# If you could live forever- would you?



## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

Wel, I suppose it would depend greately on the conditions of life. I think it could get pretty tiring, but also I currently feel like there are so many things that I'm interested in I could never accomplish them all in one lifetime, so I've kind of given up on doing any of them because I can't choose between one or another.... I think just knowing there was a possibility to read all those books, and write all those story ideas, and see all those places, etc. would motivate me more, and if not forever, would keep me going for quite a long time.


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## intrasearching (Jul 15, 2011)

I'd like to have the option... Keep going until I feel satisfied...


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## PlacentaCake (Jun 14, 2012)

I can't even grasp the concept of forever, how could I answer that question without my mind exploding.


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## PlacentaCake (Jun 14, 2012)

Neurasthenia said:


> I'd like to have the option... Keep going until I feel satisfied...


I suppose if you could say, "ok, I'm done living now.", I'd be down to live "forever".


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## nottie (Mar 2, 2011)

I'd say yes if I could have an off button for when the fascination with history wasn't enough of a tradeoff for everyone I cared about being dead.

If it's all or nothing, normal life span all the way.


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## Jman Ninja (Apr 4, 2013)

I think the reason why people say yes is because they feel as though they can't accomplish enough in their current lives. Apparently we will soon be able to live to 150 at least, but to be safe, I would choose death rather than living forever. A few reasons why is mainly because the question was so vague asking such a big question, but as a general answer, if you live forever, you will either succumb to being blind, deft, motionless and with many diseases (considering you kept aging), now if that wasn't a problem, you'd still have a new problem. Your brain can only hold so many memories untill you hit a point where your actual memories start being deleted from being full (yes, like ram!) so you would eventually have to invent a sort of memory holding device to attach to your brain, because if you lose your memories, why even live past that point to begin with? Now let's say you had both of those, you could fight off any illness, and could hold all the information your brain wants. You could die from any physical injury, considering car accidents are imminent, and there are always murderers. Now if you can surpass everything thus far and can basically just enjoy life and it's bounties, there will become a point where life will begin to depress you. 2 reasons. 1. Humans are making the earth a lot less environmentally friendly with all the crap there is everywhere, thus making the earth a worst place to live on visually and resources wize. And 2. The sun is slowly dieing, living forever will have you eventually sent flying into the galaxy from the sun becoming a super nova and destroying the earth. Then you'll just be flying at a million miles per hour in space for the rest of eternity, and who wants that? I sure don't.


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## He's a Superhero! (May 1, 2013)

This poll would have very different results if the question was "If you and all those you care about could live forever, would you?".


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## intjonn (Apr 20, 2013)

Whadaya mean 'If'? You mean I can't? People been telling me for years that I can if I jez beeleeev.......

.........and then there is of course the logic of 'Pascal's wager' as it relates to Christian idea of Universality but the thought train can easily be correllated to other universal belief system.

Personally I wish that the 6 billion people on earth that embrace some type of 'everlasting' Life beleef would just chek out and go there; then I could have a peaceful planet on which to think about whether or not I care to join em........its always been comforting to me to know that suicide is always an option.


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## Monsieur Melancholy (Nov 16, 2012)

This is a great philosophical conundrum.

Well, in order to live forever, you'd need to eliminate three fundamental laws of nature that cause death: trauma, aging, and disease. When you eliminate any one of these things, let alone all three of them, the world becomes a very different place. Of course, if it is just you that is granted immortality, then that's different. I think about that episode of Family Guy where Death sprained his ankle and had to take sick leave, so the laws of death no longer applied. Pretty soon people were jumping off buildings, running out into oncoming traffic, shooting each other, and so on.

Consider that we basically wouldn't need hospitals if the laws of physics no longer applied and everyone was invincible. And what if you were the only immortal? How would you feel if you had no use for a hospital while everyone else became ill and died eventually?

I'd love to answer the question straight and say yes I would, as long as I could stay young. Frankly, the concept of immortality is more complex and raises a million and one philosophical concerns that you could spend forever (pun fully intended) contemplating it and questioning your existence.

