[ExI] Future Bodies

[BillK]

On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 12:22 AM, Keith Henson wrote:
<snip>
> The risk adverse would never serve on a fireworks crew.
>
> Neither would they put HIV patients on cardiac bypass, which I have also done.
>
> If your argument is that risk takers would be weeded out by accidents,
> I doubt it. By that far into the future, we can certainly be repaired
> of minor damage or reloaded from backups if completely vaporized.
>
>

I doubt if arguments based on present older folk behaviour applies.
Some older people are very careful, especially if they have already
had an accidental fall and broken bones. And some are quite reckless,
sky-diving, hang-gliding, etc. Both attitudes are driven by the
certainty that they will soon be dead anyway. The careful people want
to avoid pain and disability, the reckless people are thinking of
cramming in new experiences before they die.

If they were expecting to live another few hundred years, they
wouldn't risk death. I agree that medical science will improve in the
future, so that injuries can be better repaired. Injury will still
cause pain and temporary disability though, so will be avoided by most
(as nowadays). But I still think life-threatening activities will be
avoided by the majority of 1,000 year old folk. (There are always
exceptions of course).

(If we are talking about reloading people from backups, then we are
probably past the stage of physical bodies being of much importance.
Living in virtual reality where any activity can be experienced in
safety, for example).

BillK