Apoptosis, or (Programed Cell Death) is a well established fact for most organic tissues...
Is there Programed cell death in adult brain cells?
What would you do or how would you cope if you were born with a code bar, indicating your time of programed brain cell death?
I wonder...
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/apoptosis.htm
No dear @Maria, I would not change almost anything.. Maybe, I would devote much more time to my family! :)
I, personnally, might well keep up the same life, with no difference in behaviour, and try and contradict that "death penalty", with the endeavour of concentrating asll my scientific efforts to try and discover new enhancers for organic regeneration. (I might try and change that...)
No dear @Maria, I would not change almost anything.. Maybe, I would devote much more time to my family! :)
Wouldn't you join me in try and change that scheduled timing ? (Even if only, building a computer program to change the notion of time?)
The overproduction of neurons is eventually balanced by a process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Apoptosis is responsible for a decrease in the cell numbers to adult levels and is completely under genetic control.
http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/30-2_Tierney.pdf
Yes, I would have devoted much more time to my family and close friends. Regrets on our deathbed are usually things that we didn’t do, not things that we did. We must take action, live now, cherish very moment before it is too late:)
P.S. have you seen the movie "in time", in the movie, everyone knows their time of death, but they can buy, lend and borrow time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Time
Dying is a” right”, but it is better to be a surprise, not on demand, not even knowing that it is very remote.
If somehow, my wishes as stated above, cannot be granted, then I try to cram in as much as I can for the time I have.
We have a lot of information on how people cope with known time of departure. You suurender and resign to whatever is in store for you; you become content when your lot, when your time is up. I have seen very old people or terminally ill people, calmly waiting for the end; telling their family they had enough. You see the same behaviour in those who seek assisted suicide. Is this the effect of the “code” that you mentioned?
I would be lying if I said I won't change a thing in my existing life if I knew the exact time of my death. If I had the foreknowledge of my death, it is bound to influence every moment of my life. I may not be able to focus on any earthly task as my mind would always be distracted thinking about the moment of death. I am glad that we as humans are neither predestined (programmed) for anything and neither do we have the foreknowledge of our death. This is the reason why I believe our mortal lives are so precious.
However fictitious the question may be, my emphatic and honest answer is yes. A bold Yes!!!.
As human beings, often we feel sorry for some of our reactions in situations which we could have done in a honorable/polite/humble/affable way - with known duration of our life we would't have done this.
We could have saved money, materials etc.. to be used by our beloved ones, had we known our survival duration ( if it is short)
Similarly.........many undesirable tempos could have been converted in to desirable ones and so on....
That is the reason why , almighty had made our lives uncertain/ unpredictable.
But famaous adage goes......" Birth is Accident but Death is Certain"
For me death is not an end in itself. This is simply a biological stop to something else. I submit to this truth while preparing my second life through meditation that will be my journey to another life
yes will try to be better and to do my best to help the people
and be more kind
Thank you, dear sirs, You are Wonderful, and I hope we all live longer, because it is great to be with you ! (I wouldn't change that, for certain...)
Dear Krishnan is absolutely right, and scientifically acurate. There is apoptosis in those organic tissues that suffer quick cell divisions, as the developping brain... We may wonder wether the adult brain is still developping, if only rather slowly...
That code bar would be fictional, at the present moment.
Nevertheless, just as dear Sirous put so well, Death is a certainty, but it should remain a surprise.
(I couldn't help thinking of some ethical problems brought by the development of routine echographic, ultrasound, studies of pregnancy. Some of the pregnant families still prefer to keep a surprise of their babies sex, until the moment of birth, just as in the "old days"... I wonder, if there's any interest in knowing things in advance of time...)
Yes, dear Behrouz, Ljubomir might become a millionaire if he developped that machine to change the curse/course of time...); Dear Fadel could purchase more time, for his meditations...
You are kind, sir, dear Mohamed Yassin...
In the effort to try to answer your questions based on the understanding may be limited from me, then let me convey something that is based on empirical facts that really happened.
What I have experienced in my life is an ordeal and even as the inevitability, however, I should be able to respond with a wise and prudent, and make it as Karunia (gift from God) for me that I can believe to be honest as the way to return back to God.
With this understanding to me, like the other people who have been aware of the nature through the ups and downs on the road through life, then this is really real and I feel like and need to say shortly as follows:
In essence, human life must reach the highest level dignity as proof of the application of ethical perfect complement to eternal life and eternal in the hereafter later.
Proof of human dignity should occur and is a process that has been, is, and must be achieved by human being.
If we can only get ethics, but not applied in daily life, then it is like the parable "having agarwood, but sandalwood anyway” (having already known, but still asking anyway). The purpose of this story, is that we have already been blessed the way but still hesitant and even a waste of time because we do not believe it. As we do not believe it, then automatically the absence of blessed dharma (line of glory duty), and in the absence of blessed dharma, consequently we might only know “the door" to return, but cannot enter into it.
