Do you want to live forever?

I've been asking quite a few people this question. Most answer no, and then they laugh as if I was joking. I'm not joking. Although this is a hypothetical question at the moment, I think it will become a realistic option sooner or later. And sooner rather than later, but that is a separate post. What I don't understand is why anyone would not want to live forever? Is life that bad?

Sure, many of those I ask give plausible explanations like "I don't want to be a senile vegetable and a burden to society for years and years". Of course, when I say "live forever" I take it to mean in a youthful way with good health and mental abilities intact. In fact, why stop there? What if you could live forever with regained youth, increased physical and mental capabilities and whatever else you could wish for, including sexual stamina and good looks! Still I get a few no's, but also some more or less reluctant ok's.

I for one would answer yes. If I could press a button today ensuring me good health forever I would not hesitate a second. At the press of a button I would get a life expectancy of around 643 years. You see, the probability of dying from an accident is approximately 1 to 600 per year. Given that I'm not dying from age or bad health this gives me a life expectancy of 600 years. And if I remember right from my statistics classes that would give me an expected life span of (current age) + 600. Meaning that if I survived another year my life expectancy would also increase with one year to 644. Funny thing, statistics. But that is probably a separate post as well.

Now my question to you: If you knew you could live with good health and a youthful attire until an accident finally took you out of play; would you start to behave differently? Would you become more risk adverse? Would you stop driving cars because it has such a high probability of killing you, removing 600 years of your life and not only a few tens of years like now? Or maybe you would seek risks to a greater extent? Would you party more?

Maybe you know yourself better than I do, because I'm not sure what I would do... But I probably would check out my pension plan pretty fast.