Would you want to know when you die?
 

Just say that you got sick. After a lot of tests the doctors tell your parents that you have cancer and that you only have 2 months to live. Now you just think that it is a bad cold or virus. Now the question is, would you want to know that your time was numbered or would you rather live you life not knowing?

If you did know then you could do things that you always wanted to do. You could tell your crush that you like him/her. You could go sky-diving or if you really hated the world go to Pakistan and hunt down Osama Bin Laden in a Blaze of Glory. The problem about knowing is that you will be nervous all of the time and you would not be able to stop thinking about your death. It may make you worse as well because it may lead you to mass depression.

On the other hand if you didn't know then you would just get sicker and sicker but at least you could think that your body will heal itself sooner or later. And that way you can live your life in peace but in pain holding onto the fact that it will be over soon. But the other side of the coin is not doing the things you wanted to do. At least in the first couple of weeks you can do things until the Cancer kicks in. If you didn't know then you would just spend you dying weeks in bed waiting to get better.

To know or not to know, that is the question.

I would. Why wouldn't I want to know? At least I wouldn't have to live in constant fear of death.

I would prefer to know. Why should I continue to go to school and preform other tasks I despise if no good will come from it in the end. Also, I think my parents have no right to hide something like this from me, but I wouldn't have a fit at them if they did hide it but I found out anyway. I would try not sink into serious depression, some words of wisdom (not my own) "If you knew that your leg was going to be cut off tomorrow, would you sit around and mope about it or would you go and preform some awesome air kicks?"
The point is, if you know you will die, and there's nothing you can do about it, then there is no point in crying about it, because no amount of crying will cure cancer. Sure, if I did get cancer then I'd probably be eating my words and probably would cry about it, but I don't have cancer, so I can speculate about how I would react, even if that isn't what would really happen.
I'd probably become a real jerk and do a whole lot of crazy stuff. Meh. But I would look at it this way, if I'm going to die, then I won't be around to regret the stuff I've done!
~Salamander

Yes, I would. If I were getting sicker and sicker, I'd prefer certainty (even if it's negative) over doubt.

Even more so if I could know when I would die in the long term (i.e. even if I wasn't sick) because I could live my life and not have to worry about things like random accidents and having a depressing eulogy because I haven't done anything with my life so far.

I would, so I can go and spend all my money and live the last of my life easy.

I wouldn't. Having knowledge of the day of your own death would affect one's life greatly, and make it much less enjoyable. I mean everyday, you'd have to think that you only have so many days, months, or years left. Talk about depressing.

I would rather know. That way I could do the things I've always wanted to do in my last days. I'd most likely spend the days moping around, complaining about being sick if I didn't know what I had or how long I had to live.

I'd like to know too, damn right I would. Then I can finally do all kinds of things and get away with it :D. Like robbing a bank, always wanted to do that.

Havoc

I doubt you'd get away with it, you'd just spend the rest of your days in prison.

I'd do it on the last day :P

Haha fair enough.

Yes, I think I’d want to know. Knowledge is power.

And deadlines bring out the best in me.

I'd want to know, because if you didn't know, you'd have to endure life's pains and not know to have fun before you go. I'd stay off school, and have as much fun as I could.

I'd want to know, since then I could do stuff I don't normally do. :p

I would like to know so i can do what the hell i wanted without a fear of the concequences
you'd STAY off school?
i would Go to school and cause as much havoc as possible

What? And make everybody hate you at school, and then nobody comes to your funeral? Sounds like a great idea. :p

You'll be dead anyway, what are you gonna care?

Havoc

I'd want to know when I die, that way I can prepare for it and do all the things I've dreamed of. Living in constant fear of death is no way to live. If you know when it's coming, you just need to accept you can do nothing about it, and make the time you have left as special as it can be.
But also, doctors can get things such as cancer death predictions incredibly wrong. 7 1/2 years ago, a friend and co-worker of my father's was diagnosed with cancer, and given 6 months to live. 7 1/2 years later, he's still going strong, perfectly healthy, and the cancer has petered out. He still has the tumour lumps across his body, which they can't cut off for fear of re-starting the cancer, but he's 100% healthy. So doctors can get things completely wrong.

Wow, so I'm the only one who wouldn't want to know, huh? Would you guys really be able to live your lives comfortably knowing the exact day that you'd die? I mean, wouldn't it make life kind of pointless and empty?

For me, it'd do quite the opposite. I'd know I only had a little time left, so I'd strive to make it as worthwhile and full as possible.

But you'd constantly have to think that "this will be for nothing as soon as that particular day comes". I find it depressing. You'd constantly have to think that on that day, you'd be torn from your loved ones forever.

... :lol:

Nah, on the last day I'd trash the school to bits. :)

The bound to make every come to your funeral.

