Futuristic Sci-Fi Traveller

[atpollard]

How would increased longevity affect reproduction?

Will medical technology enable safe and reliable birth control?

Would people have the choice of surrogate mothers or alternate means of child bearing?

What percentage would choose natural childbirth or surrogates?

How old will a woman still be able to conceive? Will longevity treatments postpone menopause?

These are setting specific questions, please don't make this about current day issues.

Setting aside the setting specific aspect, and avoiding any moral positions ... Biology says modern people with 100 year life times can have children from age 10+ to age 60+ ... Very roughly half their life span.

For a people that live 200 years, a 100 year window of childbearing would seem a lower limit on future biology.
The question then becomes, what are the cultural norms and expectations.

Crowded conditions bring pressures to simply replace your numbers (zero growth).
On the other hand, a cultural view that "we have only a small population and a giant world to develop" (supporting ever higher TLs) might create a culture where having a baby every 5 years until you reach about 10 children might be the norm.
If you had 100,000 people on a new colony and wanted to reach a population of about a billion as quickly as possible (to support a starfaring infrastructure and allow you to expand to the surrounding worlds waiting to be developed), the society might want to look to cloning and artificial wombs to expand the rate of reproduction.

It seems more a matter of culture than biology.

 

[Condottiere]

Biologically, there is probably no reason in the near future that we couldn't extend our lives until we have an accident, and have an indefinite number of offspring.

But, once these zombies start impacting demographically, our cultures are going to be affected and probably changed. If you can live forever, why would you care about the afterlife? The zombies aren't going to have to give up their assets, either to their offspring when they die, nor the government in death taxes. The zombies, especially if they like their jobs, aren't going to make way for the next generation.

So economically, socially and culturally, there will be major changes, and possibly a Logan's Run insurrection by the young.

 

[dragoner]

There is an outlet valve in the colonies, but yes, there would be dynasties of wealth and power; not that there isn't now.

 

[dragoner]

I need to work on the maps, or a map, so much to do.

 

[wbnc]

Biologically, there is probably no reason in the near future that we couldn't extend our lives until we have an accident, and have an indefinite number of offspring.

But, once these zombies start impacting demographically, our cultures are going to be affected and probably changed. If you can live forever, why would you care about the afterlife? The zombies aren't going to have to give up their assets, either to their offspring when they die, nor the government in death taxes. The zombies, especially if they like their jobs, aren't going to make way for the next generation.

So economically, socially and culturally, there will be major changes, and possibly a Logan's Run insurrection by the young.

Population growth due to longer lifespans and longer periods of reproductive activity would be one pressure to expand to new worlds, r resettle to less populated worlds. Local population pulses, periods of rapid growth, might be followed by pulses of colonization, and population movement.

With the ability to move large numbers of people by starship population problems might be reduced by government funded colonist recruitment, or lightly populated worlds might offer incentives to move to their world...Free land, prefab homes, better employment contracts, etc...

Of course a government might simply load problem populations on a ship at gun point and send them packing to a sci-fi version of "The Colonies" or Botany bay. Basically get out and don't come back.

 

[dragoner]

All of the above, really. Even on settled worlds, people will leave because they would get sick of the other people in that culture. Which is another interesting thought, the culture gap would be pretty vast with more multi-generationals.

 

[-Daniel-]

I need to work on the maps, or a map, so much to do.

That is a great picture. 8)

 

[dragoner]

I need to work on the maps, or a map, so much to do.

That is a great picture. 8)

It is. The trick is to some how find a map in it. Though I'm not exactly sure I want the setting to be there, still letting everything roil in my mind. I figure at some point the ideas will all settle and something will grow out of it, fingers crossed. Pics like that are kind of meditation, feels right.