I'm Honestly Just Fascinated With Having An Elf-like Lifespan. But I Think Even A 100 Year Life Extension

I'm honestly just fascinated with having an elf-like lifespan. But I think even a 100 year life extension would be good for the human race. I feel like people make so many rash decisions because 70-80 years is a short time.

It seems like people only become wise when they are 60+, by which time you have only 10-20 years left. Imagine if you were wise and still had most of your life ahead of you.

Thoughts on Life Extension

I think the human race needs an additional 100 years of (healthy) lifespan. I honestly think it'd solve some of our problems and probably make us chill out in general.

The pressure to have children by 20 to 30 in most places would no longer exist. That is something you don't have to worry about until you're 50 or 60, by the time you are more wise to the ways of the world and you can avoid being trapped in a terrible relationship for the sake of the children.

The young would be much more reluctant to take part in wars, as there is far more life ahead of them. Artists and writers would have more time to create closer to their true potential. There'd be less reason to have a midlife crisis and the mad drive to accumulate enough savings for retirement would not be as pressing.

The memory of historical failures would stay around for far longer. Those who lived through the horrors of industrialisation, slavery and totalitarian movements would not let the young make the same mistakes. People would be harder to fool. Imagine if a politician tried to slag off unions in front of voters who were child labourers in 1900. Politicians will take long-term threats more seriously, because there's a good chance they'll be seeing the consequences.

At the same time, accidental death would be more frightening. We'd probably be a more cautious species - the effects of this would flow into many areas. Technological progress would slow from a furious boil to a reasonable simmer as society would have more time to think about the New Things critically and test them with greater rigour. Think of how many lives have been lost over the decades because we were blazé about Asbestos.

At the same time, there might be greater hierachy related to age. The young might have less of a say in society, as they are encouraged to gain more knowledge and experience first. Those who are close to the end of their lifespan might be treated worse, because this is a more distant prospect to most people. Though it might not necessarily turn out that way; since people live longer they are more likely to become disabled by accidents, so society puts more resources toward ensuring the disabled and eldrely can live full lives.