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Old 2012-05-28, 09:03   Link #1
Paradoxine
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Join Date: May 2012
Immortality - How could this not be a curse?

I was looking over a couple pages of comments in the Kore wa Zombie Desu ka thread earlier today and I was suprised to find people arguing that Immortality wasn't a curse and in fact that they would "never get bored".

I myself disagree with this because, really, think of all the thing's you do now on a weekly basis. Think of all the thing's you do as hobbies. It is likely that you will bore of them before the end of your lifespan. Sure, there are some people who go their whole lives doing the same thing, continuing to enjoy it and I'm sure I could be referred to a story of someone doing just that. But here is the problem, here is the thing about immortality. Eventually, no matter how long it takes, you will get tired of doing everything you do right now, just because it doesn't seem like it right now, it will happen.

The next point of contention is that of course, new thing's will be found to do. This is valid, however, how much can thing's really change over the course of even a thousand years? Maybe transport systems are improved, maybe we will have found new more efficient way's to kill each other. Who know's we may even have ventured far out into space, but this doesn't actually change the fact that you'll get bored of humans themselves. It is inevitable that you will become estranged from humanity, you're playing a statistics game. At some point you will have heard whatever person X has to say before and will no doubt hear it again, repeated over the course of an eternity, your sanity, let alone your happiness will be at stake. At least, this is my opinion on the matter.

TL;DR I think the more prudent question to ask after writing that mound of text is: Is it inevitable for you to tire from human contact and if so, can one ever truly remain happy being alone, we humans are social creatures after all.

Last edited by Paradoxine; 2012-05-28 at 10:44.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:14   Link #2
Mr. DJ
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Never getting bored has nothing to do with it as much as the emotional scarring you will suffer from outliving your friends, family and loved ones. You will eventually become cold and withdrawn because you don't want to feel that pain anymore.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:15   Link #3
Urzu 7
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Why do you think that the alien overlords in comic books are always so evil and pissed off? They've been around too long!
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:16   Link #4
Jaden
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It's hard enough to imagine what it's like to grow old as a young person. No clue what a thousand years would feel like. It'd definitely change a person.

The biggest problem I'd have with immortality is that it'd take away the challenge in life. There would be no need to get serious about anything, because if something became unpleasant or boring, I could just quit it for the time being. Being immortal I'd finish it eventually anyways, maybe in a couple thousand years.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:19   Link #5
MUAHAHAHAHAHA
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You will become so bored you start to become a sadistic, savage serial killer. Some people may think that immortality is not a bad thing but I don't think they know how it feels until they become one.




Perhaps those people in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka thread are vampires in disguise?
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:25   Link #6
mangamuscle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MUAHAHAHAHAHA View Post
Perhaps those people in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka thread are vampires in disguise?
Of course not, come closer so I can give you a hickey :[
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:29   Link #7
MUAHAHAHAHAHA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mangamuscle View Post
Of course not, come closer so I can give you a hickey :[
Very generous of you, but no thank you, sir.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:35   Link #8
james0246
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. DJ View Post
Never getting bored has nothing to do with it as much as the emotional scarring you will suffer from outliving your friends, family and loved ones. You will eventually become cold and withdrawn because you don't want to feel that pain anymore.
My more immediate concern would be falling in a ditch and being stuck for eternity alone and in the dark. Hell, the likelihood of this happening only increases the longer you live.

The only way you could be immortal is if you were somehow like Superman, able to escape any real problems while also being able to travel the universe. And even then, the likelihood of becoming a monster is ever present.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:44   Link #9
Aesthetic Shampoo
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I think i wouldn't mind immortality if i had freedom alongside it. I don't want to be stuck in a lab being experimented on for all eternity by men in white coats.

The other problem would be diseases. Wouldn't want to live with health implications forever.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:44   Link #10
DonQuigleone
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I'm not sure about "the trauma of seeing everyone around you die".

There are plenty of very old people, who have outlived all their freidns and family, but are nevertheless fairly happy. They simply take a more zen view on life.

