Do you want to know your death date?

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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. W1"N Kg~4  
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more ff.k1%wr^  
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in CS~onf<xz  
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? 6z U  
  Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your  d6tLCQ  
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it Kj @<$ChZw  
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer. #
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  Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would f]%SFQ+  
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to G2I%^.s  
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow *'8q?R?7g  
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- ~\NQkaBkY  
terms with your passing away. ` w EX;  
  But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave IW<rmP=R&  
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their hfY/)-60o  
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine #?S"y:  
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. A~vx,|I  
Robert Rowland Smith nN<,rN{: