[mlyle]

> I don’t think most peoples 25 year old self can really identify what their 85 year old self will be like.

Yes, and I believe this is a reason why people make choices that adversely affect their 50 year old self. Who's that guy in the future going to be? Why should I care about making it better for him?

[Retric]

You could say the same thing about people drinking heavily only to wake up the next day with a massive hangover. So it isn’t the differences between them that’s causing people to screw over their future self.

[mlyle]

I can't comprehend 1000-year-from-now me. I don't think I would take many actions to improve life for 1000-year-from-now me even if I knew I could live millennia. Doing so does not buy me any comfort today and does not let me "give" to any person that I identify with or recognize as part of me.

I can imagine time scales on a par with how long I've lived and to a lesser extent to the ages of people I identify with.

(500 year from now me would see the first paragraph as exceptionally foolish... and also inevitable. But that fact doesn't change the truth of what I'm saying).