If superpowers were real: Immortality - Joy Lin

Translator: Hafizh Alfarisi Reviewer: Prameswari Rahmanu

Immortality.

Keabadian.

In movies, kings are always searching for the secret to immortality.

Dalam film, raja-raja selalu mencari rahasia keabadian.

But is immortality really a good thing?

Tapi apa keabadian itu baik?

To a ten-year-old boy, one year is the same as 10% of his life.

Bagi bocah sepuluh tahun, satu tahun sama dengan 10% hidupnya.

To his forty-year-old mother, one year is merely 2.5% of her life.

Bagi ibunya yang 40 tahun, satu tahun cuma 2,5% hidupnya.

The same year, 365 days,

Tahun yang sama, 365 hari, bisa terasa berbeda pada orang berbeda.

can feel differently to different people.

If we live until we're 82,

Jika kita hidup hingga 82 tahun, itu sekitar 30.000 hari.

that's about 30,000 days.

If this boy lives for 30,000 years, a year to him could feel like a day.

Jika bocah ini hidup 30.000 tahun, satu tahun terasa seperti satu hari.

And if this boy's emotions sustain

Dan jika emosi bocah ini bertahan melewati kemungkinan bosan

through the potential boredom of living for millions of years,

karena hidup jutaan tahun,

he might become extremely lonely and sad,

dia mungkin menjadi sangat kesepian dan sedih.

knowing he has and always will outlive everyone he has ever loved.

Sebab dia pernah dan akan selalu hidup melebihi semua yang dia cintai.

But what if everyone were immortal?

Tapi bagaimana jika semua orang abadi?

Well, first off, Earth is only so big.

Pertama-tama, besar Bumi terbatas.

So, where would we all live?

Jadi, di mana kita semua akan tinggal?

(Grunts)

(Mendengus) “Permisi, wajahku!”

"Excuse me!" "That's my face!"

"Stop it!" "Pardon me."

“Hentikan!” “Maafkan aku.”

"Tight in here!"

“Sempitnya!”

Do you remember what you did last year or when you were five?

Ingat yang kau lakukan tahun lalu atau saat umurmu lima tahun?

How much of your past have you forgotten?

Berapa banyak masa lalu yang kau lupa?

If you have trouble remembering what you did when you were five,

Jika kau sulit mengingat kegiatanmu saat lima tahun,

how will you remember what happened if you were alive a thousand years ago?

bagaimana kau ingat yang terjadi jika hidup seribu tahun lalu?

Satu juta tahun lalu?

A million years ago?

We don't remember every single detail of our past

Kita tak ingat tiap rincian masa lalu kita

because our brains have a limited capacity

karena otak kita punya muatan terbatas dan kita mengganti memori tak berguna,

and we replace useless memories,

like middle school locker combinations,

seperti kode loker SMP, dengan informasi lebih berguna.

with relevant information.

If this immortal boy finds a companion

Jika bocah abadi ini menemukan pasangan yang dicintai tiap ratusan tahun sekali,

to fall in love with once every hundred years,

he would have ten thousand girlfriends in a million years.

dia akan punya sepuluh ribu pacar dalam satu juta tahun.

And how many of those ten thousand girls' names

Dan berapa banyak dari sepuluh ribu nama gadis yang masih dia ingat?

will he be able to remember?

This changes what a meaningful relationship means, doesn't it?

Hal ini mengubah makna dari hubungan berarti, bukan?

Another tricky thing about immortality:

Hal rumit lainnya soal keabadian: manusia tidak selalu terlihat sama.

Human beings have not always looked the same.

This can be explained by Darwin's theory of evolution.

Hal ini bisa dijelaskan teori evolusi Darwin.

For instance, if women find taller men more attractive,

Misalnya, jika wanita merasa pria tinggi lebih menarik,

then more tall men would mate and have children,

lebih banyak pria tinggi yang kawin dan punya anak,

putting more tall genes in the gene pool.

lebih banyak gen tinggi dalam lungkang gen.

