People think that eternal life (or a really long life) are just a scientific discovery away. Some drug that you take that will stop us aging. I don't think that'll happen.

Here's why:

The human body is a very complex machine, with lots of little things that can go wrong, wear out, get broken, etc... if only one of those details is fatal at a young age, that person will not get any children, or will not be around to raise them into adulthood. Natural selection will therefore favour those people who are healthy, at least until they get children.

As far as evolution is concerned, those defects in the body don't have to be fixed completely... it's okay to keep them, as long as you can delay them until you're old. And that's exactly what has happened. Most people have reasonable or good health, until they are in their 60's or 70's. But then, slowly but surely, they start to get various kinds of problems with their health. Their eyes become bad, hearing deteriorates, learning new things becomes more difficult, bones get brittle, cancer that has been latent for 30 years starts developing... the list is endless.

Now, we will certainly be able to cure some things with modern medicine, and push the age up a little bit, but so far we haven't really improved the top age people reach. Sure, the average life expectancy has gone up a lot. Whereas 100 years ago, not many people lived to be 75 years old, it is now fairly common. But the maximum life expectancy hasn't gone up that much. This is because it's not a single problem that causes people to die. People die of the first fatal disease out of potential thousands. Cure one, and they'll die from the next one, and probably not much later.

The human body just wasn't made to last forever, it was made to last long enough to pass our genes, and make sure they are doing okay.

I've thought about eternal life before but didn't really think about using nanobots. The question about the technology is that if it existed and was possible would the scientists release the information? or would they choose who would get it and who wouldn't? Also, I tend to believe in Nature more than technology and I often thought there had to be a draw back. After watching Highlander this weekend I think that that drawback would be that somehow Nature would get even with us and we would stop having kids. I don't Nature would allow our bodies to live forever and continue to have kids since of the overcrowding it would eventually cause.

About God. I believe in a Divine being and as the only evidence I have is inspiration. Insiration as when your having a really great conversation and everything you say isn't a thought that you ever had before. It just comes out of you and possibly helps or inspires the person your having a conversation with. I read the bible and I'm not really into organized religion. I find it strange when everyone says there is only one God though. It's the crux of the Hebrew belief but rather new, in as far as Christianity is new. But I remember something from the bible in one, if not all the gospels, about God being "...The Most High God..." (I think). And that has always made me wonder. If the Judeo-Christian God is the most High are there or were there other Gods or Divine beings around that weren't above God? The Romans and Greeks, as well as other religions believed in a Polytheistic View of the Universe and in the last 2000 years we've seen that thought disappear.

Also, I think that is why there is science. My belief is that God created everything but considering the Universe he didn't just whip it up and go "Here's the universe...". I think he used science and is waiting for us to figure out it out using science and faith. He doesn't appear to us because we're simply not advanced enough and haven't even figured out how to live with each other. I'm not big on apopulyptic (still can't spell) endings of the world only because I think He's leaving it up to us. We'll either learn to love and live with our fellow man without any goverments to help us or run our lives because we'll all just be happy and living our lives.

Conflict is a very human thing not a divine thing. Until we learn to deal with conflict in rational ways rather than fight why would he bother? He gave us free will to figure it out for ourselves. It's all on our shoulders not His.

jakee

-"I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnite toker,
Get my luvin on the run...." - Steve Miller Band

***NANOBOTS***
With the invention of nanobots we get cheap fuel - as we can move hydrogen
oxygen and any other kind of molecule around to create new structures - we can
convert one thing into another and so on - Which would mean that we could get
to SPACE!! - think about it,
...and if we get to a NEO say- (Near Earth Object) and use the resources
available to us on it, then what would we have?? a base to refuel, repair if
necessary and then launch again - we could colonize space! we could set off
for new solar systems - just leapfrogging asteroids and coments further out.

-think about it, if we do develop this technology, we will live for ages..
the worlds -well, the parts ive lived in.. are overcrowded really already,
think of it - 10% of people who have ever lived are alive today - think about
that!! thats silly!! but we carry on- not just replacing ourselves, but having
lots of kids - = lots of adults in a VERY short time (cosmically speaking)
= lots of cars = lots of jobs.. and all the other things they will inevitably
feel they need to make them functioning human beings - well what when there
is no more room here?? when there are no more jobs?? when we cant step outside
of our self-contained homes for fear of breathing all the noxious gasses that
we have been spluttering into the atmosphere for however long?? SPACE !!!!
thats what!!! think of all that SPACE!! yeah!! let's do it - lets stop
bickering amongst ourselves - we are all one really -one race, differnt colours
and shapes and things -but we all think, we all eat, poo, drink, sleep, laugh,
cry and everything else that we consider makes us human, - lets club together
and get off this rock!!!! we've been here for millions of years and i wanna
go somewhere new - don't you??

But on the other hand we may shoot one of those nuclear weapons and then
someone else will shoot one back and then 3/4 of the earth or so will be
unlivable by humans (and other animals and plants) for ??? years - and if
we do that then i think we just prove that we are not ready to get into space -
if we cant get along with each other - then if we go off colonizing the galaxy
we'd be horrible!!! if we cant get on with someone who has different coloured
skin to us - or believes in a different god to us - then how could we ever come
to exept a truly "alien" race!! we'd shoot them and start wars and things -
doing that on a universal scale would be a horrible nightmare i think!!

thanks for listening.
half-empty: thanks for writing this fantastic system - keep coding ;) i know i will!!

Mark

say this one out loud: "the world is made for people who do. not think"