If i was to live forever, I could certainly see myself living at a slower pace, and spending a lot of time observing the world change around me.
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Old 2012-05-28, 09:58   Link #11
Sumeragi
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One thing to be consider is the knowledge that one will die even if others have gone before oneself. If that is no longer the case, then the entire equation falls apart.
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Old 2012-05-28, 10:01   Link #12
Mr Hat and Clogs
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Probably depends on what you do. I think I would enjoy it purely for the fact that I'd lived history, but I'd see myself being one of those hermit types, that sit on their mountain and watch the world go by.

Speaking of vampires, I always liked that girl, Helena, from Hellsing that just wanted to sit in her library and read as she had done for the last few hundred years or whatever. That would be me I think.

Although, regardless of you became bored or not, it would have a profound psychological effect on you. It would be different for everyone but some degree of apathy towards the rest of humanity, I think would be inevitable. But it would depend on the person.

I always liked a simple analogy or thought experiment; consider dogs. 15 years is a good life, 105 in dog years. For a human 100 years is pretty tops to - 700 years by a dogs reckoning. If a dog could reason and communicate we'd be seen as nigh immortal to them, and it hurts us to see them die (dogs do have emotions and attachment as well). From that I guess you could say time really is relative. I'd probably also say it would be more the emotional impact of traumatic events piling up then time itself bearing down on you that would break you. But avoid those events, or distancing yourself (Emotional detachment) would probably stay off negative effects.

Dogs live fast, we live slow, Galapagos tortoises live even slower (200 yr life spans?).

Meh, the topic is a little to deep for me at 1am.
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Old 2012-05-28, 10:08   Link #13
ttdestroy
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Well this really depends on what type of immortality we're talking about; I mean is there no way for you to die? Do you have like an increased healing factor so getting shot in the head multiple times won't kill you? If you're a fairly normal human and can get sick or break bones it would suck balls. But if you're invulnerable and immortal you could make that work, just seeing the world could take years and years.
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Old 2012-05-28, 10:23   Link #14
Zakoo
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I can only see this as a curse honestly, I think between Kaguya and Mokou of touhou, I have enough sample to not consider immortality as a gift, that's hell.
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Old 2012-05-28, 10:40   Link #15
KyriaL
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Perhaps for some, it would initially seem fun as you know you would have basically all the time in the world to do what you ever wanted. But it will eventually bore anyone to death over time, imagine being bored to 'death' but you just can't get that eternal sleep that is death.

Not to mention seeing the loved and cared ones pass on while you know that you will probably not join them anytime too soon. Just can't see this being not a curse in any way.
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Old 2012-05-28, 11:12   Link #16
Kafriel
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I'd only be okay with it if there were other immortals besides myself...but even so, I think we'd all take an eternal sleeping pill and effectively die of boredom.
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Old 2012-05-28, 11:41   Link #17
Alchemist007
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It'd be nice to develop of system of amnesia for whenever I just can't take it. Simply restart my life. It'd be pretty nice in some ways. But it would suck to be stuck in some inescapable pain (like if the government gets you or something worse).
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Old 2012-05-28, 11:44   Link #18
SaintessHeart
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Immortality is only great if you have eternal youth.

Otherwise, it would be better to die.
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Old 2012-05-28, 11:52   Link #19
JMvS
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I'd see myself as the hermitt type as well.

But even tough there are so much things to study and discover, boredom is indeed the main risk. And humans are so interesting to observe, it'd be a pity to see them dissapear.

So I think I would take the Pak Protector approach (sans the behavioral hardwiring and radical physical transformation), with an expanded intellect and near invulnerability, I think I could fathom looking after Homo Sapiens for some million years.

I'm just not sure if I could do with the consequences of genetic drift on this timescale. Periodic archiving and reboot maybe?

Hmm, I have a craving for yams now...
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Old 2012-05-28, 11:55   Link #20
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It would be a curse because eventually you will lose it. It may take a 1,000 years or even just a few hundred but eventually you will be a thing of the past that can't connect with the way of the future. Not to mention that you will surely fall in love mutiple times only watch your loved ones die off with time while you just stay stagnant.
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