NewlyNested: I Wanna Live Forever — No, Seriously…

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a blogumn by Debra Goykhman

My husband believes human kind will achieve the ability to live forever within our lifetime.  I am curious about his belief.  I know when my husband says something that has to do with biology that he has done some extensive scientific reading to prove or theorize the claim.  This time it wasn’t so extensive, but more of a star-struck following of one man’s work who did have some scientific evidence.

The man that my husband has chosen to believe is Ray Kurzweil.  The term that describes what he believes is called the “singularity.”  The particular Kurzweil book that inspired my husband is called The Singularity is Near.  The book released in 2005 was not the start of Kurzweil’s career or the term “singularity.”  In fact, the idea of the singularity has been around since the sixties, but now Kurzweil’s theories have found a place in pop culture, referenced to in Our Lady Peace’s 2001 album Spiritual Machines and the TV series, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

The argument of man transcending into machine is a valid and intriguing one that has always fascinated me.  Now living with a machine enthusiast, I have a better idea of how mankind, in theory, can still exist in machines.   The explanation that has worked for me is basically that one day man’s evolution will ultimately evolve and continue through technology…  It’s a little more reasonable then Terminator’s doomsday theory, but still hard to fully grasp and understand.  I’m afraid to do that you must attend a lecture or read a book.

I am not preaching that we will become machines, but I am curious where technology will take us and what is out there for us to take advantage of.  One thing that my husband has begun to persuade me towards is supplemental health. so that we can live to the day that nanobots will take care of our bodies.  He has also bought me another Ray Kurzweil co-authored book about taking care of your health, which I haven’t cracked — but my husband has read several pages out loud to me.

Not too long ago I was preaching to my husband that we must hire a dietician and lose weight and now the roles have been reversed.  He is the one who is begging me to take more vitamins.  I think my husbands vitamin/supplement count is up to 20 pills a day so far.  I am not going to list, preach, or tell you the expense, because it will bore and shock you.  However, there are two that I have agreed to take.  Fish Oil, which has Omega-3 elements that help support anti-inflamitory functions in the body.  Basically it will make your body feel good, your skin look beautiful and your brain function better (so I’m told).  The second, Phosphatidyl Choline, is supposedly the fountain of youth, .  This vitamin slows down cellular aging all over your body.

Before you consider taking anything talk to your doctor (we did).  Then perhaps take a moment to learn, question, and maybe even disagree with the prospect of being able to live forever.