My wife and I watched a documentary on Netflix tonight called Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. I first heard about Bryan Johnson a couple years ago, but never really took any notice. And then a friend had me listen to a podcast with him, and I was interested in finding out more. Not because of the premise per se, but I find what he is doing quite fascinating. It is pretty simple though really, he is trying not to die.
To do this, he is systematically looking to reduce the biological age of his body, in an attempt to slowdown the aging process and extend his life. Again, this doesn't interest me so much, but he is very dedicated to it and is about as disciplined as a person can be with how he spends his time. There is plenty of content you can search for if you are interested in that side of it to find out more.
However, one of the guiding philosophies he has resonated with me. While people probably think it is ridiculous to try and live forever, this is actually something that we have tried to do for millennia. Sure, we probably know our body won't make it, but much of what we look to accomplish is to extend our life, if only in memory. But, when it comes to living life itself, over the last decades we have been told that we should "be present and live in the now".
Technically, we can't live outside the now.
But of course what they mean is that rather than spending time dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, we should enjoy the eternal moment that we have in our hands. However, I believe that this concept, which can actually get quite deep, has been hijacked and shallowed further to mean, spend in the now.
Don't save, don't plan, don't prepare - consume.
This is not enlightenment. It is desire fulfilment. It isn't about living in the now at all, is it? And if one wanted to get technical of what the "now" actually is, I could argue that because time is infinitely divisible and based on movement, if we were to live in the true now, absolutely nothing would actually be moving and therefore, be dead.
Death lives in the now.
But, my personal philosophies and death aside, what Bryan Johnson wants is not immortality, but optionality. He wants to have the option to live tomorrow, if he has something he wants to do.
Living forever and living for tomorrow are identical concepts. I really want to live tomorrow and when tomorrow arrives, I'm imagining I probably want to live tomorrow's tomorrow.
Bryan Johnson
But in a world lacking the cognitive skill of understanding nuance, people don't seem to be able to wrap their head around this position, in a similar way that they think that someone being dedicated to something like their own longevity, is a waste of life. However, this level of dedication is something that few people on earth are able to accomplish, and those that do are either world changers or madmen. I have a feeling that even though Bryan is likely to fail in his quest, the amount of data and learning being produced and inspired by him, he might find his immortality in what gets developed past his own life.
But, it is the philosophy of "live for tomorrow" that resonated with me, because this is something that I have come to apply to my own life. If a person has nothing to live for tomorrow, they are probably not having a very good life experience, even if they are adding value to others. They are a slave to life, living on obligation. Again, a lot of people don't understand the nuance here, because they believe for instance that if someone suicides, they rob the world in some way, but what if it is presented in a more extreme example.
If a person is valuable because they are a slave used for labour, sexual gratification and humiliation, and they have no way out of their situation, should they stay alive so they don't rob the world of their value? If you were a passive observer and all you can do is allow them to end their suffering, or force them to endure their torture - which would you choose?
But, I digress.
What does living for tomorrow mean? It is easy to think about it day by day of course, but I don't believe that is the approach. Rather, it is about setting up a life where one can assume that there will be something worth doing tomorrow. And not just worth doing because of the value it holds, but compelling enough to actually do it. I am not saying that every moment is going to be the best imaginable, but the expectation of those moments inspires the will to go on.
Handy to interject some etymology here.
will (n.)
Old English will, willa "mind, determination, purpose; desire, wish, request; joy, delight,"
Do you notice something there?
Joy.
Another thing about "the now" is that if truly living in it, not only is everything dead, there is also no thought, no feeling, no joy. I get it, you think that I am being silly in such a strict definition of the now, but anything outside of that dead moment, is past or future. As far as I can see, we exist in the now, but we experience in relation to the past and future. And if we ignore them, we are going to miss opportunities to experience joy.
What is life without experience?
This guys style of living is not something I feel I would be able to maintain for a day, let alone for years on end, but it is pretty incredible that he is attempting it. If it ends in disaster for him, if he dies anyway, he reached that point on his own terms, not caring what others think of his approach to living. He might be wrong, he might be right, but the reality is that most likely, he will fall somewhere between, where some of the things he does will bring immense value to others, and potentially help extend the quality of life of millions.
Imagine living to the average age of 100, but there is little degradation in mind and body until say, eighty years of age. At that point, it starts to wind down, but at 90, you can still dance with your partner, and play on the floor with your great grand children.
Wouldn't you want to continue on tomorrow too?
A good life isn't measured in time.
But, we only have so much time to make a good life.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
