Is the information actionable ?
Even if you couldn't prevent your death, knowing when it happens makes timing and planning a lot of other things much easier.
Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
11–20 of 28 posts
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#12I'd be shown myself being murdered by the operator of the time machine, after asking far too many questions about its theory of operation. Nope
My book club read The Measure, by Nikki Erlick, where one day all adults received a string in a box, with the length of the string perfectly correlating with their total lifespan, and children received them too, as they grew into adults. The box and string were indestructible.
Several members of the book club were going through a memento mori existential crisis, and all I cared about was that no one had done anything interesting with the indestructible materials. Imagine what humanity could accomplish with billions of indestructible boxes and strings.
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#13there are infinite possibilities.
might as well see this one play out because it’s unique
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#14Absolutely not, it would ruin life as it is. Maybe it would drive some decisions, but probably badly and panic driven.
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#15You can use actuarial math and get pretty damned close. Like within five years with 80% confidence. Not as much romance in that as there is in a Time Machine.
I am very curious how one might do that? What would be the input parameters ? (Zero knowledge about actuarial math)
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#16I don't see how this would work. If I see that I would die at the age of, say, 75, does that mean living recklessly before then means I won't die? That it's my fate to die exactly at 75? That I can stop taking care of myself?
Being aware of that date would change behavior whether you want to or not, and would those actions of mine not have consequences?
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#17I don't see how this would work. If I see that I would die at the age of, say, 75, does that mean living recklessly before then means I won't die? That it's my fate to die exactly at 75? That I can stop taking care of myself? Being aware of that date would change behavior whether you want to or not, and would those actions of mine not have consequences?
These are the philosophical takes I love as answers to these hypothetical scenarios
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashforward_(novel)
Ooh, I might read that! Thanks.
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#19Knowing when you die != seeing your future self die
There might be some value to some people in knowing how much lifespan they have left. But actually seeing your future self die seems like it would be horribly traumatic, as your present self would carry on living afterwards with that knowledge. And anyway, each of us will experience our own death eventually.
Re: Ask HN: Would you want to know when and how you die?
#20Mm if I had to actually see myself dying, probably not. If I could just get a letter with the information, as with a short story I read once, probably yes. Assuming the expiration can't actually be changed. If it's not set in stone, that would probably be too stressful to live with.