Immortality: Can we extend human lifespan?

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Profile Johnney Guinness
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Message 1287558 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 1:15:04 UTC
Last modified: 25 Sep 2012, 1:17:54 UTC

Immortality: Can we extend human lifespan?

Through genetic engineering, can we extend human lifespan?
Or even better, can we genetically engineer Immortal human beings?

BBC Documentary - Forever Young;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2_mYV3L9k (48 minute video)

The scientists in that BBC documentary seem to think we can extend human life. In laboratories all over the world, scientists are modifying the genetic code of small creatures and extending their lives by many multiples. Most genetic engineers are in agreement that, within a few years, we should be able to extend human life well in the hundreds, or longer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality

The Christian Bible claims that the first human beings on earth lived for very long periods of time.

The lifetimes given for the Patriarchs in the Book of Genesis are:
Adam 930 years,
Seth 912,
Enos 905,
Kenan 910,
Mahalalel 895,
Jared 962,
Enoch 365 (did not die, but was taken away by God),
Methuselah 969,
Lamech 777,
Noah 950
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchs_(Bible)

Is it possible that the Bible was correct?
Is modern science just discovering what the Bible said all along?
Or was it just a lucky guess by the people who wrote the Book of Genesis?

John.
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Message 1287571 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 2:24:18 UTC

By the mere power of communication, ideas can be immortal.


Keep searchin',
Martin

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Message 1287597 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 4:37:48 UTC - in response to Message 1287571.  

By the mere power of communication, ideas can be immortal.


Keep searchin',
Martin


Whichever answer Johnney receives first, he will disagree with and tell us the old book will reveal in a few years how very wrong we are.
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Message 1287603 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 4:50:23 UTC - in response to Message 1287597.  

John is Irish and has the gift of gab. IMO he's been putting us on for years.
Good job John.
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Message 1287609 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 5:00:01 UTC - in response to Message 1287597.  

By the mere power of communication, ideas can be immortal.


Keep searchin',
Martin


Whichever answer Johnney receives first, he will disagree with and tell us the old book will reveal in a few years how very wrong we are.

Sarge,
In the case of Immortality, yes, its written down in the "old book".

John.
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Message 1287611 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 5:01:27 UTC - in response to Message 1287603.  

John is Irish and has the gift of gab. IMO he's been putting us on for years.
Good job John.

Yes, thats it. I made the whole thing up just to pass the time :)

John.
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Message 1287630 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 7:00:21 UTC

I think it much more likely to extend our lifespan via "Whole Mind Emulation".

In the next couple decades the computing power will be available, the only question is will we have a good enough understanding of the brain to emulate it by then? Some say yes, others say no.
#resist
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Message 1287633 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 7:24:32 UTC

It is also possible that the Old Testament, at least the early part of it is more mythology than history. Most of the events that happened before Moses time were passed down through the generations by word of mouth and therefore subject to exaggeration. And, if you believe, as I'm sure Johnny does, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and therefore contains no lies or exaggerations then why try to extend your life here since there are many mansions in heaven and the afterlife there must surely be better than what we contend with here. That has always puzzled me. Why do people who claim to believe in God and heaven fight so hard to put off their trip to the afterlife. Could it be that deep down they know that this is the one and only life we get.

As far as whether I would want my life extended that would depend on what kind of physical condition I would be in. I'm not sure I would want to live in my current 63 year old physical body for say another 100 years. I'm afraid that if scientists start implementing some of the ideas that are now under consideration they will find that other problems related to longevity will sprout up.

There is also the birth rate to consider. Unless a drastic drop in the birth rate occurs we could run out of resources very quickly, which may happen even if efforts to extend the human lifespan fail as a whole.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
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Message 1287690 - Posted: 25 Sep 2012, 12:36:31 UTC - in response to Message 1287630.  

I think it much more likely to extend our lifespan via "Whole Mind Emulation".

In the next couple decades the computing power will be available, the only question is will we have a good enough understanding of the brain to emulate it by then? Some say yes, others say no.


To me that would be the way to go. Uploaded to a world wide copmuter, With various copies of you backed up just in case.

While the peacefull side of it holds a lot of promise, the down side is Boy we could be an adavnced fighting force. Put a copy of you in a drone and go to it.
Forget AI the human brain is the ultimate BOLO. You die in combat you are in a link that is continually updated. We just feed you into another machine with an update of what went wrong.

The idea is nice but us humans have a way of perverting anything good for war.
[/quote]

Old James
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Message 1287835 - Posted: 26 Sep 2012, 0:05:12 UTC

Until we come together as a wide ranging species of many cultures and views the drive for immortality will only result in ossification of that generation that might achieve that goal of immortality. What a sad unprogressive, and completely undesirable world that would prove to be.


We have it built in to our genetic code to keep renewing ourselves every 100 years or so. So, what's wrong with that position, or is death a great inconvenience?
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Message 1294076 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 7:12:43 UTC - in response to Message 1287952.  

or is death a great inconvenience?

It's a tad inopportune at times it has to be said.


*1 and when s/he comes around not a thing we can do about it.
Pluto will always be a planet to me.

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Message 1294258 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 15:51:34 UTC

Especilly when something comes along to plague one, like I found out ...

Hee! Hee!

Coffin dodging again?
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Message 1294395 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 19:16:41 UTC
Last modified: 12 Oct 2012, 19:19:35 UTC

This thread is getting very little response! This disappoints me.

DO YOU PEOPLE GET IT?

There is no reason to die! You, me, and every human being on Earth were "programmed" to die. It has been written into our DNA. Its written in the living code in every living cell in your body. God programmed you to die!

BUT!! There is a very big but!!

