News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on A Nobel Prize winner's brilliant tirade against mortality. Parent comment

Re:A Nobel Prize winner's brilliant tirade against mortality by JumpCrisscross on Thursday August 08, 2024 @01:58AM (#41188538)
I wouldn't be so cynical. Many power structures rely on death to drive churn. But there are other mechanisms, e.g. sequential term limits and retirement. (Retirement doesn't mean you can't do anything anymore. Just not that thing.)

Moreover, while longer lifespans may drive calcification, they would also promote long-term thinking. How would we vote about the climate differently if we knew we'd be around for a couple hundred years?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:A Nobel Prize winner's brilliant tirade against mortality by ElFitz on Thursday August 08, 2024 @02:49AM (#41188785)
Hence “worry”, and not an adamant objection to the idea of prolonging life.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:A Nobel Prize winner's brilliant tirade against mortality by retzkek on Thursday August 08, 2024 @12:45PM (#41193525)
> Moreover, while longer lifespans may drive calcification, they would also promote long-term thinking. How would we vote about the climate differently if we knew we'd be around for a couple hundred years?

Would we act more in favor of the general long-term good, or would we scramble even more to get ours now in order to secure our own future? I'm not so sure cooperation would win.

[ Parent | on HN ]