Date of Death

[Quest9]

Imagine that when you were born, the date of your death could be calculated. Barring an accident that would make a person die prematurely, on a specific day you would just die even if in perfect health and you could know of it.

A) Would you want to know it?

B) At what age would you want to know it?

C) Assuming you learned of it at an early age, would your life be any different than it is now? Would you be jealous of those whose date provides them a longer life or sad for those whose life span is known to be 42 years for example?

D) How would you prepare for the day?

[HappyLady]

A) Would you want to know it?

I was going to say, "Yes," because then I could say, "I only have until I'm 72 to write that book," and then when I'm 71 1/2 I'd probably start it because it would turn into an excuse rather than a motivation. I'm a procrastinator. I imagine I'd do the most *living* from 71 to 72.


B) At what age would you want to know it?

If I chose to know it, think childhood would be best because it would be knowledge I would be acclamated to. It would be a "fact of life" that I'm going to die at whatever age, rather than a great mystery. I think it would be easier to handle and incorporate into my life if I knew at a young age.


C) Assuming you learned of it at an early age, would your life be any different than it is now?

If I was going to die at 32, it would be. I'd be catching up on all the stuff I procrastinated on. The only thing it would change is if one of my children would be dying before me. I would probably try to change the world to prevent it from happening.


Would you be jealous of those whose date provides them a longer life or sad for those whose life span is known to be 42 years for example?

No, I imagine it would change the dating world. "I'm looking for someone tall, muscular build, who won't die before April 12, 2050. Too bad you're only living until 2049...we could have had something really special."


D) How would you prepare for the day?

Pulling an all-nighter to finish the book. Seriously, it would depend on how I lived my life and if I was afraid of death or not. If I was afraid, I'd get really drunk. But knowing me as I do, I would spend a great deal of my ending years with family and friends and have a big "going away" party on my last day. We'd have my coffin next to the buffet table. People could put momentos in it, and then I could just climb in a couple minutes before my time was up. "Does my hair look alright? Should I apply more lipstick?" It would be pretty pathetic if I was running late, like Cinderella. "Oh my gosh! My time is up!" and dropped dead before I made it to the coffin. Then my loved ones would have to pick me up and put me in there...they'd all be so embarrassed for me.

[FruitandNut]

'Death comes to us like a thief in the night'

The problem is that most of us die of something, if I could have a glimpse of my death certificate, I could figure out what to do to make that outcome less likely. For instance if I was a smoker and I was to die of lung cancer, I have a greater psychological incentive to give up right away.

What I feel would be even more dramatic on the way people live, is if we KNEW IRREPUTABLY what was to happen after death. If we are just a chunk of organic mass that is recycled, or is there an additional perspective called the soul, and what is to happen to that.

The big problem is that if we knew the time that we were to die, many of us would try to live healthier and better lifestyles, thus confounding the date predicted. A bit like someone being diagnosed with cancer and being told they have a year to live. They turn around their lifestyle and find they live to a ripe old age.