[extropy-chat] On the Inevitability and Goodness of Superlongevity

[Russell Wallace]

On 5/25/05, Mark Walker <mark at permanentend.org> wrote:
> To the extent that it is possible to predict the composition of the future
> population of the world, I argue that the most likely scenario is that
> (almost) everyone will choose to adopt technology to live hundreds of years,
> perhaps indefinitely. Further, ethically speaking, this seems like the best
> option for our world, for such a world is one where there is higher levels
> of happiness and achievement.

Nicely written! I think the argument is valid as far as it goes, but
there are issues it doesn't address - for example, what if it turns
out that a few hundred years is all anyone can sensibly use before
getting permanently stuck in a rut? (I'm not claiming this _will_ be
the case, just that we can't know it won't.) Therefore I argue (
http://homepage.eircom.net/~russell12/dp.html ) that we should aim to
have domains where each possibility (mortality and immortality) holds.

- Russell