Fountain of youth (Is it possible)

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   Zarm Nefilinposted 16 years ago

   So what are the opinions of all my fellow hubbers out there on the old "Fountain of Youth" concept.
   
   Ya know, the one where we create a means to stay forever young, kinda like the elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings book.
   
   What do you guys think?  Opinions?  Is such a regenerative science even feasible?
   
   If it was feasible, would you want to stay alive for a long period of time, or possibly even until the very end of time, (The Big Rip)?
   
   Being knowledge oriented as I am, I certainly will say that I would want to do that if possible, as it would enable me to continue to learn about that which is me and that which is not, (the latter being the more important of the two to learn about).
   
   If science could do such a thing, then what would be required for it to work?  Any ideas?  Comments?

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2. 60

   Mark Knowlesposted 16 years ago

   I think it's unlikely, but if it ever is possible it raises an interesting question.
   
   My brain is already full and I seem to forget early stuff as I learn newer stuff.
   
   How would we be able to keep on learning new stuff?

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      rmrposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I have recently read some "enlightened poetry", that seems to be capable of sucking knowledge straight from your head. I suspect that would make room for new things. Failing that, it could also sap your will to live, thus rendering any need for a fountain of youth moot.

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   2. 0

      Zarm Nefilinposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed an interesting question, and one worth asking.
      
      If such a regenerative science were feasible perhaps it would be beneficial to the patient to receive a dose which would put him/her before neuroplasticity set in and right around the age where experience and neuroplasticity where both balanced.  At least it would seem to be the case in my opinion, (speculation).
      
      After all, it is well known that children have the best neuroplasticity, but then who would want to be like a child forever?  Not I, that is for sure.  Sitting at 25 forever or 30 forever seems best to me, for as long as possible barring natural accident.
      
      Perhaps humans would eventually reach their capacity for remembering things and would have to log experiences past a few hundred years?  Hmm..
      
      But then wouldn't this whole scenario also raise another important question?
      
      If humans could individually stay alive for thousands of years barring accident and war, then what would be the ethical implications of spreading across the known universe?
      
      A bit of a stretch I know, in 60 years I will be dust again, but I do wonder about this particular question not that it is all that terribly important.

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   SparklingJewelposted 16 years ago

   Well, my interpretation of the Fountain of Youth is a spiritual science One that believes in the creative energy of the universe (God if you will) that comes through our energy centers, and with our human desire can increase the vibration of our total being. For you see , the energy from the universe has to be "stepped down" before it comes into us or we would explode! So as we take it in, and increase our consciousness to accept a higher and higher vibratory rate of this energy in a wholistic manner, we will become, or stay youthful.
   
   Now the wholistic point is paramount, otherwise, we become too much of a brain, with a decreasing body and heart of love, or too much of a body with decreasing brain and  heart of love or too much of ...you get the idea:)...not whole and balanced.
   
   I for one would not like to be a brain with no heart and body, ( I've dated a few of those:)  or a body with no brain or heart (and some of those, too ... or a...
   
   so yes of course it is possible, by what I consider scientific means...and one day those means will be proven/accepted, just like oriental medicine and those concepts and the regeneration of cells and body.
   
   This is alchemy in the true sense of the word...in my opinion

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      Zarm Nefilinposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      That is interesting SJ, thank you for sharing your opinion.
      
      
      
      I sometimes wonder if creative regeneration aka (healing considerations), as a conceptual priority is the essence of womanhood.
      
      Men can get so caught up in adrenaline, which is good for blowing stuff up.
      
      And yes, it is not good to be allbrain no heart or no brain all heart.
      
      That is like the difference between the temperature on Mars and being melted by the heat of a smoldering volcano.
      
      Being cold hearted or being a loving rub a dub idiot are both unbalanced, not necessarily equally unbalanced (in fact I do not think it is possible to equate they two, the just both flat out suck).

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   ask4jmposted 16 years ago

   You started the same old question that creates havoc to innumerable minds. You can eulogize some art and say it will remain forever youth. You can play many nice games with the combination of letters. Say nice nice things. But coming back to Newton's law you can straightway close your eye say NO. That has a beginning has an end. Only the unborn can be undying. Nobody can alter that. Science may be able to extend your life, freeze you in cryonics, makes all parts of the body replaceable. But in fact even if your life has been lengthened to a billion yrs it still has an end. And when you look back those length surmounts to nothing.
   
   According Indian Vedantic philosophy, if you don't wanna die you have to believe and realise that you were unborn. You say its my pen, and so pen is not you. You say its my hand, my head, and so on... Therefore these are not you. Then who r u? Thus they inquired one after another and then another... Thus goes on and claims to finally found out and then realized the ultimate undying self who the fire can't burn, wind cannot blow, water cannot wet, sword cannot cut... You can' t burn the space (ether). You can't cut it apart, can't bombard it .... Something like that but add to it a omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent nature.
   
   That is what the old books claim but no idea how far they are right. But one thing assured this body will someday always undergo decay. Even the mummies who thought they will be revived back at the end of days when the Sun rises in the west are ending up at labs. And many have already decayed.
   
   And there are other questions which are of similar nature that havocs our mind equally...

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   dmjordposted 16 years ago

   Setting aside whether or not it could be done. I personally wouldn't want to drink from it. Because I think that over time i would become so much more aware of what's going on in the world through personal experience (because i have infinite amount of time to live), I would become depressed. There's beautiful things in this world but you can't deny the tragedies. I would do what I could to help those problems but I'd have to watch everyone i loved around me die. I would eventually want to free myself from my immortality.

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   wychicposted 16 years ago

   This is actually a question a few friends and I have been discussing for some time that does have a certain fascination to it...personally, I think it is possible for human life to be extended far beyond what we consider a life span, if not this moment then in the near future.
   
   The study I saw that intrigued me the most concentrated more on preservation of cells through the removal of free radicals, allowing the cells to live much longer. Theoretically, if this could be done the person would remain healthy and looking young but their bodies would still mature (for instance, a child would still develop into a normal adult, but that adult would take a couple hundred years longer to start looking old). Another theoretical scientific advancement that we like to discuss is the use of nanotechnology or the like to keep the body free of toxins and harmful substances (such as excess cholesterol) that would eliminate other things that could make the body fail.
   
   In my opinion the body will die, but it is possible to slow the rate of death to a crawl and enable extremely long life...but the question remains as to how many people would actually want to do it, especiallly since a scientifically-based "fountain of youth" would probably only be available to select individuals at first who would undoubtedly see many friends, family and loved ones die before it was made available to everyone else. Then again there's the problem that if every person on earth lived 600 years we certainly couldn't keep having babies at the rate we are now or we'd be way too overcrowded very quickly.
   
   Personally, I would not mind an extremely long life even if just out of curiosity of how much I can learn...as we all probably know the brain doesn't actually "fill up" as we use such a tiny percentage of it anyway, a lot of it depends on the neural connections made, alertness and the ability to retain information...all things that decline as the body deteriorates from age.

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   thranaxposted 16 years ago

   Yes, I believe in a Fountain of Youth. But the Fountain is a scientists and mankind's knowledge and the Youth is preserved by genetics.

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