Would you want to know when you die?

[SeaRex]

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.

[snuzi]

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.

[Bullet Magnet]

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).

[Havoc]

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

[Bullet Magnet]

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.

[Al the Vykker]

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

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.

[SeaRex]

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.

[WaterMelody]

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

[Paramite of War]

No...no I wouldn't

[Arxryl]

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...