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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Job Njoroge
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Re: What do you think about the idea of knowing when you will die?

Post by Job Njoroge »

Many people would try and hope against hope to change the day they die if they knew it . Also much of humanity would go beyond the normal actions in a desperate bid to add some more time to their time on earth. It would make the world a more dangerous place than it already is.
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Post by V_bansal2912 »

I am not sure, what I would want. At one time, I feel knowing would be the best option, as I will be able to live my remaining days with the people I love and cherish. At another point, I feel like it will be a countdown of number of days remaining, and I will be shot scared to live my life as all I would be thinking, where and how will I die. Painful death or a fast one?
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Tina Mwikali
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Post by Tina Mwikali »

It will be good knowing when ill die so that I can prepare myself and be free from sin.
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Post by Melchi Asuma »

It is a good idea. At least I would get to do everything I had planned to do before my time came. If, for instance, I knew I was dying I would really focus on achieving things I had dreamt of without the fear of death as I would know exactly when that came about.
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Post by NeonKay »

I don't think that too much technology is good in living our human lives. But if there's something that can cause us to become aware of the things uncontrollable, such like about our health's status, such an invention can become a great help. However, a description of an invention that can predict natural deaths does not sound rightful to my ears. If I were like to put it, I'll say it is an invention that can alert us when our body is becoming toxic and that we have to do something in order to avoid any serious illness to occur.
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Post by Geminimind81 »

I might be being too utilitarian but I would want to know a general time frame.
If I will die relatively soon I wouldn’t rack up a bunch of debt that my family would have to pay and would put my savings together to pay my funeral. I would also want to be the one to go through my things to save my family the heartache of that.
If I was going to live a long time I might risk the debt and start a business, invest in stocks, get a masters or a doctorate.
The world has so much to do, and so many people who would be effected by either our suddenly going or living to 103 without the proper savings to pay for our care. It would be nice to be able to know what paths are more practical.
Also it’s not the length of the life but life in the length. I would want to know how quickly I need to squeeze in experiences or which ones to skip. I might choose not to have a child if my partner and I would both die in a few years.
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Brian fuchaka
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Post by Brian fuchaka »

I like the the idea because when this comes in human thinking many actions stop working normally rather you start to imagine when you die where will you go ,is it in heaven or hell,but some of your events good or bad will also dictate your destination .i supprt the idea though it is natural.
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Post by MsBattle3 »

I think If we know when we past. it's like cheating at life. I feel like us not knowing is good. less stressful but a bit scary however who wants to be a walking ticking death bomb
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Post by Mr Benj »

Avoiding realities is not a good option. if one is privileged to know this rare fact, it will make him/her make concrete and productive plans without fruitless activities.
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Post by kfwilson6 »

jennyd2003 wrote: 02 Mar 2018, 22:22 I like the idea of being able to wrap things up. In reality though, I think if we know when we will pass then we will do things differently. We won't enjoy the time simply because we will be counting down until it's over. I'd rather not know and just enjoy time with my family.
I understand where you are coming from. I think one's view about this is very dependent on how they are living life now. Are you committed to your family? Do you spend enough time with them? Do you engage in activities you truly enjoy? Or do you spend too many hours at work? Do you take a long time forgiving people? Are you ready for whatever after life you believe in? If you think there are things you would be doing differently if you got a Final Notice, then maybe start doing those things now. Don't wait until it's too late, or almost too late to make the changes you know you should make. If you are ready, as ready as anyone can be, for the end of your life, then you don't need a Final Notice.
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Post by kfwilson6 »

mnmueller wrote: 07 Mar 2018, 13:05 I am conflicted. On the one hand, I would like to have time to put my affairs in order and try to experience as many of the things I've been wanting as I can before my time was up. On the other hand, the sense of helplessness and desperation would probably make me feel cheated, so I'm not sure I would even get a chance to enjoy those experiences.

