The end is nigh !

[Deleted]

I once read a short science-fiction story about a laboratory where scientists were growing entire universes inside containers. Everything ran like a perfect simulation—until the beings inside those universes became aware that their reality was artificial. The moment they realised they were part of an experiment, the scientists shut it down… and every simulated universe was instantly destroyed.

It makes this headline feel especially chilling:

“The Universe Is ‘Suspiciously’ Like a Computer Simulation, Physicist Says”
Source: ScienceAlert

Sometimes fiction doesn’t feel so far from theory after all.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Perhaps we should find the "Men In Black" bus terminal and open K's locker.

 

[Isaac]

I am, after all, sometimes unable to shake the disconcerting feeling that the end is indeed nigh.
However, I take my own "instincts" on that with a major grain of salt (i.e. I try not to take them too seriously), because even in the days of Paul the Apostle, he seemed to think the end was really darn close

 

[The_Doc_Man]

For each of us, the end is nigh. We usually live no more than 80 years, though some folks get lucky and get an extra couple of years. And if the world goes up in smoke before then, ... que sera, sera.

 

[Isaac]

Isn't that the truth. A sobering thought.
One of my favorite Bible verses - one that I like to THINK is my favorite one, but I actually hate it with a passion because it's so true and I don't do it well enough.
"Teach us, oh Lord, to number our days"...

 

[Isaac]

My Dad is up to 86 - I try to visit him as often as I can! He has always asked God, however, that he would live longer than Mom to always take care of her. and sure enough, he is in amazing good condition - no major problems, no minor ones really either, other than tiredness and has to be careful swallowing meats, but basically has no pressing problems of any kind. He just might outlive Mom after all!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If I get another two years, I outlive the lifespans of both parents. That is MY sobering thought. I'm working on my weight slowly (lost 45 lbs from my highest body weight) and I take all of the recommended meds. I have regular wellness checks. But as to my father's family, Dad and both of his brothers died at age 76 or 77. Mom died at 78 but the part that scares me -less is that Mom and three of her nine siblings suffered from dementia for several years before they passed away. Probably Alzheimer's, but when they died there was no blood test for it and because each died of age-related other causes, there was no formal autopsy to check for amyloid plaque in the brain. I just have to hope that I inherited my mother's heart and my dad's brain rather than the other way around.

 

[KitaYama]

Doc, do you know my daily prayers? I pray to die before 75. I really hate to live long enough to cause trouble for my kids or my wife.
I've had a good life, and prefer it to be ended while I understand and recognize how good it was, rather than becoming a mountain of flesh sitting in front of TV or staring the ceiling.

My wife's mom is 98, and her dad is 97. They live far from us and even if they are healthy and don't have any medical problems, but I know enough about what their other daughters are going through to take care of them. Though everyone's suggesting them to think about nursing home, but both my wife's sisters rejected it several times. They say they will take care of their parents to their last breath. But all of us know how hard it is.

 

[DickyP]

Isn't that the truth. A sobering thought.
One of my favorite Bible verses - one that I like to THINK is my favorite one, but I actually hate it with a passion because it's so true and I don't do it well enough.
"Teach us, oh Lord, to number our days"...

The quote I cling to is from the Burial Service in the book of common prayer (Psalm 90).

" The days of our age are threescore years and ten; and though men be so strong that they come to fourscore years, yet is their strength then but labour and sorrow; so soon passeth it away, and we are gone."

To quote Miss Marple I am now living a bonus.

 

[Isaac]

@The_Doc_Man yes that is a sobering thought. May you live as many years as you want & enjoy !!
Dementia also scares me, especially for the caretakers. It's difficult to imagine taking intimate and backbreaking care of someone who has no idea who you are, I hope the pharma and health industry make major strides in these areas soon - and recognizing it early is key, which is hard, as nobody wants to concede Yes I have the beginnings of it ..
It would be priceless to get inside the brain of the suffering patient, and see exactly how they really felt (how much insight they had or frustration they felt), but for now the obvious outward signs are sufficiently damning to the disease.

@KitaYama ... I don't blame or judge you for that at all, though my Dad approaching 90 and lives by himself with zero care in a wild, forbidding wilderness area, essentially - so you never known for sure just how 'bad' it will (or won't) get. I also think somewhat like you, I'd like to die at whatever the optimal age for me is - having only a little to do with length of years. In fact, and this may sound very Japanese of me, but even though I am a Christian who usually believes that suicide is very wrong - Yet, I struggle with this concept, personally. I struggle not to believe that it is totally appropriate to end your life for a handful of good reasons at a reasonable time. I have to admit it.

To our dear scientists, life expectancy is a nice metric to see improving, but perhaps quality of life has lagged behind the increases in longevity.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Doc, do you know my daily prayers? I pray to die before 75. I really hate to live long enough to cause trouble for my kids or my wife.

When I'm having a whimsical moment, I tell folks my goal is to die at age 105, having been shot by a jealous husband who catches me in the act. Will that happen? I don't know, but everyone has to set goals, and there is no reason to not set a lofty one.

 

[Isaac]

that's a good one. I've always felt strongly that our seniors are under-utilized, for being under-appreciated.
They have TONS of wisdom to give people that is so incredibly valuable, but does our society value it? No, young people are getting all their ideas (almost) from OTHER young people on social media - what a terrible obvious degredation of the knowledge-system!

We should want that wisdom so badly that we hold town halls honoring random seniors, I'm especially thinking 70 and up (so Kita you'd have 5 years of this) and during those town halls, those old geezers would give their advice on everything from love to money.

Now I'd attend those for sure! Some societies have that baked into their normal interactions, but for those who don't, we should get creative

 

[DickyP]

You are never too old if you can do the job you are being paid for PROPERLY!

Ten years after her retirement date and eight years after retiring my wife is back at work teaching German as no one can find German teachers. The money is great, if unexpected, boost to our retirement income.