God, the genetic engineer that created Adam, gave us a full set of instructions for how to become Immortal! Now i will be very clear here - Its NOT going to be easy!! God did NOT make it easy for you to become Immortal, he made it difficult.

To become Immortal, you have to read the Holy Bible. Not only that, you have to try to play by God's set of rules that are written in the Bible. If you play by the rules, and follow God's commandments, God has given YOU a 100% guarantee that you will be resurrected, through cloning, and you will get to live in the Kingdom of God. God spent a very long time preparing his Kingdom for those who choose to play by God's rules. He has a beautiful Kingdom already prepared for all that play by the rules.

Its your choice people!

John, God's servant.
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Message 1294419 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 20:19:10 UTC - in response to Message 1294395.  
Last modified: 12 Oct 2012, 20:29:10 UTC

... To become Immortal, you have to read the Holy Bible. Not only that, you have to try to play by God's set of rules that are written in the Bible. If you play by the rules, and follow God's commandments, God has given YOU a 100% guarantee that you will be resurrected, through cloning, and you will get to live in the Kingdom of God. God spent a very long time preparing his Kingdom for those who choose to play by God's rules. He has a beautiful Kingdom already prepared for all that play by the rules. ...


Errr...

Not wanting to sound dismissive or anything but...

Is that it? [*]

2781 posts to Epiphany?

Errr... To misquote Lunkwill and Fook for a certain momentous answer in front of a huge expectant crowd after waiting many years: "You'd get lynched!"


Your description also sounds distinctly like joining The Borg...

Keep searchin',
Martin

Also famously said by another Irishman by the name of Bob Geldof upon first sight of Timbuktu.
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Message 1294425 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 20:40:05 UTC - in response to Message 1294419.  


Errr...

Not wanting to sound dismissive or anything but...

Is that it? [*]

2781 posts to Epiphany?

Errr... To misquote Lunkwill and Fook for a certain momentous answer in front of a huge expectant crowd after waiting many years: "You'd get lynched!"


Your description also sounds distinctly like joining The Borg...

Keep searchin',
Martin

Also famously said by another Irishman by the name of Bob Geldof upon first sight of Timbuktu.

Martin,
I don't understand. What does that mean? What are you trying to say?

John.
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Message 1294427 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 20:43:20 UTC - in response to Message 1294425.  


Errr...

Not wanting to sound dismissive or anything but...

Is that it? [*]

2781 posts to Epiphany?

Errr... To misquote Lunkwill and Fook for a certain momentous answer in front of a huge expectant crowd after waiting many years: "You'd get lynched!"


Your description also sounds distinctly like joining The Borg...

Keep searchin',
Martin

Also famously said by another Irishman by the name of Bob Geldof upon first sight of Timbuktu.

Martin,
I don't understand. What does that mean? What are you trying to say?

John.


It means you're preaching gospel and promises without any evidence or reason to believe what you're saying.
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Message 1294430 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 21:01:38 UTC - in response to Message 1294427.  

It means you're preaching gospel and promises without any evidence or reason to believe what you're saying.

Ozzfan,
This is not my gospel, i didn't write it. Some bloke called God wrote it, or at least he dictated it to other blokes to write it down. I'm just passing on the message cos the book suggests that i do so.

Anyway, the thread is about Immortality. Every and all angles on the discussion are open here. God suggested one way. There are lots of other sources that suggest way's to Immortality.

John.
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Message 1294438 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 21:19:51 UTC - in response to Message 1294430.  

Considering these forums have had plenty of discussions about whether or not this God 'bloke' exists, and many doubt that he/she/it does, it seems believing in this God is a matter of faith, which means you're preaching gospel from your personal belief system.


As far as becoming immortal is concerned, we have already found ways to extend our lives far longer than in the past, but now we have to figure out how to solve all the problems that go along with old age and our bodies and mind falling apart.

But in no way do I think anyone will be able to live forever. A cloned copy is not an exact duplicate, so even through cloning, each life is a new one and therefore doesn't count as a continuation of the host's life.
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Message 1294468 - Posted: 12 Oct 2012, 22:45:19 UTC - in response to Message 1294430.  

... Anyway, the thread is about Immortality. Every and all angles on the discussion are open here. ...

2783 posts plus all our contributions combined and shuffled could well be tidied up to make your own book. With an appropriate cover, and with suitably big friendly letters on the cover, you could well have something pretty good.

And if the ideas are good enough and explained well enough in a good enough way, and the reviews are controversial/outspoken enough, you could even make "a few Bob".

And if the word gets out to make you famous enough, perhaps your ideas may well achieve a similar immortality to that achieved by various religions. No body needed!

And... The Religion of Guinness is thus born.


It's all just an idea ;-)

Keep searchin',
Martin

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Message 1294515 - Posted: 13 Oct 2012, 1:34:16 UTC - in response to Message 1294395.  

This thread is getting very little response! This disappoints me.

DO YOU PEOPLE GET IT?

There is no reason to die! You, me, and every human being on Earth were "programmed" to die. It has been written into our DNA. Its written in the living code in every living cell in your body. God programmed you to die!

BUT!! There is a very big but!!

God, the genetic engineer that created Adam, gave us a full set of instructions for how to become Immortal! Now i will be very clear here - Its NOT going to be easy!! God did NOT make it easy for you to become Immortal, he made it difficult.

To become Immortal, you have to read the Holy Bible. Not only that, you have to try to play by God's set of rules that are written in the Bible. If you play by the rules, and follow God's commandments, God has given YOU a 100% guarantee that you will be resurrected, through cloning, and you will get to live in the Kingdom of God. God spent a very long time preparing his Kingdom for those who choose to play by God's rules. He has a beautiful Kingdom already prepared for all that play by the rules.

Its your choice people!

John, God's servant.



Gosh!

Hee! Hee! HooDy Har!
It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues



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