# Would you want to know when you're destined to die? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2003, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174 "2003-08-19T10:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/21 "2003-08-19T20:14:39Z")
I was thinking about something like this today. What if you just would learn something general like: You will die of an accident when you are an old woman. or You will die of natural causes in middle age. I think I would want to know. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/22 "2003-08-19T21:03:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I will trust the giant squids to tell me only if they think it best. \*\* March 13th, 2006, eaten alive by a sociopath you picked up hitchhiking about 10 miles from your house. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/23 "2003-08-19T21:14:27Z")
Aren’t you a squidmanthingy, not a giant squid? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/24 "2003-08-19T22:02:53Z")
“Knowing the time of your death is one of those strange bonuses that comes with being a true magic user. And, on the whole, it is a bonus. Many a wizard has passed away happily drinking the last of his wine cellar and incidentally owing very large sums of money.” –Terry Pratchett, **Lords and Ladies** ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/25 "2003-08-19T23:12:22Z")
I just heard a voice that told me that I would die by an imploding universe when **transitionality** causes a rip in the fabric of space-time in an attempt to avoid a predestined death. Now I’m depressed. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![MalFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@MalFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MalFrog)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/26 "2003-08-20T05:53:52Z")
> [@](#): > > CLYDE BRUCKMAN: Mister Gordon, uh, as a young husband, I think you’re going to find that your new responsibilities to your family take precedent over your recreational needs. > > YOUNG HUSBAND: But this is a really good boat. > > CLYDE BRUCKMAN: You don’t get it, do you, kid? Two years from now, while driving down Route 91… coming home to your wife and baby daughter… you’re going to be hit head-on by a drunk… driving a blue '87 mustang. You’ll end up looking worse than sixty feet of bad road your body slides across… after flying out your front windshield. > > YOUNG HUSBAND: Mister… you really need to work on your closing technique. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/27 "2003-08-20T06:24:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hebesphenomegacorona \* > \*\*Aren’t you a squidmanthingy, not a giant squid? \*\* Who do you think controls the giant squids? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/28 "2003-08-20T08:09:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by \*\*transitionality \*\* > … You could jump out of planes, rob banks, beat people up etc. without so much as a bleeding nose. … a crippled man or a coma patient isn’t exactly dead either. 😉 looking at ‘groundhog day’, i’ve always wondered if i’ll jump in front of a train even if i knew for sure i’ll wake up unscathed… ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/29 "2003-08-20T08:15:04Z")
I’d definitely want to know. It would make a huge difference to my life. I’d plan it out to die with the maximum amount of debt possible and having done everything I want to do. As I would most likely be in a fairly bad mood they day before I die, people who piss me off should also stay well out of my way. ---
**Author:** ![Zcrysis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zcrysis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zcrysis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/30 "2003-08-20T10:22:27Z")
I dont think it would be a very good idea to know. Human society functions on the premise that people will be responsible for their actions. By knowing your time/place of death you effectively have immunity from all reprecussions of your actions. Fun for the individual, would be hell to live in a world where everyone was like that. So for the greater good [aint the moral high ground swell =)] I wouldnt want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/31 "2003-08-20T10:30:27Z")
How does foreknowledge of your death grant you immunity from the consequences of your actions? How does it lessen responsibility? If I know I’ll die in ten years time and decide to rob a bank today, I’m still liable to arrest and punishment. If I pull a gun on the police because I think I’m immortal and get shot in return, I might not die, but I could certainly spend the rest of those ten years in a wheelchair or as a vegetable or in prison, or all three. I think that if people are faced with their deaths as an incontrovertible and unavoidable fact, it will actually lead many of us to lead better lives in the time we have left and therefore lead to better lives for all. ---
**Author:** ![transitionality](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@transitionality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/transitionality)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/32 "2003-08-20T11:17:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shijinn \* > **a crippled man or a coma patient isn’t exactly dead either.** Yes, but if your predestined death requires that you be fully able in order to participate in the predestined scenario (walk in front of an oncoming car, receive a fatal blow in a fight, die of exhaustion in a marathon, etc.) then you must necessarily remain fully able up until the point of your death. Hence you can’t get hurt regardless of what you do – you’re not predestined to get hurt! You can do the riskiest things you want and nothing can happen to you! As I said, this whole thing is very stupid. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/33 "2003-08-20T15:03:45Z")
It wouldn’t make much difference to me either way. It certainly wouldn’t change the way I live. I would, however, take my last two weeks off from work. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/34 "2003-08-20T19:06:46Z")
I would not want to know. I would be completely depressed and filled with a “why bother” feeling until my time arrived. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/35 "2003-08-20T20:01:47Z")
Yes. For pretty much the reasons **rjung** quoted. Plus it’s always nice to be able to plan for things. Unexpected events are just so…unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/36 "2003-08-20T20:56:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mighty\_Girl \* > \*\*There was this movie I saw a long time ago. There was a tribe of cyclops, they asked the gods for the power to see the future. The gods found that a little bit annoying so they gave them the power to see only their own deaths. And there was nothing they could do about it, or else they would have an utterly painful death. They were depressed all the time. \*\* That would be **Krull**. I’m so embarassed that I actually know that. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/37 "2003-08-20T22:20:14Z")
I’d want to know. And, about a week before, I’d max out my credit cards. If I die and still owe Visa about $7000, I win. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/38 "2003-08-20T22:20:53Z")
The question is unanswerable. If the time and circumstances of my death were predestined, it would imply that my _life_ was predestined as well. Therefore, my opinion on the matter would be irrelevant. I’d just be a soulless puppet of fate. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/39 "2003-08-20T22:45:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by transitionality \* > \*\*If you knew the exact details of your demise (place, time, reason of death) and assuming that your death would come to pass by any means other than natural causes, you could take precautions to prevent or delay it, thereby creating a rip in the fabric of space-time, and causing the entire universe to spontaneously implode. \*\* But what if you found out that the way you are going to die is when the Universe imploded? I might be incleined to agree with the OP that knowing the exact time and nature of your death might be advantageous My real problem is that I might find out that I will die when I hit the “submit Reply” Button… ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174/40 "2003-08-20T22:47:06Z")
I’m Still ALIVE!!! Yeeehaaaahhh!!! and the Universe didnt implode!! ALRIGHT! now I can … waitaminit… DOH!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-know-when-youre-destined-to-die/196174.md?page=3)