In a Reddit AMA, Freakonomics guy Steven Dubner reveals he isn’t sold on immortality, even an eternal life minus mental and physical deterioration. That certainly runs counter to the contemporary mindset, in which Silicon Valley billionaires want to “cure death.” Personally, I would choose to live forever if I had the option. Sure, I’d be in a crabby mood for 300 years every so often, but I’d get over it. 

The exchange:

Question:

More than few thousands great scientists all over the world are currently researching options to reverse aging and to cure the degenerative diseases caused by aging, Google is also involved with their project Calico, SENS Research Foundation and many other top awarded, acclaimed scientists.

The question: if you’d be given seriously the option to stay healthy and young as long as you choose to, and this option would be available also for your family and loved ones, would you take it?

I know I’d do.

Currently there is a lack of options existent at this moment still: the suffering, pain and misery caused by aging and aging related diseases is the norm, followed by death, followed by forever nothingness with no reddit, no sunsets, no thoughts, no dreams, no smiles, no friends and no family… for an eternity. We should have other options as well, those who love life to have the option of continuing to enjoy the wonder of being alive.

Thank you very much, I hope you are excited as well about the progress of medicine and science.

Steven Dubner:

It’s a great and complicated question. I think one of the reasons we value life so much is that it’s finite and therefore precious. But here’s what’s interesting to me: one conversation we don’t have a lot these days about the future is what we’ll do with all the spare time that our robot overlords will grant us. Considering how much progress and wealth and health we’ve achieved over the past couple centuries, people don’t seem to be thrilled about the simple fact that their supply of good and happy hours has increased so much. So I’m not sure having that supply increased to infinity would be such a boon.•