What will our lives look like once we reach escape velocity in aging?
Answer 2:
In answering this question, there are an incredible number of details that are dependent on how we reach escape velocity in aging. Are the anti-aging interventions incredibly expensive or difficult to maintain? Are they easily controlled by governments or other institutions? Can they be interfered with easily? For instance, could one easily kill or age their neighbor?
All this said, I will try to procede without answering these questions and, for simplicity’s sake, assume that most people will easily be able to avoid aging and that they will not need to fear threat of age-causing oppression from institutions or individuals. Though I think these assumptions aren’t incredibly realistic, it allows us to think what the daily lives of the immortal will look like.
In some sense, the daily lives of those who don’t age look similar to ours today. A genuine concern for longer run consequences, however, more intensely colors all that they do in some very interesting ways.
Consider their hobbies.
Gardening is now less concerned with this next year’s yields and high-yield permaculture gardening has become incredibly common. While annuals are still popular, it’s even more popular to be cultivating exotic woods for furniture and construction.
Speaking of which, homes are built to be more permanent as people wish them to last a millenium. Construction itself becomes something of a hobbie with people taking hundreds of years to build their homes.
Scientific research becomes a more popular pastime. Learning has become ever more valuable and enjoyable. One popular research area is that of human resurrection. After seeing so many generations of posterity mature, it is only reasonable to desire to see those who came from before. Several major religious movements have also stressed the importance of these endeavors as well.
Of course, much scientific research is being done on efficient resource use and environmental restoration and conservation. (Another reason for the interest in resurrection is that voluntary death with a promise of future resurrection has been proposed as a potential resource conserving measure.) Few people choose to die; more find it morally reprehensible to have children; but the majority are very interested in having large families, either growing their endless dynasties and gaining influence or just fulfilling what they see as religious duties. Polygamy has become popular among some.
It is clear that this future is not free of conflict both inter- and intra-generational.
Loyalty to one’s generational identity is, for some, stronger than ever. For others, your clan is your greatest source of identity and purpose. Even among this second group, there are power grabs and infighting; in the larger clans you could say there are full on revolutions.
It’s more important that ever to be involved and informed on politics and the trends of cultures and societies. Changes in the world are no longer the next generation’s problem. Culture used to change when the old passed on and the young touch the torch, but now division and war are the only way to make large change.
Despite this conflict, most lead a charmed life but will be quick to remind you that life has its seasons. There is much work to be done, and there are many problems to be solved, and at this point most suspect there always will be.