Do you want to know your death date?

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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. sHV?njZd  
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more 2|(lKFkQ  
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in Y4lNxvY  
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? \4 +HNy3  
  Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your 1.<gC  
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it 5/T#>l<  
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer. G8MLg#  
  Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would uJ fXe  
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to qP zxP @4  
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow iSfRo31  
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- )3V1 aC  
terms with your passing away. (dx~lMI  
  But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave RE-y5.kE^  
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their ^; }Y ZBy  
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine T11>&K)  
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. -s7!:MB%g  
Robert Rowland Smith W^c /l*>v