Some of the commentary was the result of a complete misunderstanding of what we mean when we say we want to “live forever.” For example, one person said, “the cons are that you have to just sit there while everyone around you dies.” Another person said, “if you live forever you will live to see the end of the world you’ll be floting (sic) in space forever .”

As you can see, whenever the topic of “living forever” comes up, for a lot of people, they think we’re talking about “immortality.” In truth, what we’re really talking about here is indefinite life extension. Though you might be asking: What’s the difference?

The difference, honestly, is the same between the option of living under a dictatorship or a democracy. Immortality entails the complete inability to die. There is no choice in the matter; you’re simply stuck living forever without death to cure your burdens.

When it comes to indefinite life extension, however, each individual is empowered with the ability to choose the extent of their lifespan. Do you only wish to live somewhere between 80 to 100? That’s your choice! How about 150? Go right ahead! Maybe you want to live like the mythological character Methuselah at the incredible age of 969? You do you!

Not only that, unlike Methuselah who still aged during those 969 years, indefinite life extension involves you living for as long as you want, both young and healthy.

Immortality is really no better than what we have now. You’re not actually given a choice whatsoever. Your lifespan is dictated by forces outside of your control. With our current mortality, our lifespan is dictated by our biological clocks. What we propose is the radical belief of giving people an actual choice!

How long do you wish to live? When do you wish to die? The late Dr. Jack Kevorkian took a huge step when he advocated for his terminal patients to have a say on when they wish to die. This became famously known as physician-assisted suicide, or more commonly known now as right-to-die. With indefinite life extension, we’re merely adding “…or live” on top of that.