I think it might just be easier to be mortal.


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## Elyasis (Jan 4, 2012)

Absolutely. Even if it was just me initially granted immortality. True immortality not the death by inches immortality. I would say yes. I find existence much preferable right now to the alternative.


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## Curiously (Nov 7, 2011)

I don't want to live forever in my body. Simple answer: no, thanks, I'd rather not live forever.


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## Madam (Apr 1, 2012)

If I remember correctly, I voted 'no' some time ago. Now I'd say yes.


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## Aquamarine (Jul 24, 2011)

If my body is healthy and I can let the people I love live forever healthily as well, I will definitely want to live forever.


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

I wouldn't want to live forever, but I'd choose a few centuries (which we'll come close to attaining within as many years): enough time to master skills, and explore the world, and, hopefully, the galaxy.

My concern is that if people lived forever, or had very extended lifespans, 1) they would lose a sense of purpose (why bother doing anything today when you've got a googolplex of years to live?), or 2) existence would become tedious and stale. Moreover, the human mind didn't evolve to cope with immortality. Can you imagine the sheer abominable boredom of those deserts of vast eternity, the degenerate, black hole, and dark eras of the universe, an almost empty cosmos approaching its heat death? Nothing not happening forever. Death and oblivion would be merciful in comparison.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Provided I could live as a healthy youthful man and never age _and_ I had the option of changing my mind at any time, then I would choose to live an indefinite time.


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## action9000 (Jun 15, 2013)

Death is the one thing between me and having the time to accomplish everything I want to accomplish. If I didn't have to try and fit everything in before I die, that would definitely take some stress away!!

I'd have to say yes, I would live forever if I could. 

Is that a bit short-sighted? Possibly but it depends how we define "die". What happens to an immortal when the Earth becomes too hot to sustain life? Do I burn and feel hunger and thirst forever, to the point where my flesh burns away down to bone and eventually dust? Am I still alive as said dust? How is that possible, with no brain and no body? Assuming I don't need to endure horrific existence in such a state, I'd happily live "forever". 

If I did need to endure existence as cosmic dust for all eternity...maybe that would be okay too actually. I wouldn't have nerve cells to perceive pain. No brain to get bored. No sensory input to expect something to happen.

Maybe it is worth the tradeoff in order to live through all future civilizations of humanity.
I'm sticking with "yes".

On the other hand, if my body became completely indestructible for all eternity (which would defeat the law of conservation of energy, among others, but besides that!)I'd probably have to decline said immortality. I would not want to be a fully conscious human enduring an endless amount of time when there's no universe left to exist in.


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## GundamChao (Jun 17, 2014)

Oh, heavens no! There's enough pain to witness in one lifetime. I couldn't stand even more than that.


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## mikan (May 25, 2014)

No because I think it would be too boring and I'm sure I'll be fed up with life, too much if something isn't good.


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## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

Nah. The limitation of time forces us to achieve as much as we can.


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## MidnightPicnic (Dec 14, 2013)

I used to believe that we only have one life and that we should take advantage of it. Now, considering it's all just a state of mind, I've realized that considering you're already dead has many sustainable benefits; more freedom to feel like doing whatever you wanna do, less fear to pursue creative projects you've always wished to pursue, where you'd normally feel incompetent to tackle them. If you're already dead, the living have no valid say, negative or positive, it's just irrelevant energy that is in your hands, not anyone else's, they can't "hurt" you. Plus, you wouldn't wanna "leave" if you're already "gone". I duno. Just a theory in process, playing with/countering the "yolo" concept etc., and going with "yodf" (you only die forever), without taking a super nihilistic approach lol

So perhaps... "Life" is a limited scope for living/being, where death is eternal. So no I wouldn't want to practice the thought of "living forever" considering the connotations riddled with the term. I could be "dead forever" and suffer far less restraint, and perhaps enjoy "it" somehow. 

