Even "final exams"? I wish my students the best on theirs. I expect they will all do well.I recently finished a book on the science (such as it is) of immortality. The book was a disappointment in large part because of its central figure, a singularly repellent gerontology "guru" named Aubrey de Grey who sincerely believes we will achieve endless life in this century. The concept, however, has fascinated humans since we could think. Probably only because we CAN think, in fact.
The hydra (pictured) is basically immortal. It goes on and on, shedding cells from bottom to top and never aging in the process. Does it glory in its immortality? Probably not. Is it bored? Maybe. Does it care either way? I doubt it. But has a hydra ever won Nobel prize or an Oscar or a Pulitzer? Does it weep? Does it marvel at sunsets?
It has been the poets who have understood that the price we pay for the richness of our lives is mortality, that we burn the brighter for not burning forever. The hydra can have its humdrum Methuselahn years.
I prefer the sunset.
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