the government (in whatever form it survives) or by the elites, to avoid overcrowding the earth. In fact, an immortal population would require a low population. The elites would have to somehow enforce this. A clever way, just off the top of my head, would be to employ some sort of engineered self-replicating, perhaps RNA based, microscopic entity, to get the job done.
💉
I'll stop here before I venture into the realm of conspiracy theories. This is Hive, you guys can do that all by yourselves 😂.
Peace & Love,
Adé
Funnily enough I have just been watching an episode of The Sandman where a guy does get to live forever. It does not all go well for him.
People are living longer, but getting good quality of life in old age can be tricky. Some rich people look good for their age, but that may be down to some face lifts and access to all the latest treatments.
For now we apparently have an issue with too many old people who cost a lot to support. Don't worry, the Tories expect to reduce their numbers over the winter...
Omg how grim. But, sadly, it's true.
I haven't seen The Sandman. Sounds like my kind of thing. I'll add it to my watchlist 👍
It is really good, but gruesome at times. Interesting to see the changes from the original comic.
When I read this, I couldn't help but wonder whether Europe alone constitute the world. What is being done about suicide? I observed that it was missing in the blog. I must confess however that when I read further I realized we were somewhat on the same page for you wrote that...
Not that I believe that statement hook. line and sinker but at least you made a strong point that humanity does not want to live forever in the present state of the world.
I do believe that life has no meaning without God not death. Perhaps, I need to write a blog to substantiate my point further.
In all, I must doff my cap for your writing style. Kudos to you @adetorrent
Thank you for the great comment. Yes, suicide is a major killer of humanity but it is one that even a potential immortal can perform. Even immortals can end their own lives. In a way, it isn't a "natural" factor.
That's because you're a religious person. People that have no religion or belief in "God" or any deity still value their very short time here. To an extent, a belief in God reduces the value of life since, at least in the Abrahamic religions, and if you qualify, there is a promise of "Eternal Life". Meanwhile those without belief in such a promise will tend to value the here and now.
"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you." - 1 John 2:15