Honestly I wouldn't want to live forever. Even though I would get to see my great-great-great grandchildren born, I would also have to go through the pain of seeing them die. Getting married might be a bit of a problem to. Imagine this, you're at your first date after you first wife died, and you and your date asks you how old you are: Date:"So how old are you?" You:"Let me think, last I checked I was 112 but don't take my word for it." And thus that relationship was ended... Not only that but if you keep saying that you are 150+ you might end up in a loony bin. Just think about it: several thousand years in a straight jacket? No thank you.
There is an ancient greeek myth about a goddess, and she loved a mortal man. She asked Zeus to give the man eternal life. For many years the man and goddess loved each other. After awhile, the man slowly aged until he became the first cricket (goddess loved him for music). If you don't have eternal youth, this makes you wish you were dead. If you had eternal youth, this would not be so bad.
@sithman: I dunno if age is really such a barrier to dating. As long as you didn't look super-old or lord it over your date ("You were in diapers by the time I had my third spouse!" I think the age difference wouldn't be that big of a deal.
Of course it would be sad to see people you know die, but we have that now, and we deal with it. We'd constantly be making new friends to replace the dead ones.
The subject came up on the BBC recently on an interview with a 112 year old woman. When asked the very same question, her reply was an emphatic NO! When the interviewer queried about why not, she replied, "I've watched everyone I know pass before me, my sons, my husband and friends. Their memories make me strong but their absence has made me weak. Humans were never MEANT to live as long as I have, and the human mind was never meant to cope with that much grief."
You have to keep in mind that people do not think the same way. A man who lived to 120 but never really attached themselves to someone emotionally would not really mind. They would just live life like they have been living it the past 120 years. Death of family members wouldn't matter much to them.
Very true, Skyla. I can't say that I'd want to live forever if I was that detached, though. I think that it would be nearly impossible to live very long without finding attachment to something tangible...
If I were immortal, I would like to show it to the world. I would say "shoot me, 999999999 times" and come out of it living. I would then gain all the knowledge I could. I would spread it over different generations so that nothing would be forgotten. I would be the world's storyteller. I would dedicate my whole life to this and I would be happy. If the apocalypse comes, I don't know what would happen. If I were immortal, I would do something, not just hide, like in Tuck Everlasting (a book turned into a movie) I would be the wise man, the person who's content of knowledge would never be enough. PS- kanethebrain, did you ever check out your profile, I posted the Oprah video link on your profile, as proof the man had to go doctor hopping, and if so, I hope it helped you out.
I think there is a distinct difference between bieng Immortal and living forever. Living forever, at least to me implies youre alive for a looong time, but are mortal. Immortal is just as it sounds...you are not mortal and therefore live a loooong time. So, my question is..Would you rather be Immortal or live forever?
I'll sound like a freak, but this is kind of like Lord of the Rings. Elves can live forever, but they can die (If physically killed) or they can decide when they want to die. I would rather choose when I want to die with the risk at being killed because I get the choice, and I'll have time to do what my heart desires.
I agree with XCoheedX. I believe that if someone were truly immortal it would: A)Drive them insane B)Drive them to abuse their condition for power C)Detach them from basic human emotion altogether.
I believe its almost imperitive that we do eventually die. It makes what we do with the time we have much more important.
I'm sure it would drive me insane! Wow, just thinking about it. Living forever means that you will have time for everything....and I agree that the things we do while we have a limited time, are more important. If we lived forever, we wouldn't take important matters as seriously.