Life has much value, but is often found useless/neglected if death isn't taken into consideration, therein minimizing life to a mere wrist-watch. "Life" is an interesting concept; I'm still figuring it out.

For now, out of respect for Life, I'd rather be dead... forever. It makes more sense somehow.


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## Darkbloom (Aug 11, 2013)

Yes,as long as I get to stay young


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## Glassland (Apr 19, 2014)

Absolutely. There is so much to learn, to unveil, to create, to pass on.
One life time is not nearly enough for that.

Also I fear the totality of death, for I think that I will stop existing after death. It is only natural to cling onto existence.


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## Mr. Demiurge (Jun 18, 2014)

Anyone who would say 'yes' to this question without _extremely_ clear stipulations as to just what constitutes 'living' and just what constitutes 'forever' should be glad they aren't in one of those stories where they get to make a wish on a monkey's paw or something.


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## owlhead (Aug 12, 2012)

No, I want to die. I like the idea of an end. It makes me feel relieved.


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## Gossip Goat (Nov 19, 2013)

I'd rather live forever, because in death there is a chance of never experiencing anything, I don't call that peace.


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## nichya (Jul 12, 2014)

Yes please ! But I would like death to remain as an option when I get bored and when I am curious to see what is next.


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## reveur (Oct 26, 2014)

No, god, no. Never. 

Living forever? It seems scary.


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## MuChApArAdOx (Jan 24, 2011)

Not me, not in the exact life I'm living now. I would like to be reborn and live many different lives, lifestyles etc. Next life come back as a man sort of thing.


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## nichya (Jul 12, 2014)

It is interesting, I would never think anyone wouldn't want to live forever. Let's see the pattern here, is it the sx first variants that want to live forever?

aye here, raises hand*


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## empyrealstar (Oct 26, 2014)

I think I would say yes to the soul living forever, accumulating information and _retaining_ what is learnt in every life thereafter. I'm not a religious person so I don't even know if we have souls, but I like to think maybe we do. That's how I'd like to live forever. Oh, and with the stipulation that I'd always be female. This soul definitely feels female and would like to stay that way


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## IDontThinkSo (Aug 24, 2011)

The longer the better.


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## blood roots (Oct 29, 2013)

I've answered this thread before but I'm gonna do it again because. Living forever is the last thing I ever want to do.


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## leigha (Aug 14, 2014)

If by forever you mean even once humanity dies and I'm the only one left alive (however long until that takes), then no. If you just mean that I'm biologically capable of living forever but could still kill myself or by killed, then yes. There are so many things that a person is unable to do in a lifetime, and I think that being able to do those things would be a gift. Plus, I wouldn't have to fear running out of time.


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## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

Yes, I want to see how all the changes work and have plenty of time. And if I got bored of this world I would travel the universe or even the multiverse. There is so much to explore and see, many new things to try out.


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## Maka (Oct 30, 2013)

No way! I'd be afraid to get close to anyone because someday I'd have watch them all die.


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## L'Enfant Terrible (Jun 8, 2014)

Absolutely yes. Saying that "living forever would get boring" or "it would be unbearable to see all loved ones die" is absurd for two reasons : 1.you must already be a boring,limited person if the prospect of immortality and endless possibilities seems boring to you and 2.why would your loved ones die since you have found a way of not dying.

Living for such a short time is what ironically stops me from living as opposed to what many people say (living short lives puts everything into perspective).


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## platorepublic (Dec 27, 2012)

There's a chance you will be buried alive, then you are screwed.


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## Aidalien Iseberk (Dec 12, 2014)

I dont think it would ever be boring. More Ithink I would go mad in couple of years because I would know what others dont and that would drive me crazy. But I would like to know how it feels to be that old, how my thinking would change and generally I am very curious how the life of humanity will develop. Well..If nothing, I would gain lots of time to read books and write fanfiction.... Of course, if there are still people to write books so that I could write it. If that ever happens, please, dont let me live on.


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