Do you want to know your death date?

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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. N/8B@}@n  
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more ?#/~BZR!  
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in Tl-Ix&37  
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? v}u
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  Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your 7,R ~2ss5z  
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it xbZR/!?  
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer. qfgw^2aUa  
  Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would /9 |BAQ:v;  
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to >u?a#5R:m  
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow LcmZ"M6  
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- zQsW*)L  
terms with your passing away. VP6_}9:9   
  But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave a)M3t  
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their i [2bz+Z?  
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine ~PedR=Y0n  
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. d{c06(#_  
Robert Rowland Smith eY'RDQa