The Futility Of Immortality Projects - 2217 Words

The Futility of Immortality Projects Since the beginning of civilization, man’s attempt to seek immortality and their various immortality projects has been well documented throughout the course of history. Whether it is Gilgamesh’s quest to seek the plant that grants him immortality or the great pharaohs of Egypt who built giant structures in their name in the hope that decades after their death, their names will be remembered. As the pseudonymous England based graffiti artist Banksy once said, â€Å"They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.† The line by Banksy had a beautiful, philosophical sentiment in his message, which was that regardless of†¦show more content†¦(Smuts, A.) By this I mean that our wants and desires, be it small like completing a course successfully, or to invent a car, because of the amount of time we’ve got on our hands, our goals big or small will be accomplished and that the amount of things left to be accomplished is finite but the time we have on our hands is infinite and the day will ultimately end in frustration. In the movie ‘The man from Earth’ the main character is immortal and has lived since the stone ages and he holds 3 separate degrees in different time zones. Yet we soon learn that these degrees mean nothing because the topics he had studies had since expanded as more material has come to light, hence making it impossible to stay knowledgeable about the field. This is contrary to the popular belief that he who is immortal would be the most knowledgeable pers on in the world. Through this we learn that it is not the man who is good at recalling information who is remembered. But it is the man who is able to think outside the box (Socrates) and the one with the original ideas who truly gains immortality. History has proven to us that while it is those who spread their original thoughts and ideas who are remembered through history. History has also taught us that original thoughts and ideas can be stolen and the original owners may be forgotten. Famous examples include Nikola Tesla versus Thomas Edison. Faith has always