Dear Maria,
Yes, certainly (and I have difficulty believing any person who knows himself, and is being truly honest and truthful, would answer this otherwise).
When we are young and healthy and full-of-vigor (and idealism), we don't think about death or mortality (in America, we avoid it in a programmatic way); we have the sense that we are immortal, and will live forever.
Being not only certain that there is a final date, but reminded precisely on what date, I would die, would certainly have affected my decisions in planning my life choices in major areas like education, career, mate, health, etc.
Knowing precisely the amount of time remaining, would CERTAINLY affect any intelligent and prudent person's scheduling (or intensity of achievement), if nothing else. I suspect that any person who KNEW he had only a short time remaining, as opposed to a long time, would act very differently (I mean, imagine if you were a young adult, just ready to enter college, and you knew you only had 4 years remaining in your life ... no one can [convincingly] tell me that fact would not affect, and likely change, their decision about whether they wanted to spend the remainder of their lives in classrooms and studying, or skip college and go out and experience life rightaway ... or, for example, have a strong influence on one's decision about when/if to have children.
I think some people may be misconstruing your question into something like being asked to make a value judgement on whether they feel they have wasted-time, or may have made incorrect or immoral choices in life. They seem to be construing the question more like the old-saw of: "If you could live your life over, would you do things differently (or make different choices)?"
Best regards,
Bob
PS - and, no, my opinions are not based on having any personal regrets about choices I made, rather my regrets are for having made so many stupid mistakes, and having wasted so-much-time in unproductive activities. Knowing the date of my death might have prevented some of the wasted-time, but probably would not have helped in avoiding many/any mistakes.
@ Eraldo re: quotation of Bradbury.
I have venerated Bradbury's writings ever since I was a young lad of about 9-years-of-age ... and the eloquence of snippets like the one you quote are the reason.
But, don't you think Bradbury, in this case, is perhaps attaching too much importance/emphasis/preference on physicality/materialism as our marks-on-life, as our "memorials," if you will, rather than where immortality really matters, and that IMO is how we are remembered by the people whom we have known and loved (and who have loved us) throughout life?
Regards,
Bob
@Maria. All of us are programmed or timed to die, it is something that cannot be stopped. What can be stopped is life at this present moment just to witness the experience of one's existence. The more you do this the more meaningful life would become because of the acknowledgment it is receiving. Meditation and dedication of life to understanding this inner experience has made few people program their time of death which is called as MOKSHA (disembodiment or Final liberation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha
Surely. I would not need a date, only the knowledge of what would happen later to me would change my whole life.
I read somewhere humans are designed to live for 120 years. Not many would get even 90 years out of this 120. When you reach 60 you would notice that components of the system starting to show the sign of wear and tear. Gradually some organs give up and stop working someday. If transplant on demand becomes a reality, then one can “re-condition” human being and extent its life. Then you need to think were the spare parts come from.
It is not the inbuilt “code” that determines the end, but the gradual shutting down of all systems. Installing the “destruction button” requires finding a way for all system to function at least half as well as they used do at the beginning. Alternatively the “destruction button” should activate before the most parts pf the system are worn out.
When somebody talk of destruction button I immediately remember the ill fate Arian Five rocket. The trouble was programs were written for 64 bit machine but computes on board was 32bit. They had to press the destruction button. Think about making stupid mistakes somewhere in the coding.
Probably you have noticed that my answer has its root in reliability and availability of engineered systems. In fact my day job is to keep such system going as long as I can.
Every birth is closely tied to the future end of life.
"Would you have led your life in a different way, if you knew the exact programmed time of your death?"
My answer is yes, of course. But I am happy that I do not know the end of my life.
To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.
--- Buddha
How very beautiful, dear Subhash. Thank you ! You just offered us an excellent way of how to spend the time we have left in our lives.
Dear Josep, as I read Bird, instead of birth, I thought your contribute was very poetically beautiful too. Thank you !
"Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?"
----- TOM STOPARD, Rosencrantz & Guilenstern Are Dead, 1967.
As we all know that with our birth the death is certain & not in our hand .With the termination of cell ,we are ending our final journey & in our journey we have also accumulated our smile & Tears also .
With this our soul is everlasting companion for our life as our soul never dies when we will leave our body .Due to this ,our soul has a collection of our resulting fruit of our action of our life .We may accumulated the fruits of our action either positive or negative which is bound to be with our soul.
In our next journey with our birth we all have the accumulation of our resulting of our pending previous lives & this also will may get an opportunity to use in our life either way of positive direction or negative . This is only reason that why in our society we find person of different nature.
This is my personal opinion
Hi Maria,
Next time I will try to be more poetic :-)
But for Birds is true the same.
