Vampires and Highlanders... Queen - Who Wants To Live Forever - (Highlander) - YouTube
Would a very long life made for better control in our lives scenario? Would it be easier to fulfill our dreams? Would it increase the possibilities to find THE WOMAN of our -big- life for example? How many big dreams fit in a life like that?
Would a very long life made for better control in our lives scenario? Would it be easier to fulfill our dreams? Would it increase the possibilities to find THE WOMAN of our -big- life for example? How many big dreams fit in a life like that?
It's that their technology is simple and uses what's at hand. You can cut a tree down and build a house, or use the wood to cook, etc.
Their craftsmanship is advanced, but depends on sustainable technology. No power tools!
I read somewhere that memories degrade over time. Every time you remember something, you corrupt it. It's like you take the memory out of storage, share the memory but you screw up some of the details, and then you put it away with the mistakes.
I don't know how accurate this is, but memories do change over decades. As one old geezer that talks to other old geezers I've known for 50 years, disagreements over shared experiences from the old days are common. Who's wrong? Probably all of us.
I don't know how accurate this is, but memories do change over decades. As one old geezer that talks to other old geezers I've known for 50 years, disagreements over shared experiences from the old days are common. Who's wrong? Probably all of us.
There's a "hard limit" for all things, mayflies to solar systems. Maybe the universe itself. This is just a generalized "why;" the devil is in the details.
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Here's an event that shows how ill equipped we are for even minor catastrophes.
1995 Chicago heat wave - Wikipedia
And I remember it well. I was younger and I had to go to work every day during the heat wave. It didn't even cool off at night. It was terrible. The morgues were full and they stored bodies in refrigerated food delivery trucks.
There's no way I could go to work every day in that kind of heat now. It would kill me, guaranteed. And that was just a blip on the radar! So with people living longer, these catastrophes would become even worse. We are ill equipped for even minor changes in climate, as long as we have such an enormous and technology dependent population.
1995 Chicago heat wave - Wikipedia
And I remember it well. I was younger and I had to go to work every day during the heat wave. It didn't even cool off at night. It was terrible. The morgues were full and they stored bodies in refrigerated food delivery trucks.
There's no way I could go to work every day in that kind of heat now. It would kill me, guaranteed. And that was just a blip on the radar! So with people living longer, these catastrophes would become even worse. We are ill equipped for even minor changes in climate, as long as we have such an enormous and technology dependent population.
Long-lived and immortal aren't the same, though a few on that list are definitely interesting.
I also see no reason to confine ourselves to the animal kingdom. How old is that bristlecone pine in California? 1800yo? 2300 yo?
I also see no reason to confine ourselves to the animal kingdom. How old is that bristlecone pine in California? 1800yo? 2300 yo?
My point was that I don't see a reason for some hard limit, and these illustrate that.
Jan
I already alluded to a degree of agnosticism about the situation. Did you miss that nuance?
Whales and turtles were included, which calls into question the seriousness offered in the headline.
The "cryptobiosis" (as I recall the term) was the most compelling example of the bunch for me. Which I think was a bacterium, a protista, neither plant nor animal. And it's sort of "cheating" in the context of this discussion.
Also, the Chicago heatwave example...
It wasn't the heat by itself that caused the catastrophe, and said so in the quoted. But I suppose this thread will ignore it, as that important part was clipped when requoted. I can't ignore it.
I'll see myself out.
It wasn't the heat by itself that caused the catastrophe, and said so in the quoted. But I suppose this thread will ignore it, as that important part was clipped when requoted. I can't ignore it.
I'll see myself out.
So do I detect a suggestion there could be more than biology putting the brakes on this hardy party?
We learned a lot from the heat wave. We have wellness checks on elderly and vulnerable people now, cooling centers, and free transportation to the cooling centers for elderly and disabled people.
In 1995, the city didn't declare a heat emergency until the last day of the heat wave. More resources could have been employed if they had, which would have saved lives. That doesn't happen any more.
I worked in an air conditioned office, rode an air conditioned train to work, drove an air conditioned car, and lived in an air conditioned apartment. Although everyone I know considers air conditioning a necessity, the fact is that even in this city it's out of reach for a lot of people.
So yes, the catastrophe was caused by not being prepared and political torpidity. It changed city policy forever though.
In 1995, the city didn't declare a heat emergency until the last day of the heat wave. More resources could have been employed if they had, which would have saved lives. That doesn't happen any more.
I worked in an air conditioned office, rode an air conditioned train to work, drove an air conditioned car, and lived in an air conditioned apartment. Although everyone I know considers air conditioning a necessity, the fact is that even in this city it's out of reach for a lot of people.
So yes, the catastrophe was caused by not being prepared and political torpidity. It changed city policy forever though.