CornerScribe

A Few Interesting Ideas…

Link: Do You Want to Live Forever?.

Okay, so this has been the topic of many a sci-fi story. For sake of argument, let’s say it’s feasible in your lifetime. You can live forever, or a lot longer than what’s a normal life span now.

Okay, you may have your own set of problems, like when to retire, helping raise great-great-great….great-grandchildren, and simply what to do with yourself all those years.

I think a more interesting problem is what society will face. Resources is an obvious one. We all can’t go around having children if adults don’t die off. It won’t take long for the most overcrowded country to look positively roomy by comparison. There are two obvious solutions: drastically limit childbearing or routinely eliminate the elderly. Neither sounds particularly appealing, does it?

Of course, if you live to be 1000 or more, you’ll probably not be able to retire at 65 or so. In all likelihood, you’ll have many careers over your life. Will there be enough jobs for this exploding population? How can a relative youngster compete with you in the job market?

What about the types of jobs and how they’ll change? People will want more entertainment if they’re living longer, so what kinds of leisure activities can we expect? Will people stay married for life (even when it’s centuries)? I could go on and on….

Not bad for some story ideas, huh?