I'd like to know. It'd provide a different angle on life. Give a more finite viewpoint and such

By the same token, everything we do is for nothing once our death comes, unless of course there is an afterlife. So it makes no difference. What matters most is what we got out of our life while it happened, and how many people we positively affected.

And surely knowing when you'll leave your loved ones is better, sicne you'll be able to say your goodbyes, whereas, say you're in an auto accident and killed instantly, you cannot say goodbye. And knowing it in advance makes it easier for them too, I'd imagine- they have more time to come to terms with the fact that you'll be gone.

True. Although, I feel knowing the exact date of your death may make you live your life differently than you would have if you didn't have that knowledge. I mean, you might resort to a life of crime or negatively affect that lives of your loved ones.

Not necessarily. If everyone knew the day they'd die, I'd have to live every day knowing that in said number of years, I'm never gonna see my mother again. That would be horrible. I mean, think about it. Let's say someone you loved was going to die in a week. You'd live out that entire week thinking "After this week, they'll be gone forever". I don't know about you, but that would depress me immensely, and possibly have a permanent negative affect on me. I would just not want to live knowing when it would all end. I think it's better to be taken swiftly and suddenly, rather than knowing the day of your death.

I guess we just have a difference of opinion. I prefer to know in advance, following the knowledge=power theorem. I son't like unpleasant suprises, if something really bad has to happen, I prefer to know it's coming, so I can prepare for it. Guess we just have different views.

My plan goes roughly like that episode of Family Guy where they have those animatronics of Irish life. Just replace "drinking" with "playing Spore and browsing the Internet" and "slapping wife" with "religion".

I know we do. I was just curious to know why you'd want to acquire that knowledge is all :p.

I would want to know when I die, as I could spend the day I found out mourning and maunging about my own death, and I could try and live a healthier lifestyle to try and extend the amount of time I had to wait 'til death.

If I were in some sort of situation where I was sick from a terminal illness, then I would, because if I didn't know, the anticipation and... well... unknown would drive me crazy.

Now, if some mystical seer walked up to me on the street and asked if I would like to know the date of my death, I would give him a stern "No, thank you" and walk away. It's like the exact opposite of the terminally ill example. If I knew the date of my own death and I was perfectly healthy at the time, then the knowledge would drive me crazy.

Yes! I'm not the only one anymore!

And I could understand wanting to know if you were terminally ill. I mean, if you have, let's say, cancer, and only have so much time left, then you'd want to know just how much so you could make the most of it.

If I was ill, then yes. I wouldn't want to know, per se, but I'd want them to tell me, if you know what I mean. Then I'd know to spend my final time well, meaning sitting around waiting for my PS2 to recognise the disk for Jak 3 so that I can finally finish my most recent replay. I'll die the way I lived: on my ass, at the mercy of electronic hardware.

As for the mystic seer scenario, I would decline. Although knowing would bring its advantages. You wouldn't be afraid of taking physical risks, knowing that they won't kill you (not realising that they will result in a 60 year-long coma that finally ends with a power cut).

Little story:

A man is on vacation and visits a fortune teller. The fortune teller predicts the man's exact date and time of death, down to the second and it's not to far in the future. The man leaves with a smile, thinking it's all just a big bunch of crap anyway and eventually makes his way home. A few months pass and the date mentioned by the fortune teller is drawing closer and closer until the day finally arrives. Not wanting to take any chances after all, the man decides to call in sick and stay home for the day. The hours slowly tick by until the hours turn to minutes. And the minutes eventually turn into seconds. When only one minute is left to go untill the predicted time, the man can no longer take it and runs our of his house as fast as he can, screaming in fear as he crosses t he street where he is run over by a bus.

Havoc

Aye, that would be your basic Self-Fulfilling prophecy. They're ten-a-penny at the vending machine down by ol' gas station. That's a mighty sinful place, that is. Diner's okay, but the rest is mighty wicked.

Yep this was going to be my argument. Granted it does take a lot of the "mystery" of how or when and remove any real fear when taking risks or doing anything dangerous, but the removal of fear of death would be sweet and the mystery of how you reach that fateful day.

I know that if some sort of higher power reveled to me the date of my death, I would certainly spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking "What if it was wrong?" or "How do I know it was telling the truth?" or "What if I just imagined the whole thing?"

And it just makes me wonder that if I lived more recklessly because I knew the date of my death (and really... who wouldn't?), that my destiny may change because of my carelessness. That wouldn't have been in the original plan of my life, and I could quite possibly bring about an earlier demise depending on my behavior.

I belive i would like to know when i would die, that way i could orginize all the things i wanted to do in my remaining time, such as crying about the fact that i am going to die, making amends with my family and friends, and calling my biology teacher an ass

No...no I wouldn't

Well, if I were terminally ill, yes, I'd like to know when I would be expected to die. You know, the anticipation reasons and such.


If it were a phsycic or something like that, I wouldn't want to know. It would just drive me crazy wether I believed it true or not.

So yeah... not much different from everyone else's...