I don't think this question crosses many peoples minds, because most people don't imagine it to be realistic that they could be the ones to discover such a thing..... Though I have entertained this idea, and I can most assuredly say that if I found the key to living forever, I would not share it. I see implications, and I will elaborate.
Physical Immortality would essentially allow for an endless expansion of knowledge. The biggest obstacle in scientific development is death itself. People having to relearn all the ideas of the past minds and trying to build on them. While these people can relearn the knowledge of past discoveries, they cannot copy the already developed thinking abilities of those masters. The growth of our problem solving abilities are limited with age. If our body and minds could stay physically young forever, there is potential for unlimited growth of such problem solving abilities. This can only lead to inevitably and extremely high levels of intelligence. The truth is most people don't dedicate their entire lives to becoming smarter and more knowledgeable, because they know their lives are limited.
The amount of power such an immortal person could amass is scary. The only person I would trust with such potential growth of knowledge, power, and intellect, is someone of the highest caliber of responsibility, a Buddha perhaps, or hypothetically speaking, a Jesus.
Yes it is a nice idea for everyone to live forever and no one to die, but the implications are very big.
Surely I am not the only person who fears the potential for moral corruption of a person who has unlimited time to develop their intelligence, to develop as a person, etc.
Though this is just my view. I do not trust any man to have a perfect morality with an immortal life. If I had the secret to immortality, I would not risk sharing it if I knew one of those people who got their hands on it might later end up destroying me, or even worse, the world. I think such a secret should be kept to those who discover it on their own, and should never be shared. I think 99.999% of people aren't ready for such a responsibility.
Edited by Siro, 03 February 2013 - 02:04 AM.