The Final Notice Option

Use this forum to discuss the March 2018 Book of the Month, "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.
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maggiechap
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Re: The Final Notice Option

Post by maggiechap »

I would absolutely not want to know. I get enough anxiety now without knowing. I've known some people in life who have intuitively known they didn't have much longer (perfectly healthy people) and I watched them deal with it. Some handled it well, some didn't. I know for a fact I would be one of the ones who didn't. The only thing I would really appreciate about it is that dieting would no longer be a concern! XD I would want to go being free of the anxiety of knowing. I'd like to know that I died doing the things I love, with the people I love and not worried or stressed about dying or whatever.
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Post by Omoye+ »

I would like to know for as much as a few years notice if possible but for just a few days, it's a NO for me. "Laughing". Those last days will be freaking awesome! As long as I would be healthy and sound.
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Post by 1ditzyrn »

jessinikkip wrote: 04 Mar 2018, 02:51 I found the idea of a Final Notice too frightening to want in my own watch. I wear the Garmin branded version of the FitBit now, and I've seen how easy it is to manipulate that. It has a pulse monitor and if I move my arm a certain way, it reads like I have no heart beat when really I'm just resting my wrist against the arm of a chair. How many ways could a final notice go wrong?
I agree. And there's no telling how people will react if they get this "Final Notice". So who's to say what would happen if they are falsely alerted, do something rash (quit their job, sell their home, etc) only to find out it was a mistake.
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Post by Sketches_by_Shell »

I would certainly not want to be told by my watch when I were about to die. The thing basically tells me that every day that I do not meet my step goal! Then, on days that I do meet my step goal, I feel like it might just be that day! I would rather live each day, each moment as if it were going to be my last! Well, at least do as much as I am able, enjoy as much as I can, without the looming knowledge that in a said number of days it would be my last. It is an interesting concept, and I would not judge anyone who would want to know when their last day would be, but I would rather not.
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Post by n-dai che »

Omoye+ wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 13:46 I would like to know for as much as a few years notice if possible but for just a few days, it's a NO for me. "Laughing". Those last days will be freaking awesome! As long as I would be healthy and sound.
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Pretty nice idea. Making the final days worthwhile with a smile each new day. I laugh with you. :lol:
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Christina Rose
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Post by Christina Rose »

sozburn09 wrote: 05 Mar 2018, 10:19 As a mother with young children I think I would want to know. Not only would if give me time to say goodbye but also to create a few more memories with them. This would also give me time to make sure things are in order for my family.
This is a good point. We often go through life putting things off until tomorrow. Using the notice in this capacity would be healthy and positive.
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Post by Michaelsmith1 »

To me. it all depends on one's perspective because as we all know life itself is a two-edged sword.
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Post by n-dai che »

Sketches_by_Shell wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 14:31 I would certainly not want to be told by my watch when I were about to die. The thing basically tells me that every day that I do not meet my step goal! Then, on days that I do meet my step goal, I feel like it might just be that day! I would rather live each day, each moment as if it were going to be my last! Well, at least do as much as I am able, enjoy as much as I can, without the looming knowledge that in a said number of days it would be my last. It is an interesting concept, and I would not judge anyone who would want to know when their last day would be, but I would rather not.
Your right! What if the watch was malfunction? Oh my, it will only pop-ups with a FINAL NOTICE everyday. is it alarming? Due to the malfunction of a thing it damage many life. i would rather not, too. :D
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Post by R-g-R »

This is a very interesting question. While I understood why it was initially compelling for focus groups to keep the Final Notice, and while I understood it was a major selling point of difference compared with other devices, the book shows that humans most often cannot cope with the reality of knowing their end is nigh. It sounds great to be able to say goodbye and get our things in order, yet the information is not used for these purposes at all. Add that to a society with super easy access to weapons, and this is a disaster just waiting to happen...as depicted in Final Notice.
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Post by n-dai che »

Your right, human beings cannot cope with the reality of death. Instead of bidding good bye, making the last moment productive , but make it a terrible ending .
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Post by kfwilson6 »

londonmartine wrote: 21 Mar 2018, 04:08
jessinikkip wrote: 04 Mar 2018, 02:51 I found the idea of a Final Notice too frightening to want in my own watch. I wear the Garmin branded version of the FitBit now, and I've seen how easy it is to manipulate that. It has a pulse monitor and if I move my arm a certain way, it reads like I have no heart beat when really I'm just resting my wrist against the arm of a chair. How many ways could a final notice go wrong?
This!! Technology and user error! I'd give myself a heart attack every time something went wrong!
Great point. The consequences of a malfunction could be very severe. Technology is not perfect and at some point something would go wrong. Can you imagine having your Final Notice set for 10 days and 11 days later you are still hanging out wondering when that moment will hit, but really you are just fine? Crazy!
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Post by kfwilson6 »

maggiechap wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 12:10 I would absolutely not want to know. I get enough anxiety now without knowing. I've known some people in life who have intuitively known they didn't have much longer (perfectly healthy people) and I watched them deal with it. Some handled it well, some didn't. I know for a fact I would be one of the ones who didn't. The only thing I would really appreciate about it is that dieting would no longer be a concern! XD I would want to go being free of the anxiety of knowing. I'd like to know that I died doing the things I love, with the people I love and not worried or stressed about dying or whatever.
Being self-aware is so important for issues like this. Although most of us can see how there can be benefits to the feature, not as many people can honestly face how they would react. We may all like to think we would be rational, make the most of our final days, and not spend our last few days in panic. However, had we known the characters who committed homicide/suicide in this book prior to those events, they may have been the type of person to claim of themselves that they would never harm someone else, even if they could get off scott free. It's similar to the question of "what would you do if you knew no one was watching and you would never get caught?"
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Post by Tzara Drusak »

Preparation for the inevitable is desirable to quite a lot of people, but would we ever really be prepared? It's tempting, true, but the days leading up to it would be filled with anxiety and a sort of depression arising from knowing that how unavoidable it truly is, followed by a cemented helplessness. That's a lot of negativity for one's final days, so I think that not knowing would be better.
And in the end, we were all just humans... Drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness.

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Post by mmklundt »

I don't think the technology in sports watches are currently accurate enough to add this feature without creating mass hysteria. People would panic if they thought they were going to die in the very distant future. What if it's wrong? What if it didn't forecast a death and the individual died? Lawsuit?
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Post by britt13 »

Manali_DC wrote: 02 Mar 2018, 11:11 I found the idea of the Final Notice really frightening. Also, even with all the dramatic advances in technology, I doubt anything could actually accurately predict how much time you had to live. How does it work if a terminally ill person meets with an accident? And I personally feel it would be very depressing to be told something like that- human beings are in general very hopeful creatures-hope gives us strength to keep going against all odds, and it would be almost cruel to be told there is no point and your time is up!
That was something I kept thinking about, how it was not really that big of a deal because so many people die in accidents. I actually found myself thinking about how the people they were killing would have no warning even if they had the watch. I feel like that would just make me crazy!
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