[extropy-chat] Boredom in old age

[BillK]

On Tue Dec 02, 2003 05:07 pm  Adrian Tymes wrote:
> There's always more to learn and do, although one
> might become tired of it and start justifying that
> everything out there is all the same.


On Tue Dec 02, 2003 09:11 pm MB wrote:
> There's stuff out there. You can find it. It may not be what
> you expect. It may be sort of out of your field, but nothing
> wrong with that.


These sentiments strike me as having the flavor of youthful enthusiasm.
When you are younger, everything is new and exciting, you are healthy
and fit and full of energy and you want to 'go boldly beyond the frontiers'.

There are relatively few people who manage to retain an interested,
inquiring, searching outlook on life into old age. It is very difficult
for people in their 20s and 30s to imagine what they will feel like in
their 60s and older. It is not just the physical deterioration which
makes actual movement more difficult, but for old people the world
appears to be a much more dangerous place. If a young person trips and
falls or is pushed over, they just sprung back up onto their feet. For
an old person it can mean months in hospital.

On the mental side, the 'seen it all before' syndrome is also very real.
Computer techies will have seen the 'burn-out' effect on whiz-kids who
just can't do it any more. The people who are the big achievers are all
'driven' by their own various demons.

As the human race becomes longer-lived they will face two problems. The
obvious one is keeping themselves in good physical health. There is a
vast field of medical research that is required for life-extension.

The more subtle problem will be mental. The young researchers cannot
appreciate that their fresh, inquiring minds could ever change. But they
will. Every experience that is assimilated will change them, until after
60 or 70 years they will be very different. All the exciting dramas of
youth will become less important. An older person will be more likely to
respond with 'Jeez, not that again!'.

This point has come up before, where some people are of the opinion that
a civilization where everyone is thousands of years old will be a
civilization that does not go out exploring the universe.
i.e. the 'What's the point?' attitude.

 From our present point of view, the immortals will have to do
'something' with their time. If we bring in intelligence enhancement as
well, then it becomes even more unlikely that we can find out or
appreciate what that 'something' will be.

If that 'something' is mental, virtual-worlds or nano-worlds based, then
actual physical travel out in the universe will be unlikely. Even if by
then humanity is still based in physical bodies in which to do the
traveling.

So how do you plan to spend the next 7,000 years?


BillK