22 Responses to “Abe Vigoda Still Parties”

1. #1 |  j methven |  January 15th, 2004 at 12:17 pm

   Liked your article on Dean vs Republicans. I am getting worried about the size & scope of the growth of government under the man I admire, Pres. Bush. He’s had a lot to deal with, more than Clinton. Part of the Government growth is due to 911 and the subsequent ID & focus on terrorism. But the medicare bill is too much. Especially given the manner and breadth of taxpayer rip off practised under medicare.

   Thanks for the insite.

   Jim Methven

2. #2 |  taktile |  January 15th, 2004 at 1:02 pm

   People might become more averse to behavior which could permanently damage you (IE bodily harm) but other to other behaviors where there is no potential for bodily damage we might become much more risk-neutral than we are now.

   Like, I could see not walking outside so much, safer cars, etc. but for something like investment behavior people would be maximizing value over an infinite period of time. Risk-aversion in current asset markets is defended as rational because, as Keynes put it, in the long term we’re all dead. That wouldn’t be true anymore.

3. #3 |  The Serpent |  January 15th, 2004 at 2:42 pm

   Maybe you are already (potentially) immortal and you just donâ??t realize (perceive) it yet?

   But that gets me to wondering â?¦ how long would it take for an immortal Individual to become self-aware of the fact they were immortal? After all, it is not as if you enter this universe fully self-aware. It takes most Individuals a fair amount of time just to figure out who their parents are and how to control their â??bodilyâ? functions.

   What if there are lots of immortals? I wonder what the punishment would be for consistently causing harm to other immortal Individuals?

   But its probably best not to think about this too much. If you allow for the possibility it would kind of put a damper on the notion that there are no ultimate consequences for your words and your actions. Besides, isn’t existence much more “enjoyable” when it is “random” and meaningless?

4. #4 |  corquando |  January 15th, 2004 at 3:19 pm

   Unaddressed but important would be the basis of their immortality. Would they still need to eat, and if so, would simple starvation become a ‘mortal’ fear for some 3000 year old person?

   And, if the only basis for immortality is the dampening or elimination of aging per se, then what about diseases? Isn’t it possible that there are illnesses that would not show up until one is in his 200′s or 700′s or 12,000′s?

   And what about Alzheimer’s? Maybe most of us pull the celestial curtain and join the choir invisible before we’re afflicted, and those who are just get a ‘premature’ version.

5. #5 |  Chris Farley |  January 15th, 2004 at 3:43 pm

   Wouldn’t curiosity ultimately kill us? Eventually, the risk aversion would become boring and we would seek excitement. If the excitement and/or the actions we took to gain that excitement didn’t kill us, the only unexplored realm left would be death. You should realize that if drugs got so sophisticated as to bring about immortality, it would follow that similar medical advances could repair nearly any damage to the physical body.

   Just remember, in an infinite universe with an infinite time span, everyone would eventually experience everything…including death.

6. #6 |  Kim |  January 15th, 2004 at 3:51 pm

   But if the universe is infinite how would one eventually experience everything?

7. #7 |  John Venlet |  January 15th, 2004 at 3:55 pm

   You may be interested in reading these comments on this subject.

8. #8 |  Matt |  January 15th, 2004 at 4:10 pm

   I would offer that a great majority of mortals would not change their risk behaviour for as we as humans understand the world as it is (or as we know it) immortality is not real, and we could only truly test it by dying- then it wouldn’t matter.

9. #9 |  Frank N |  January 15th, 2004 at 4:38 pm

   Risk aversion? That’s exactly why I have monkey butlers to take all the risks. Hey, immortal with monkey butlers? Whoa, life rocks!

10. #10 |  Brian Hawkins |  January 15th, 2004 at 4:50 pm

    Corquando–

    Actually, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease falls off very quickly after age 80. There are very few people who live beyond that age and then develop it. Other forms of dementia might be inevitiable, though, if you survive everything else. Of course, any “imortality pill” would have to address the “natural” (as opposed to disease-induced) deterioration of the brain, as it would every other organ.

11. #11 |  corquando |  January 16th, 2004 at 10:19 am

    Brian-

    Thanks! Now I can plan for that law degree when I’m 95!

12. #12 |  Malchus |  January 16th, 2004 at 11:16 am

    Immortality is not nearly as much fun as it is cracked up to be. Trust me.

13. #13 |  The Serpent |  January 16th, 2004 at 12:22 pm

    Ohh Malchus, how can I trust you on something like that unless you explain yourself?

    Why is immortality less fun than mortality?

    Is being Evil more fun than being Good? Is chocolate better than vanilla?

14. #14 |  Wild Pegasus |  January 17th, 2004 at 4:32 am

    Jim,

    I hate to piss in your pot, but about 5% of the increase in spending over the past 4 years has gone to fight terrorists. Most of it is going to defence pork and various other garbage.

    - Josh

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