The part that hurts most for me is the idea of knowing when someone you care about is going to die. I have lost family members in recent years and have other family members currently fighting against life-threatening illnesses. I personally have not found that knowing that it was coming or may be coming made it any easier. In fact, the sense of dread and desperate, irrational hope leading up to it warred heavily with the sure knowledge that, for the sick, it was the only way their suffering would end. I think knowing the exact time that someone I cared for was going to die would just cause me more suffering. The idea that they would also know and everything that entails makes me feel sick.

I think, in general, it's not a good idea. It would cause emotional distress or carelessness, which would sometimes result in people getting hurt. There are already too many instances of people around the world destroying other people and places, killing themselves in the process. Giving people notice that they will die soon would probably increase those numbers.
Do you feel conflicted due to the age of yourself or the ones you are referencing? I think at 28 I probably feel different than I will at 68.

I too recently lost family. My grandfather passed away expectedly in his 80s and the next year my grandmother passed away unexpectedly in her 70s. I think a huge part of my pain with my grandmother's passing was that I thought I had at least 10 more years with her. I was prepared for my grandfather to pass and I think that helped me to cope better. I've been trying to think about if it were my husband would I want to know and I truly can't decide but I'm leaning a little more in the direction of not wanting to know.

Also how does your relationship with them impact your feelings? With my husband, I see him every day and tell him I love him every day but with others, like my brothers, we don't talk a whole lot and so I would want to spend time with them if I could.

So many factors to consider! I'm grateful this is not an option right now.
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Post by kfwilson6 »

cozark38 wrote: 06 Mar 2018, 21:03 I understand both sides of the coin. I believe it just depends on what type of person you are. But I also think that if you did know, even those that seem comfortable with it and would want to know, then there would be too much focus on that one event. The whole purpose of life is to live it to the fullest, be thankful for what we have, and always strive for your dreams or goals. If we have knowledge of the future, we would act differently and then we would be changing the past that could affect the future of others. I know technology advancement is inevitable, but this slightly old dog is content with learning as I go, no going with knowing. We all die. We only have to do one thing in this life. We have to die so why focus on it before it happens. Silly ramblings but mine. :) I enjoyed all the different comments here. Good conversation. Thanks.
Ahhh but how many of us are living life to the fullest? I can honestly say, I do things every day that I kick myself over. I think I should have been kinder or more forgiving. I should have gone to dinner with my in-laws instead of staying at home. I should have called my mom this week instead of pushing it off until next week. I should have....

Kudos if you are living your life the best way you think you should be and you wouldn't change anything if you had a death notice. That is wonderful and this book has made me think that I need to get on track with a lot of things. There are plenty of regrets I can start getting rid of right now with simple choices.

This could be an age thing too. I definitely consider myself to be young and I'm in good health so I always think there is plenty of time. I'm not in a hurry to get a new job, I can call my mom next week, I can have dinner with my in-laws in a couple of weeks. But if I knew I couldn't, I'd do some of those things now.
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Post by Juliet Esther »

I'd rather be clueless, knowing when I will die might make me not to enjoy life as it comes, may make me really anxious and scared. Knowing when I'll die also has its advantages, giving me the opportunity to wrap it up with my friends and family and be prepared but I still think the advantages of not knowing when to die still overweighs the advantages of having to clue as to the death day
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Post by ericahs »

I am very conflicted about whether I would want to know. On the one hand, I wouldn't want it to taint my last days. But on the other hand, I would want to be able to prepare a little.
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.- Douglas Adams
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Post by Shamraan ahmed »

This is one of those topics that seem deep and good but isn't. And I don't think it is a good idea. For example If I knew when and how I will be fired from work I'd either do something crazy or avoid doing things that'll get me fired. So if i knew when I'd die I'll probably go full anarchy and do some crazy thing or stay locked in my room to avoid dying. So if we all knew about our death the world would become so chaotic and it's gonna be bad.
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