Josef
Maria,
Suppose that when I was very young I would have learned that I would have died from death penalty because being a serial killers. So I would have tried to kill myself prior killing other. So in this extreme case, your hypothesis even lead to a paradox.
If I would learned that I dye in a young age. Then I would not have been able to think my life towards the long term and so that knowledge would have interfered too much and change very much my life.
If I would learned that I dye at 90 (my current expectation) from a some common old age cause of death with only a few months in hospital, then it would have changed nothing because it was my expectation all along.
If somone expected to dye in the 40's then it may provide so extra motivation for that person to do as much as possible and may in some case allow this person to have a more productive life.
Thank you, dear Ahed.
Yes, deep down, the greatest danger of the knowledge of our exact life expectancy would be precisely the danger of suicide and self-destruction, before the term of that expectancy, or of an empty life in between, a life with no dreams nor enthusiasm for future promises.
Thus, just as most of us here, I do prefer not to know.
-----
Thank you, dear Louis, yes again.
In terms of predicting our own death, and ailments, the more I deal with patients, the more I trust their personal intuition...
Yes, I am almost certain that the real knowledge of one's own life expectancy is, just as a bar code, within each individual. The "magic" of Medical practice is to discover and feel those timid signs of the deepest truth that doesn't easily reveal to one's own self.
I will never forget one of the first patients I attended to in hospital ER, at the beginning of my medical career. This was a young 16 year old boy, who stopped at the entrance of the hospital with abdominal colics, as he was passing by on his bicycle. As I examined, I easily diagnosed acute apendicytis. As I tried to persuade him to call his parents to say that he need to stay in for operation, he systematically refused any surgical procedure, because he said he was certain to die from the surgical procedure. Conversations went on and on for several hours, until I finally managed to convince him that it would be a safe procedure, and he accepted to undergo surgery if I promised to hold his hand during the surgical procedure. (and I did!). I will never forget his smile of relieved happiness, when I released him from hospital, 3 days later, after succesful operation.
I won't either ever forget the terrible noise of a crash in the street, a few minutes after the boy left. As I rushed to the window, I saw in the greatest distress, that the boy had been run over by a truck, as he crossed the road on his bike, leaving the hospital. He died instantly. He was right, deep down he knew that he would die if he stayed in hospital that night...
I never again convinced anyone to undergo any treatment against one's will, ever again.
Dear Maria,
The story of this boy is very touching. I had a number of premonitions in my life where I foreseen the future. A few days after my father passed away, I took a walk near the place of my birth. I then realized that a few years earlier I had also took the same walk at that location a few days after my mother passing. Then I realized that this is the location of my first memory . I was maybe 2 year old sitting in a tobgogan dragged by my mother in the full moon snowning evening. Then I somehow knew that one day I will come here and I will take the same walk before I dye.
Good friend Marianne just sent her interesting contribute, through personal message.
I share!
Marianne Levon Shahsuvaryan to you 56 minutes ago
I agree with you regarding ethical medical importance of raised question. I have not change anything during proposed period of time.
Warm regards,
Marianne
Hello Dr. Maria, Thanks a lot for very interesting question.
I do appreciate the previous answers of RG Colleagues.
Our background country and environment are different. So, we may have different point of views for this kind of question.
Our life is very strange with unexpected events and scenarios.
Traditionally, we can't know exactly when we will die.
However, it is true that we will die on one day.
Regarding your question, in my opinion, if I knew the exact programmed time of my death, I want to prepare some works and I will stay most of my times with my family.
In the first months, I have to finish my works as possible as I can and clear all of my debts. Also, I have to instruct and guide to my juniors for their smooth works although I absent in my organization.
In the middle months, I will release all my works and only stay all of my times with my family. Moreover, I have to indeed perform the religious works.
In the final months, I have to pay all of my properties to my family. If I suffer some serious health feeling, I will cover by my smiles. Because I don't want to pay my family to unhappiness (cry) although they knew about my programmed time of my death. At that time, the most important work for me is train my mind by the religious works (for example, meditation, praying) to stable for my death with stability.
Sincerely,
I think we never can believe it will happen to us. Those who survived a nearly death experience often have changed their life and became more interested in art or became an artist.
At the other side death is the only mover, the motor for our actions. We learned to live for our children, to leave them something special.
Thank you, dear Lawrence. I send you warm regards from sunny Portugal.
Dear Aung, Eraldo, Rita, Alan and Charles, I thank you for your important contributes.
Yes, indeed, those of us that made efforts throughout their lives, wouldn't change much... But personnally, I wonder wether I wouldn't follow some more pleasurable paths to get to the same level.( I might have taken things too seriously, on my way here...)
Those who could not contributed till now, I doubt they will do anything better if they know the lifeline or more life!
