How does one live forever.. and is physical immortality possible?
Thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 28 Mar 2003 17:03 PST

Hi! There are no particular scientific methods yet. Would you settle
for theories at this point?

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Clarification of Question by bjklein-ga on 28 Mar 2003 20:53 PST

Yes.. I'd like the know the most common objections to and the
potential for physical immortality.  Also, what are common answers to
these objections.  Also, what group are interested in physical
immortaltiy and why... And what are people doing to live forever
now... Thanks. BJK

By doing something(s) absolutely amazing (like Edison) or something(s)
absolutely horrendous (like Hitler).

Life extention may soon be common, but immortaliy suggests forever.
Even the rocks are changed radically over billions of years. Some
religions, including the Bible, suggest that we can be changed into
something that will live forever. The Mormon Church = The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers much detail. After a brief
period up to several thousand years, we will all be reserected with
new phyical bodies much like we have now, but incorruptable. This does
not mean all of us will enjoy living with God again, but no one will
cease to exist and thus all will be immortal. Most libraries have
books by Mormon authors, most of whom touch on this subject and
considerable Mormon speculation is available with some searching.  
Neil

No, protons degrade.

If you want to live forever, all you must do is read this sentance
tomarrow, and follow its directions.

That should work until your eyesight goes really bad where you can't
read, then you will die.  So phsyical immortality isn't possible in
this dimension of life, but possibly in others; although I am not
suggesting any religious scriptures or cults, or merely beliefs, just
saying totally differant dimensions.

How does one live forever? 
     We live forever because we have no choice. We cannot die. We can
see our physical bodies go through the motions of dying, and attend
our own funerals, but we cannot die. But we do lose our physical
bodies when we die, if we believe that we are bodies.

Is physical immortality possible? 
     Yes. The paradox is, You only get to keep your body if you know
you're *not* a body. Like Jesus and the Buddha, the two most
well-known examples. Like Dante and Shakespeare and Walt Whitman and
many others, saints and housewives and warriors.
     You can achieve physical immortality through becoming
enlightened; and that happens when that is what you want.
     There are 10,000 paths to enlightenment, and the first step to
take is in knowing the power of your own mind; and using that power to
say to your Self, the universe, whatever, "I want to know how to do
this. Please help me, show me. Give me a hint!"
     And then wait and see ....

when i firts read the qestoin i thought it raed PHYSYCAL IMMORALITY
then wondered at the ( to me) incompehensile comments

Just a quibble with redcoltken-ga's comment, that "protons degrade".

While this is plausible, I don't believe proton decay has ever been
observed.  I think what can be said about proton decay experimentally
is roughly that if there is a halflife, it must be greater than 10^24
years long.

The universe is about 10^10 years old, but of course forever is much
longer!  Current thinking is that the universe will expand forever, at
ever increasing speeds (thus becoming eventually quite a desolate
place).

regards, mathtalk