Timeline for How would the US change if people stopped growing old?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 22, 2016 at 6:15 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | Let us continue this discussion in chat. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:26 | comment | added | TUSF | Ah, that's a good point. Though, if it only affects newborns, we'd then need to predict how the US would be in 25 years, before any changes happen. The virus could have been an anti-Zika virus, that spread to most of the population, but only really had an effect on those who were either in sexual maturity, or reaching it, but not those that have began to "decline". | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:17 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | Yeah I'm not calling into question the possibility (in principle) of a virus imparting beneficial traits, I'm just saying it's a challenge to come up with a way for it to only affect the younger generation. My "anti-Zika" suggestion is a reference to the current Zika virus scare, which causes microcephaly in the children of infected pregnant women. I guess an anti-Zika could get your momma's womb to build your body right the first time so it doesn't break down maybe? | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:13 | comment | added | TUSF | Magic tag might be new, dunno. A "beneficial virus" could be created for any number of reasons. Maybe to control the spread of cancer, or to fight a specific bacterial infection. Maybe it was just an experiment on mice that the scientists contracted, and spread to the population. Whatever the cause, it won't be a few years (maybe even a decade or two) until they even notice it happening. By then, they won't be able to link it to the actual cause. In fact, that's probably something to consider for an answer; nothing will noticeably change for at least a several years. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:06 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | Also, I think the magic tag might be new, though I easily could have missed it before. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:05 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | I guess that could work, @TUSF, but would require a "just-so" story for the generational divide. The Anti-Zika, maybe? | |
| May 22, 2016 at 4:03 | comment | added | TUSF | Viruses are microscopic, and often contagious entities that can spread far enough to force a mutation. Assuming someone created a non-lethal virus that gave every human in the US the required genes, without the consent of the population, then it's entirely possible for this sort of scenario to occur. Of course, there's always just "magic" (as tagged in the question) | |
| May 22, 2016 at 3:57 | comment | added | Bryan McClure | I see your point let me add some details. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 3:50 | history | edited | SudoSedWinifred | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Added two more paragraphs
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| May 22, 2016 at 3:41 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | Note that I don't take your magic suggestions to be a great answer, personally, because the question was asked using only "sciencey" terms. I think my slight situational adjustments are way less damaging to the question as asked than your significant supposition that it's even a magical world... but what the heck do I know. Feel free to write up an answer about it. And downvote mine, while you're at it. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 3:40 | comment | added | SudoSedWinifred | I didn't MERELY attack the premise. I provided what I took to be the nearest plausible scenarios to what the asker was looking for. Also, it would have been like, 7 comments. I could understand the asker taking offense like this (if he were particularly sensitive), but I have great difficulty seeing why you're so hung up. If you can provide a better answer, or even improve mine, I encourage you to do so. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 3:32 | comment | added | Vakus Drake | Yeah this should have been a comment not a answer. Just attacking the premise isn't really an answer. Also you don't know whether the questioner has answers but just isn't sharing them because that doesn't pertain to the question. For all you know the mutation(s) were spread by a retrovirus pandemic, or maybe it's magic, but that doesn't matter what matters is the results not the causes. | |
| May 22, 2016 at 3:26 | history | edited | SudoSedWinifred | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
A bit more explanation, again
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| May 22, 2016 at 3:21 | history | answered | SudoSedWinifred | CC BY-SA 3.0 |