<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:18pt"><div><font size="3">
</font><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>Defense of
"Immortalism."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>I *want* to live forever
using scientific methods if they become available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are many others who now are willing to make that claim too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>When we talk about
science reversing aging, and/or creating other possible ways to survive from
death, (cloning, Transhumanism, uploading, & others), we are sometimes
admonished by our fellow "Extreme Life" advocates not to use the
"I" word, (Immortality).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say it will be impossible to become
immortal because they claim that even if science can create an un-aging body,
(or other suitable containers), for YOU and/or I to live in, (in the future),
it will still be impossible to be immortal (to live forever) for several
various reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will discuss their reasons
below and give my reasons why they may be wrong and it just MIGHT BE POSSIBLE
TO BECOME SCIENTIFICALLY IMMORTAL in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some claim the universe will someday quit
expanding and gravity will begin to pull the universe back into a single point
where all matter and energy will be compressed into a space smaller than the
head of a pin,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(called The Big Crunch),
and that it will be impossible for anything to survive in that situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, they claim the universe will keep
expanding, (due to dark energy?), pushing the planets and stars so far
apart<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that the temperature drops to
close to the temperature of absolute zero, everything is turned into black
holes or tiny particles, and nothing can live in this situation called
"The Big Chill."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>But there is another possible fate for our
universe, called "The Goldilocks Universe."</u> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this more probable situation the expansion
rate of the universe gradually slows down to where expansion forces and gravity
offset each other just right, and our universe goes on forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>What a beautiful concept
- An Immortal Universe filled with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Immortal People.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>Afterthought:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my many years on this planet discussing
cryonics and other options for scientific immortality, I have found that many opponents
claim they know of reasons why cryonics or immortality, or very extreme life
extension, won't work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they really
have other reasons to make these negative claims where they either don't want Scientific
Immortality to work, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or they don't want
us to talk in public about these great advancements working while the extreme
life extension movement, (or Immortality movement), is so small compared to the
tradition religions with their exclusive, hopeful methods of immortality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They (perhaps correctly – I don't know)
don't want scientific immortality prospects to accidentally appear to compete
with traditional religious philosophy for immortality while our movement is so
small and vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>I say that this is a valid
concern because we have seen historically how brutal one traditional religious
group can treat different (usually smaller) religious groups when the more
powerful group feels the smaller group's existence is creating growing
competition for the minds of the masses.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>I don't see why
Scientific Immortalists have to say that they think their options might lead to
scientific immortality, AND THEN ADD that they also think that people who hope
for traditional religious immortality are wrong or stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>Personally, I hope both
groups are right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live and let live.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
</font></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>Freedom for everyone to
pursue their own paths as long as they don't harm others on their own personal venture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><font size="3">
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