What do you think about the idea of knowing when you will die?

Use this forum to discuss the March 2018 Book of the Month, "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.
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Benyamin
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Re: What do you think about the idea of knowing when you will die?

Post by Benyamin »

The Tim Burton movie “Big Fish” addresses the subject pretty humorously. Van Fleisher’s take is decidedly less humorous. Still, wait for it, the older Americans get, the more guns they accumulate. Since it comes down to doctors having to be the ones who take guns away, it is maybe too true that guns don’t kill people, but maybe statistics do! How many gun owners fantasize about having their final breaths with gun infirmly gripped in their hands. People get old faster than they have a handle on their guns.
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Benyamin
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Post by Benyamin »

I would want to know, especially if it’s a violent end. It wouldn’t make me more of a pessimist because my pessimism is already firmly anchored in how everyone else is constantly addressing this same matter. There’s a spectrum of happy- go-lucky to Soldier-of-Fortune survivalist. Medical prognoses cover the rest pretty well.
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Dael Reader
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Post by Dael Reader »

if I knew when I was going to die, I would plan it so I could stop working and spend all my earthly funds enjoying myself and hanging out with the people I love as much as possible before the end comes. As it is, I suspect that if I don't die early from tragic illness or horrifying accident, I'll probably drop dead on the job, because I won't be able to afford retirement. Even so, I don't think I'd want to know. I'm sure I'd be more anxious than assured by the knowledge.
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Post by Wesley Liu »

I think the idea of knowing when you will die is terrible, in my case. With this knowledge, I would not be able to live life to my fullest, and instead be constantly focused on how many days I have left until the end. This knowledge would essentially act as a timer in which I would think, "If I only have this many days left, then why am I getting education? Why am I doing all these difficult tasks, when I only have x number of days left to live?" I feel that some people would use their lifespan calculation as a cue to descend into a criminal life, or something equally as horrible or even worse. Without the knowledge of knowing when you would die, you would still have hope as a human being. You could understand that, according to your unknown lifespan, you still have a possible future. If you knew exactly when you were going to die, some people would just lose hope of any possibility of living past that extended time constraint. They would not work as hard on their jobs, such as a medical researcher, because they know that no matter what they do, they will end up dying on that day. Of course, the outcome of your life's work if you know when you will die really depends on the person themselves and how they interpret that information.
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Post by simplymica26 »

Personally, I would want to know. Knowing how much time you have, I believe you will do all your best to seek and give forgiveness, give what you have, visit the sick, spend more time with your family and do everything that is worthy of your time. I would love to spend the rest of my time for others and not just doing it for myself.
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Post by Anawzier »

I think , it may be terrifying to know when will you die, but don't you think , it will be beneficial for us because we will have time to prepare to enter the 'next life'.
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Post by Winslow »

I don't think it would be a good idea to know when you will die. It would be like someone on death row, a very stressful situation. As people say, ignorance is bliss.

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katadi oo7+
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Post by katadi oo7+ »

If i came to known that i will die at that day then i will leave everything and do things which really near to my soul"philosophy work" and helping a needy till my death!!!!!
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Post by elliebelle2018 »

i found it a good topic.out of curiousty when will idie? its a bit practical but yes i admit its scary to know when will i die.
i believe that those whos sick were luckier than those who died on accidents cause they had the chance to say goodbye to love ones than those who just died in just a snap of the finger i like the idea and yes i reallt like the topic.
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Post by ShailaSheshadri »

I, somehow don't like to know in advance, about my exact date of death. I believe, it will ruin my joy of living further till death occurs.

It could be a terrible feeling to a living person who knows about his death date. That could give rise to frustration, depression, violence, anger, sympathy, all such kinds of mixed feelings in him, as the death date approaches.

One who knows that his death date is coming nearer may not concentrate on his daily activities. He may become unproductive due to his deep feelings about death. Each such person may show different reactions to that knowledge. According to me, the death date of a person should be a suspense.
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Post by acolmenaresc »

It is definitely a difficult question and really a difficult topic.
I think the biggest burden really is, the moment in which you learn when the dreaded date will come, how could one react when getting this type of information, that is really alien to us. Do you feel optimistic? That maybe, somehow your life will be longer, or maybe you feel sad, because life won't be as long as you probably thought it would be.
And in reality, I don't even know if I would like to know, or not, when I will die. There some "pros and cons" of course to each. Being able to live without that countdown, we have one, but I feel it is not better not to know the actual amout of days left; while I think it is also good to know when it would happen for me to able to really get closure, or at least to get my affairs in order.
It is an interesting idea, but really I wouldn't know what to choose.
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Post by kayzzyken »

I the idea of knowing when one will die throws up many things for most people, anxiety, chaos, confusion e.t.c living it's self is sometimes complicated then having to know that one is leaving without achieving something they have at hand and in mind? that's devastating, it's preferable to live life with the uncertainty of when it ends.
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Post by Callistus Ibenye »

The idea of science comming up with a technology that can reveal to me when I would die is a welcomed idea by me. That information would be quite priceless, because it would enable one to act with a certain amount of wisdom in decision making, and social interactions.
But, I'll like such an information if every it's uncovered to be kept confidential, only to be disclosed to the individual person involved.
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Post by Rhianne »

A lesson I’ve learned from ill people who have an idea of how long they have left is that it’s largely unimportant. What matters more is living an authentic, full life that you’re proud of, such that whenever the date comes around you’re at peace with it.
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Post by Jude Austin »

I don't think it would work for me. If it were in a short time, like next week, I'd probably panic about all the stuff I wanted to do but didn't. If it were in a long time, I'd probably be a bit complacent about it, procrastinate a lot, and finally panic about all the stuff I wanted to do but didn't.

I think if I had a terminal disease, I may view it differently. If I knew there was no hope, I'd want to know so I could put my affairs in order and cross as many things off my Bucket List as possible.
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