Do you want to know your death date?

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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. U#$:\fT  
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more (Y >U6  
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in ?9qAe  
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? 0pCDEs  
  Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your cY^Y!.,  
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it r=|vad$  
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer. pdy+h{] 3  
  Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would 6iyt2qkh  
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to Y& m<lnB  
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow @NBXyC8,Z  
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to-
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terms with your passing away. &#%D.@L  
  But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave Up u%.[7  
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their o
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cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine )Jmw |B  
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. h4hd<,  
Robert Rowland Smith W >Kp\
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