An essay contest produced this winner: http://www.imminst.org/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=202&t=8267&s=

Lots more articles here, too.

I think, for the most part, most people would continue as they have being so far. Human nature is a powerful thing, and it takes a lot of effort to change. I’m not saying it can’t be done, it can, but most people just don’t seem bothered enough. Given immortality those people get the ultimate put off clause, ah I’ll do it tomorrow, next year, next century, whatever.

And I do think people will have still have kids, the people that are having kids now, the birth rate has dropped off, and I think we’re at a situation now where only the people who want kids (and the unlucky ones who accidents happen too) are having them, rather than a couple of generations ago when everybody had kids, because that’s what you did.

I’m also not convinced the human brain/mind could cope with immortality, and I’m not talking about the physical object in our heads. I just don’t think our mids could look down the barrel of immortality and be okay with that.

Deborah, your husband’s grandfather sounds like he was a smart man, but with people who live forever in charge, they would have a monopoly, and once they get to the top, it’s gonna take a whole lot of heaving to knock them off.

Do you think you could write novels for 500 years? I can’t imagine what else I would (want to) do, but I just wander if it might not become more of the same old, same old.

Oh, and thanks for being a gracious host. (Sorry for the long comment).

Lee, I admit that I don’t watch the news because I see society going down the toilet. Unless medical technology keeps up with anti-aging, we’ll have an unprecedented medical crisis on our hands. Social Security is already overburdened, which may (or may not) provide us with a paltry retirement income. Yes, I’m seeing the negative ramifications of this technology.

But.

I was told by my husband’s late grandfather that society moves like a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to the other. The past three decades have shown a build-up of society’s corruption. I’m not just referring to the government, but everyone. Something’s going to happen that will make the pendulum swing the other way.

Melly, I don’t know if people will stop having kids but it is possible. Raising a family is expensive, and the costs are rising each year. I can’t imagine living to be 500! I wonder how many books I can write in that time. Hmm.

You look at an immortal society and still see the same social structure. I don’t think that would be the case. For one thing, I doubt people will have kids. It might not happen immediately, but I think the cahnge will happen. (Maybe one kids when you’re 500 or something, just to see what the fuss is all about Of course, no one can prove what they think might happen, but I think the changes will be deeper than just continuing to live our lives as usual just longer.

What do you think? Or perhaps, Deborah, we should continue this elsewhere?

Immortality (And I know we’re not really talking about that), in my opinion, would create far more problems than it would solve.

And I’ll end that depressing comment with a smiley

Touching on what Lee said, I believe that with longer life expentancy our society will also change. The urgency will disappear and with it perhaps calmer days will come. Who knows?

The eternal optimist.

Fred, I hear you about the nursing homes. I don’t like to think about those because they’re too close for comfort. I’m grateful that my grandmother is not in one of those places. She’ll turn 80 this summer and is still able to live on her own.

So I don’t know at this point if I could really handle being in that situation. I keep telling myself that as long as I can think and type, I will be able to do it.