That means, in the next generation,

Artinya, di generasi selanjutnya,

more children will have the genes to be taller.

lebih banyak anak punya gen tubuh lebih tinggi.

Repeat that process for a million years

Ulangi itu selama satu juta tahun,

and the average height will be a lot taller

dan tinggi rata-rata akan bertambah daripada tinggi rata-rata saat ini.

than the average height today,

assuming there's no natural disaster that wipes out all the tall people.

Itu pun jika tak ada bencana alam yang memusnahkan orang tinggi.

Nenek moyang kita adalah kera pendek berbulu.

Our ancestors were short, hairy apes.

We still have body hair, but we don't look like apes any more.

Kita masih punya bulu badan, tapi tidak lagi mirip kera.

If you're the only person who is immortal,

Jika kau satu-satunya yang abadi, sedangkan semua terus berevolusi,

while everyone else keeps evolving,

generation after generation,

dari generasi ke generasi lain,

you will eventually look quite different than the people who surround you.

kau akhirnya terlihat berbeda dari orang sekitarmu.

"Hi, how you doing?"

“Hai, apa kabarmu?”

If one of our ancestors, apes, is still alive today,

Jika salah satu nenek moyang kita, kera, masih hidup,

how many people will make friends with it

berapa banyak yang berteman dengannya daripada memanggil Museum Sejarah Alam?

instead of calling the Museum of Natural History?

Dan satu lagi pertimbangan fisik untuk keabadian:

And one more physical consideration for immortality:

Scars.

luka.

After all, immortality doesn't automatically translate to invincibility,

Bagaimanapun, keabadian tidak serta-merta diartikan kebal.

it just means you cannot die.

Kau sekadar tak bisa mati.

But it doesn't guarantee what condition you'll be alive in.

Keabadian tak menjamin dengan keadaan apa kau hidup.

Look at your body and count how many scars you have.

Lihatlah tubuhmu dan hitung luka yang kau punya.

Jika kau memiliki banyak luka permanen selama hidupmu,

If you have made this many permanent scars

within your life,

bayangkan banyaknya cedera yang kau punya jika umurmu seribu tahun!

imagine how much damage you would have if you were one thousand years old!

Now, there are approximately

Saat ini ada sekitar 185.000 kasus terkait amputasi di rumah sakit, tiap tahun di AS.

185,000 amputation-related hospital discharges

every year in the U.S.

These injuries are due to accidents or illnesses.

Cedera ini berasal dari kecelakaan atau penyakit.

Certainly the percentage is low comparing to the total population

Memang persentasenya rendah ketimbang total populasi

if you only live for a hundred years.

bila kau cuma hidup seratus tahun.

However, if you've been alive for over one million years,

Namun, jika kau hidup lebih dari satu juta tahun.

the odds of still having all your limbs are pretty slim.

peluang semua anggota tubuhmu masih utuh itu rendah.

What about little accessories,

Bagaimana soal aksesori kecil,

like your eyes, your nose, your ears,

seperti mata, hidung, telinga, jari tangan, atau jari kaki?

fingers or toes?

Bagaimana dengan gigimu?

What about your teeth?

Berapa peluang kau memelihara kesehatan gigi selama seratus tahun?

What are the odds of you keeping your dental health

for a hundred years?

A thousand years?

Seribu tahun?

Satu juta tahun?

One million years?

You might end up looking like a horribly scuffed-up Mr. Potato Head

Kau mungkin jadi mirip Mr. Potato Head yang mengerikan

with missing pieces and dentures.

dengan bagian-bagian hilang dan gigi palsu.

So, are you sure you want to live forever?

Jadi, kau yakin mau hidup selamanya?

Now, which superpower physics lesson will you explore next?

Pelajaran kekuatan fisik super mana yang mau kau lihat selanjutnya?

Shifting body size and content,

Perubahan bentuk dan massa tubuh,

super speed,

kecepatan super,

flight,

terbang,

super strength,

tenaga super,

immortality,

keabadian,

and --

dan

invisibility.

tembus pandang.