The Necessity of Death

It's often said that great mathematicians do their best work before turning 30 years old.  Even Einstein, the great physicist, said the mind is crippled after 40.  At that time, he gave up his rebellious, bohemian ways, and joined the respectable, settled bourgeoisie.  He defended his earlier theories against competing theories for the rest of his life, even as his creative streak eased with age and fame.  "Glittering reknown is still draped around the calcified shell," he said.

Once people get older, they morph into the authority figures they formerly rebelled against, defending their turf with remarkably little irony.  1600 years earlier, after muttering "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet", St. Augustine finally gave up his mistress in his 30's, and pledged himself to celibacy, then admonished others who followed his own (earlier) path to enlightenment.

The point is, many young people are foolish, rebellious, highly creative, and willing to challenge authority.  That's good for the survival of society and our species.  But when older, we become the authorities, and we don't like to be challenged.  Our brains become more ossified, calcified, and settled in old ways.

So what do you do with 30-something mathematicians?  To keep a steady stream of creativity, Nature long ago introduced the concept of death (by so-called "natural causes"), to power the steady cycle of natural selection. To allow society to evolve and remain well adapted to changing times, it was considered easier (by Mother Nature) to kill the recidivist individual (or, rather, skimp on proper bodily maintenance) instead of re-plasticizing him to take on a new form.  You only get one puberty and early adulthood.

You might say immortality would be pointless for someone like Einstein, because many people would continue to defer to his status and fame, even as his creativity declined.  Therefore nothing new would ever be invented, and society would decline.  But death is bad, right?  Especially by holocausts brought on by perverted governments, but also death by natural causes.  Most people passively accept this fate.  But I certainly don't want to die.

Can't we figure out a way to re-plastize our brains (like a second puberty), so the draconian death concept can be retired?  I don't want to be a "calcified shell" spouting the same ideas 30 years hence.