18 replies to this topic

[Normal Dan]

So, I have this idea I would like to discuss a bit. The idea is to take a bunch of immortalists and bring them all together into a nice little community in such a way as to form a mini society of sorts. Being together in one physical area has several advantages:

1. The members would better stay focused on life extension than they would outside the community. This is because wherever they go, there is someone who is willing to discuss life extension, and you are less likely to run into people who will shun you for discussing it. Say someone has a question about a certain issue. They can ask one of the community members directly, and both will benefit from such an interaction.

2. The community could be located next to a University where members could go to study age related technologies, take biology courses, etc. Members could help each other stay on track and encourage students to stay in school.

3. The community could have a library and resources related to immortality, including study halls and labs. This would again encourage members to stay focused on life extension.

4. This community could help promote life extention and give people a place to go to learn more about it.

5. This community would produce a good batch of young, educated immortalists.


This community would be a place for people to go who are young and have not been tied down yet. It would welcome anyone interested in life extension and perhaps even help pay for continuing education.

This community could have its own food court, store, etc. ran by its members, providing cheep or free food. If food and other provisions are supplied, members can stay focused on life extension and not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. This is similar to what google does.



Provided we somehow have a benefactor to set up all of this, what are your opinions of such a community?

What are some pros and cons you can think of?

Can you think of some other advantages?

Have any other suggestions?

Edited by normaldan, 10 July 2007 - 08:41 PM.

[Shepard]

Everyone in one spot. Only takes one bomb. Think about it.

[Lazarus Long]

There are some attempting this now with the Transhumanist Student Network . I suggest you communicate with Ben Hyink or Tyler Emerson as they are presently in the process of trying to *flesh* this idea out.

I will convey this link to them and suggest they communicate directly with you to pursue this.

One problem I have seen is that we are still dispersed pretty far and wide as a community and while it is nice for me to think about how some of you are all getting together somewhere generally speaking the only way I am going to be able to access those resources personally are online. I certainly think that a RLE community is a subset of the TSN.

[Cyberbrain]

A better idea would be to form a network of immortalists in high places. I.e. politicians, business man, professors, engineers, bankers, lawyers, etc. This network could then help bring about a new era in human history. An era of peace and prosperity and an era where immortality will be viewed as a common thing. In other words they would help bring about a new paradigm shift in society.

[Brainbox]

A better idea.....

why not do both?

[Cyberbrain]

A better idea.....

why not do both?

If my suggestion becomes implemented and succeeds then the whole world would become more or less like the society normaldan suggested. Except its population would be 6.6 billion people [tung]

[baertacgraff]

Ooo, count me in! Rah, Rah! I'm in the 'natural' health field. We/I am all about immortality, when working with patients and personally.

It'll be my main topic when I speak and work at Raw Spirit Festival, first of October, Sedona, AZ. See my profile to find the web link. Likely to hook up with some Immortals then. Anyone going to that festival? Does anyone have any literature you'd like me to pass along, have on my table? Baerta

[baertacgraff]

And..., I could help in Atlanta, since I'm from there. Is there a group that meets regularly there? B

[dave111]

I like this idea primarily because it can be a way to have economies of scale to make available cutting age life extension technology. I'd like the community to be near a major metropolitan center, such as New York City, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, DC or San Francisco, but far enough away to be unlikely to be directly impacted by a major terrorist attack (particularly with regards to New York, DC, or London). I think the center piece of the community should be: (1) the emergency medicine/cryonics services, (2) the security, gated community-style, and (3) the availability of healthy food, fitness, etc. services.

[dave111]

I think New Haven, Connecticut, near Yale Medical School, could be an excellent location for such a community. We could start it as a doorman apartment building (and offer free or subsidized live in housing to ER residents) and expand to a gated community outside of New Haven, or equidistant between New Haven and Greenwich. That way we'd be only 1 hour from New York City, close to Cambridge, MA (epicenter of life extension technology innovation), and breathing the same air and drinking the same water as the most elite, paranoid people in the world (the residents of Greenwich, CT and their kids at Yale).

[lunarsolarpower]

breathing the same air and drinking the same water as the most elite, paranoid people in the world (the residents of Greenwich, CT and their kids at Yale).

The world's ultimate NIMBYists huh?

[Shannon Vyff]

Hah!


My hope is to retire near a cryonics facility but of course if aging is ended before I die...well then maybe there could be immortalist communities other than on-line

[dave111]

breathing the same air and drinking the same water as the most elite, paranoid people in the world (the residents of Greenwich, CT and their kids at Yale).

The world's ultimate NIMBYists huh?

[thumb]

[maestro949]

A better idea would be to form a network of immortalists in high places. I.e. politicians, business man, professors, engineers, bankers, lawyers, etc. This network could then help bring about a new era in human history. An era of peace and prosperity and an era where immortality will be viewed as a common thing. In other words they would help bring about a new paradigm shift in society.

What makes you think it hasn't already happened and their just smart enough to keep quiet?

Oops. [tung]

[Liquidus]

I think the best way to have a community is to have it as it's developped, over the internet. Until there is a surefire solution to aging, people will always doubt. The internet provides easy access, a sense of privacy, and a place where everyone's opinion holds equal weight in relation to the other's.

I'm a little surprised that there isn't a larger 'portal' of people online who share common goals (cryonics, transhumanism, immortalism, biotechnologies) in one place (opposed to many small sites dedicated in every little corner of the net).

[ksperfection]

Until people see someone get shot in the face a dozen times and burned with gasoline and survives they won't believe it, even then they would think its a magician trick.

[Luna]

but of course if aging is ended before I die...

then you don't die!


Well the problem with why there is no really big portal about it or anything ias I see it are mainly two problems:

1) the media seems to be mostly against immortality.
2) There is no one (or more) big REAL institues to advertise and having events in, so only those who actually look for it on the internet only just MIGHT find sites like this.

[Normal Dan]

2) There is no one (or more) big REAL institues to advertise and having events in, so only those who actually look for it on the internet only just MIGHT find sites like this.

winterbreeze has a good point. I think if we had a real institute or place of some sort, this forum would get even more attention.

A few more reasons for a physical presence:
6. There is a technique to learning a new language where students are fully immersed in the language. This is appropriately called full immersion. I have heard (I do not have a source for this) they were able to use the same full immersion techniques to teach quantum mechanics. I propose using a similar technique will be beneficial to the study of anti-aging. It is possible the same results may be obtained by going to school full time and living on campus with other students.

7. A cryonics facility could be set up nearby. This will ensure community members have a better chance of making it safely to the facility before too much death occurs.

[Normal Dan]

There are some attempting this now with the Transhumanist Student Network .  I suggest you communicate with Ben Hyink or Tyler Emerson as they are presently in the process of trying to *flesh* this idea out.

Thank you, I will look further into this.