Holy Crap, They Cured Cancer?

[Ghambit]

Hey, it's better than your oneiromancy thing.

Shut up you.  That's gonna make me rich someday! But damn, that word.. "oneiromancy."  I must steal it.   I assume it's been written somewhere before, or did you just now think of it?  (or did I think of it long ago and simply forget - as usual)

Speaking of which, the best epi. of 'Through the Wormhole' (the brain hack one) sort of glosses over some of my thoughts.  But again, here we go with the ethical dilemmas.

[Paelos]

One area where I do have my faith run into a wall is kids with cancer. I don't have any answers there, but I do make it a point to donate every year to research causes and Children's Hospital.

[Ingmar]

Hey, it's better than your oneiromancy thing.

Shut up you.  That's gonna make me rich someday! But damn, that word.. "oneiromancy."  I must steal it.   I assume it's been written somewhere before, or did you just now think of it?  (or did I think of it long ago and simply forget - as usual)

Speaking of which, the best epi. of 'Through the Wormhole' (the brain hack one) sort of glosses over some of my thoughts.  But again, here we go with the ethical dilemmas.

I want to say you used oneironaut which made it sound too much like science. 

[Ghambit]

Hey, it's better than your oneiromancy thing.

Shut up you.  That's gonna make me rich someday! But damn, that word.. "oneiromancy."  I must steal it.   I assume it's been written somewhere before, or did you just now think of it?  (or did I think of it long ago and simply forget - as usual)

Speaking of which, the best epi. of 'Through the Wormhole' (the brain hack one) sort of glosses over some of my thoughts.  But again, here we go with the ethical dilemmas.

I want to say you used oneironaut which made it sound too much like science. 

No, I know I used oneironaut.  But oneiromancy?  Dont think so.  But it's awesome.  /runstowhiteboard

Anyways, back to the brainhack epi.  Some lab has experimentally proven subconscious control from an external source using scent bypass (they layered a suggestion with a scent, wafted the scent during deep sleep, and got a response).  And another lab has unlocked quite a few language keywords just from fMRI data (they can read enough of what you're thinking to essentially interrogate you).  The last interesting segment for me was the TMS one (transcranial mag. stimulation) - wherein they were able to get instantaneous performance enhancement in an archery competition.  We've already cited in here somewhere about that other lab that got raw intelligence enhancement somewhere up around 30% with similar techniques.

Scary times.  Or awesome times.  Depending on your perspective.

[Bzalthek]

Oneiromancy has been a thing since the 1600s.  Also, Carl Jung was known to use the term.

[Kitsune]

People make too big of a fuss about "immortality" when all they're doing is changing what kills them from old age to accident, violence, or suicide.  The average life expectancy of humans would probably no more than double if we cured every disease and found a way to avoid aging.  Eventually, inevitably, something's going to get you.  Vampires have always amused the hell out of me for that reason; calling someone who bursts into flame at the mere sight of the sun 'immortal' is silly when they probably won't see 35 before someone stakes them, the blinds fall down, or some other random mishap offs them.

[kaid]

People make too big of a fuss about "immortality" when all they're doing is changing what kills them from old age to accident, violence, or suicide.  The average life expectancy of humans would probably no more than double if we cured every disease and found a way to avoid aging.  Eventually, inevitably, something's going to get you.  Vampires have always amused the hell out of me for that reason; calling someone who bursts into flame at the mere sight of the sun 'immortal' is silly when they probably won't see 35 before someone stakes them, the blinds fall down, or some other random mishap offs them.

Yup unless we were also given some kind of massive regeneration capability eventually the law of averages would get everybody. If you live 200+ years your chance of slipping on soap and breaking your neck or more likely a car accident becomes much more likely. The one weird downside of this kind of longevity would be sever risk aversion behaviors. If people know they are effectively immortal if they avoid random doom I wonder how many hugh heffner type people you wind up getting avoiding anything even potentially dangerous in an attempt to live forever.

[ghost]

Well, there's that and there's also the problem that most people, by 90 years of age, are decrepit beyond the ability to even care for themselves.  Mucking with the mortality genes may not change that eventuality one bit. 

[Ghambit]

This is why solving Cancer is an important step.  There are many very old people with negligible senescence, but almost always in the end either a) a sudden heart attack kills them or b) cancer gets them. 
Modern cancer research and a burgeoning tissue engineering industry are solving those two problems.  The closer we get, the healthier people will yearn to live.

Think on this too, most older folk KNOW their expectancy isn't much better if they bust their asses being "healthy." (there are natural stopgaps that limit the benefits)  So they dont, enter decrepitude, and drain the medical system in their wake.

[satael]

Isn't "curing cancer" also going to make space travel more viable when some of the effects (radiation carcinogenesis) of solar radiation etc will be more manageable (though other degenerative tissue effects still remain)?

[pxib]

Isn't "curing cancer" also going to make space travel more viable ...?

That is one of the least pressing obstacles in space travel and one of the least important reasons to cure cancer, but I suppose so.

As a general rule, however, I agree that our goal for immortality should be the extension of youth rather than the extension of age... and cancer isn't really the big destroyer of quality-of-life that basic muscular and immune system degeneration is. The truly tragic cancers are those of childhood, like leukemia, and those of early adulthood like brain, breast, uterine, cervical and testicular. Skin, lung, stomach, liver, and prostate are just bonuses.

[Nebu]

Politicians are doing a great job at extending youth.  There are more 30 year olds living at home with their parents than ever! 

[K9]

Politicians are doing a great job at extending youth.  There are more 30 year olds living at home with their parents than ever! 

Oh, that's good. Please tell me you came up with that.

[Nebu]

Oh, that's good. Please tell me you came up with that.

I did, but I'm sure others have thought it.

As for the space program, that's brilliant.  We can send all the old people into space!

[Teleku]

As for the space program, that's brilliant.  We can send all the old people into space!

To fight Aliens!