RE: Would you take a pill that promised immortality?
Great question! The answer for me is a hell yes! Concerning the quality of life, in our speculative scenario I would assume that quality of life would remain at least 'good', but even if it was sub par I would have to be in significant pain, discomfort of debilitation before I voluntarily pulled the plug. For me personally, I don't think I would run out of things to do and enjoy in life even if I lived a thousand years, and the chance to see what humanity is capable of would be reward enough (or punishment, if things didn't go so well, I suppose). This question becomes very interesting if it was extended to the entire human race, meaning that it was available to everyone (as opposed to the super rich, say). What would that mean for humanity as a whole? How would we govern ourselves? Would we change the way we treated each other? Would we treat our planet differently? So many questions! Great post, thank you!
This is a great answer, and the possibilities you stated are things I hadn't considered but would be issues that we would need to realize and hopefully control. I like how one of your reasons for wanting to take the pill would be to see what humanity is capable of. I think a large number of people would (and rightly so) maybe view this question as mainly a way to extend their own pleasures, possibly simply taking a hedonistic point of view without contemplating what could be witnessed throughout the course of hundreds or thousands of years. Thanks for the thought-provoking response!