Addendum to yesterday
Yesterday I wrote about the wrong way to relate to the powers of science: to scorn them as inauthentic.
For the curious, I think Ray Kurzweil has the right idea on this matter, according to a report in Wired. Kurzweil expects that within 20 years, humans will have invented the technologies they need to make themselves immortal. I wish I shared his optimism about the time frame: I don’t expect that we will reach this goal within my lifetime. Even so, I think we’ll get there soon, and that it’s probable my children, when I have them, will never have to die.
I have had conversations with people who think immortality would be a bad thing, because it is the authentic nature of humans to die. I think those people are fools. Well, they can die if they want to; if Kurzweil’s right, and I have the choice to live for ever, then I will take it.
I want to be immortal. I want to be an übermensch. I want to live in space. I want to be a god.