Life Extention with Tulpa

[radicalbenx]

So I wanted to see what you guys and girls think about the prospect of life extension and possibly immortality with all the big companies working on it at the moment and the billions of dollars being spent on it. (Google Calico, SENS research foundation and 2045)

 

Mainly about what you think will happen with Tulpas in general as we live longer?

[arcanemagic]

Well, today we live in a world in which living longer is not so much the issue; the issue is that many of us are living so long that our brains begin to stop functioning before our bodies do. This is something that I've thought about a bunch, since it terrifies me. The thought that I might someday just forget about Markus is one of the most horrifying possibilities that I've imagined.

But anyway, this could go two different ways in my eyes: We could find a way to extend out lifespan before getting past the challenges that the brain faces when aging, or vice versa. If we were to assume that we get over the problems of the brain first, then I think it would be great not only for tulpas but for everyone. I mean, who doesn't want to live a longer, healthier life? (Okay, well I'm sure that some people don't but it's a generalization) If we were to assume that we don't get over the problems of the brain first, then many of us will be brain dead before our bodies actually stop functioning(I'm talking about being kept alive through the use of machines, of course. I know(or at least I think I know ;-) ) that many functions that are critical to life are caused by the brain.) . This brings up a discussion about what life actually is that doesn't pertain directly to tulpas, so I won't continue this bit.

 

If you're referring to the community and not the tulpas themselves, then we could possibly see it grow even larger, possibly into the mainstream eventually. With people living longer to "spread the word," I could definitely see the community growing, at least a bit anyway. Back to the "into the mainstream" thing though, maybe we should discuss whether or not it's actually a good idea to allow it into the mainstream. Something something hipster comment. Seriously, though. I think that the misinformation that tends to be generated about widespread ideas could possibly morph the community into something that it isn't, or shouldn't, be. If more and more people join the community without knowing what a tulpa really is, we could possibly see the community just devolve from something serious and awesome into... something NOT serious and awesome... But anyway at this point I've realized that I've gotten just a tiny little bit off topic at this point, so I won't go on about this bit either.

[CM]

Well, in my opinion people shouldn't seek to live longer than we already do, which is already a lot compared to some centuries ago...

 

But if people somehow found a way to live longer while keeping their brain functional (and reduce the amount of children one can have during their life time for f's sake) then I don't know if it would affect tulpas much. They'd live along I suppose. Of course it could affect how old people are when they start creating their tulpas and how much time they're willing to put into the creation, since as lifespan grows, one year starts to feel much shorter. I think.

[The Shadow Knight]

I read somewhere that the human body can actually survive for over 1000 years. It is indeed the brain decay that causes us to die so early and effects the aging process.

 

You could think of the brain as say... a Sewing machine (Bare with me and my example) A brand new sewing machine, top of the line. Now as it gets older, some of the stitching and such may be off. Then parts of it start slowly failing and falling apart and eventually you can't sew anything.

 

Thats how the brain is, now if we can get the brain to where it renews its 'parts' to where it all basically functions that its top of the line all the time, then the only problem then would be the aging process itself as the body suffers wear and tear. Given that if we discover the tech to 'renew' our brains constantly Im pretty certain 'renewing' our bodies wouldn't be much of a problem.

 

Some of the technology that might actually help prolong our lives and brains would probably be medical nanotechnology which may even boost our mental capabilities. Medical nanotech is guaranteed to at least add an extra 100 years of life to humans. So if you want to live longer hope for nanotech. After that, we're gravy to live to eternity lol. With our lovely tulpae of course : 3

[Yakumo]

I read somewhere that the human body can actually survive for over 1000 years. It is indeed the brain decay that causes us to die so early and effects the aging process.

I don't even...

Maybe you should not believe everything you read on the internet.

 

But seriously - even though aging is still poorly understood the maximum human life expectancy is believed to be somewhere slightly above 120 years. That's it, whether you get a new brain or not, your cells simply can't keep the body alive any longer because by then they've accumulated so much unrepairable damage that they inevitably stop functioning. Only your germline cells are in a way immortal if they are passed on to the next generation. Theoretically I guess it would be possible to become potentially immortal if technology progresses further, after all there are simple organisms which truly are. In the end it's all about repairing the damage on cellular level by nanotechnology, genetic engineering or whatever technology currently far beyond our imagination.

 

However I don't think an extended lifespan would change much for the tulpa-host relationship. Providing you start early, live long and prosper, you currently could spend well over 100 years with your tulpa. Whether it's a multiple of that shouldn't make much of a difference anymore.

 

From a sociological point of view, tulpas themselves may provide some form of life extension. Studies have found that (at least happily) married men tend to live longer and healthier than singles.

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2010/usmarriagemenshealth.aspx

 

As long as you have a strong personal relationship with your tulpa, I see no reason why you should not benefit from the same effect.

[The Shadow Knight]

The actual body, not so much the organs. The only reason why bodies decay is because the cells are dead. When someone is alive their cells reproduce, dead and all cellwork dies with em.

[CM]

Cells are damaged by oxygen. When we breathe we're destroying our bodies which inevitably leads to our death. So I've read.

So unless we find a replacement for oxygen which is very unlikely, we die.

 

I still fail to see why anyone would want to live such long lives, much less forever. We're given plenty of time already. Humanity should just learn to take what we can get.

[Yakumo]

I don't feel like giving lessons in cell biology and redox chemistry here, but that's not quite how these things work. But its offtopic anyway.

 

About the last sentence, I guess wanting more, something different or just whatever the guy next to us has is an integral part of humanity and a main driver of progress. We'd still be living like apes if we had always been satisfied with what's easy to get. So even though this trait has produced unspeakable suffering throughout the history of mankind I am still glad people reach out for the stars no matter how distant they may seem. Would be pretty boring otherwise.

[CM]

Yes, of course, I didn't mean it like that. Of course it's alright and it's good to always want more, but at some point one should be satisfied or you end up like my mother; never happy with anything she has, always looking for more money, more friends, bigger house, bigger cars etc, and always complaining even though she already has what many people can only dream of. She just can't be satisfied at all.

 

I'm a very simple person myself, so I think it's just my personality and past experiences talking over reason. Sorry about that. But in things like lifespan that's already pretty damn high, and how people who started wars to get more power and land while they already had plenty, I think it's better to just leave it as it is.

I seem to lack that trait, because I don't really care. I aim relatively low and have very little expectations in general. Of course I'm happy to see people reaching out for their dreams and doing great things, but it's not the same thing, still. Not in my view, anyway.

 

Again, I apologize for having my personality take over in something like this. Keep talking as you were and ignore me if you like :) (<-- not mockery, honest. I hate when people use smileys when they're pissed off >.>)

 

 

(Oh yeah also sorry about that misinformation :D It's what I've heard/read somewhere years back, so my memory's either failing or I misunderstood it back then (both equally likely))

[Yakumo]

No need to apologize!

I'm pretty lazy myself and pity people who constantly chase after new and more stuff. Still I'm glad they exist for the sake of progress.