How long do you want to live?

"Accidents" happen.

 

Well I can't only think of two people I would count as "enemies" in my life and they're both dead. One slowly drank himself to death and the other died a slow horrible death from cancer. I knew them both well and as far as I'm concerned Karma let them both off easy.

 

you spelled "victory" wrong.

 

If I have my full mental faculties, bring it on.

I'm actually more terrified of getting Alzheimer's than I am getting a disease like cancer. They both impact your quality of life in a big way, but if I lost the ability to reason for myself, I would not longer BE myself.

 

I might be better if I died yesterday. Since that didn't happen, I want to live as long as I can.

 

Yeah that was my dad in the last few years. At first he'd be himself one moment then suddenly start spouting non-sense. In the beginning he was like that maybe and hour or two usually late in the day. Near the end he was like that 90% of the day. He'd have a thought and start making sense and in mid sentence he'd lose it and have no idea what he was talking about. It was difficult for everyone but had to be 10x as bad for him. I'd wouldn't want to live that ever.

 

THAT was difficult to read, Tully. My step-grandfather, an extraordinarily intelligent man, looked at me, near his end, & said, "Sit down, you're not gonna get any taller." I hope to live as long as he did.

 

When I was 16, 21 looked really old. At 21, 40 looked much the same. At 55, I have peers that are ready to die and others that are hard to keep up with. It's all about quality of life. For now, the process of aging is better than the alternative. When that changes, we'll play it by ear.

 

I have a weird obsession with death but have come to face it full force a few times.... I'd love to live forever as I love learning new things and since the world is constantly changing, it would entertain me for eternity but that probably won't happen so I'll just make the best of it for right now...

 

Don't think I want to live forever, but I'd sure like to be healthy and fully physically and mentally able, until I die. My grandma is 95 and she's ready for it to be over. Finally slowing down too.

 

The future is more complicated than how long we live.
The planet has problems because of how many people are here now.
food energy atmosphere commercials

 

How long... one more good week, month, year... always, one more, forever! Let me see my children's lives unfold, evolve. Give me time to play with my grandchildren. But, don't let me become a burden, physically or financially. When I stop being an enhancement to their lives, set me adrift on an ice flow.

I have further thoughts on the prospects of being able to buy and extended life. I'm letting them percolate. Will revisit this thread.

 

Honestly, I don't. I'm not actively suicidal, just not interested in living anymore. I know I should be, I have a couple of great kids, a grandson on the way, and some amazing friends, both near and far. However, reality is, I don't want to be on this earth anymore, I'm just not gonna do anything to cause that to happen.

 

Short answer: no. Given the current trajectory of human (over-)development and the damage our species has already done to this world, I don't want to stick around any longer than I absolutely have to. I'm already dreading seeing the effects of that damage—global accelerated climate change, for example—playing out further in my own lifetime... not that I would intentionally shorten my life either. But I'd be happy going when my natural time comes, without any additional chemical or pharmacological assistance.

On the other hand, if I could somehow witness how a post-human world were to play out a la The World Without Us as a proverbial fly on the wall, that's a show I'd pay tickets to see.

 

As long as I am needed or wanted.

 

Well, if they think geriatric care is bursting at the seams now, just wait!

I'm with amonkie. Alzheimer's sucks. My Dad had it and my mum has it. So, I'm not looking at very good odds.

 

Quality of life is the key issue to me, not just longevity. I've been dealing with care of aging parents for a long time and the physical and mental restrictions are heartbreaking.

The thought of spending years being unable to walk or enjoy life fully is unappealing to me.

The idea of dementia is terrible. I can think of nothing I'd hate more than the loss of my mental faculties.

Assuming quality of life would be good, I'd consider it. I've spent my life with a passion for learning news things and there's so much more out there to learn!

 

As stated earlier by other, I only want to stick around as long as my mental capacity cooperates. If I can't recognize my family or remember anything I've done, then I am no longer me. I'll live to that point, then have no desire to keep going a shell of myself.

 

I know what's likely to happen to me. Both of my parents and three of my four grandparents died of cancer.

On the other hand, the one grandfather who dodged cancer lived to be 93.

One of my best friends, a retired engineer, is 88 years old, and he's still out building decks, plowing snow, keeping up with a dozen different intellectual journals, and picking political arguments with me and others. During his career, he was involved in perfecting power steering, and if you show the slightest interest, he will enthusiastically explain how it works.

One's brain is a "use it or lose it" organ. My grandparents (your great-grandparents) usually had little education and limited interest in intellectual stimulation. Today's more educated elderly have greater cognition at more advanced ages, simply because they continue to exercise their minds.

Like most people, I'm greedy. I want as much time as possible.