Do you want to know your death date?

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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. ;}>g1&q  
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more #<tWYE  
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in xvx\H'  
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? g+KzlS[6  
  Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your fw:^Lyn9$  
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it k+ q6U[ce  
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer. Kt4\&l-De  
  Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would ]\D6;E8P-~  
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to u7Y'3x,`  
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow XoxR5arj  
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- fN"oa>X  
terms with your passing away. F~Z0  
  But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave }x#P<d(  
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their Br ^rK}|l  
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine picP_1 L  
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. T956L'.+G  
Robert Rowland Smith ^ ]6 80h