The day human have a control over cell death or infinite cell regeneration know -how,that is the day man will have control over death.To me it seems impossible
Yes, sure that my options and choices would be different. However, I am also sure that my life would worsen.
Of course I would have "programmed" my life a bit different and would have not miss any opportunity to work with interesting people and gain accelerated knowledge. I do not think my life would have been worse because I would have planned my time probably more efficiently and not bothered with worthless time-consuming tasks.
Dear Maria
No I would not like to have a programmed death where I know the date in advance! I would not like to tinker with the laws of nature and would like a un-programmed death as I feel that - in my case at least - I will live life in the shadow of death. I want to live life as it comes and go as it is!
Regards
Vibha
" Don't worry, be happy " is an older than 2000 year old wise proverb...
" Carpe Diem "
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2016/04/22/2400-year-old-mosaic-found-in-southern-turkey-says-be-cheerful-enjoy-your-life
Of course ignorance of the time limit of life changes the behavior of people. Of course, if you knew exactly when he will end his life would act differently, especially when a terminal date approaches, if this is unavoidable. How exactly we would change it is extremely difficult to foresee and behaviors, attitudes and doings of terminally ill show us that each person spends his last days to what it considers most appropriate or necessary, at least while the physical vigor and alertness are the permits .
Dear Maria, probably no. I like to improvise, I am a little scatterbrained, but I like slow thought and reflection, and to slowly sip my coffee under my trees to make the morning last. I am handicapped so I cannot run or walk briskly, which is good because I think while I walk. And I love long conversations full or details, comments on the side, laughter and jokes. I love to read the same paragraph or stanza many times, thus I am a rather slow reader. If I renounce my morose life, what would I do? Think faster? Run? Go to Venice and rush through it, jumping up little staircases and hurrying along its canals? New York on a spree? Chile in four days? Madrid without long terraza nights, wine and tapas for endless hours? No. If I knew I was going to die on a specific date, I would become even slower to slowly distill to the last drop the last honey-colored sunset of my life.
As always, warmest regards, Lilliana
Dear Dr. Maria,
As I feel, the behavioral response for this will depend on the personality characteristics of a person. Some people are positive-minded whereas some are always negative.
For instance, if a person with positive attitudes got to know about his/her life ending date, he/she would try to attain the maximum possible things to that age. Whether the things are good or bad, again, will depend on the society, culture, family background, education etc. For instance, Buddhist people believe in reincarnation, which is re-birth of a soul in another body after the death. They believe in that all the good things they do will come with them to the next life after the death. Hence, people who take everything positively will tend to do the good things to carry the benefit to the next life.
Anyway, the response would be different in the case of a person with a negative mindset. Unless his/her mind is washed, he/she may think that the life will end at the specified date and so he/she will tend to let the time to solve everything.
Whenever a person understands the virtue of his/her life (This comes with the society, culture, family background, education etc.), he/she tends to behave in a good way. This will be valid even if the person gets to know about his/her life ending date or not.
Hope this will add something.
Best regards,
Sewwandi.
Dear all
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
Would you have led your life in a different way, if you knew the exact programmed time of your death?
First hope all people have no chance to think the problem. For the few people at that time, the most paramount is to calm his nervous. Ability, Motivation and Attitude all are not important. A peace and happy life is enough.
Dear Maria,
I am having another go in answering your question.
People with terminal illnesses more or less know their end time. This is like a delayed learning of the destruction button as you put it. Character of these people changes from being angry (why me) to be resigned with what hand nature dealt them, then they seek atonement and be unnaturally kind. At the same time they try to cram in the remainder of their life as much as they can.
I know couple of ladies who fortunately survived breast cancer. One of them after getting all clears divorced her husband, left the kids with him and sought a different life (don't ask). Another made amend with her estranged husband and apparently both are now leading a loving life.
Prisoners on death row finds Jesus in places nobody looked.
I have observed this pattern of changing life style in a few more cases, but not as dramatic as these. These are not enough cases to draw conclusion, but becoming sure that there is an end closer that one thought, changes ones attitude and perceptive on life. Those who lived a pious life there is no more road for them to travel, but most have a lot of grounds to cover and make amend.
"Happy ending? There are no happy endings.Endings are the saddest part, so just give me a happy middle and a very happy start"Shell Silverstein, and don't turn my financial position into the horror film, where the further, the more terrible. To Sylvia Plath,"What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well- educated, brilliantly promising and fading out into the indifferent Middle Ages"
A painful truth ... yes. Thank you dear Subhash ! ( I may prefer the beautiful lies of Life ! )
Reflections suggest complete faith in the notion that popularity and personal attractiveness bring success even after death.
http://www.shmoop.com/death-of-a-salesman/respect-reputation-quotes.html
A real living starts with death. If you want to learn how to live your life in the best possible way, you should first learn how to die. Unfortunately death is a taboo subject in almost all cultures. Parents avoid telling or discussing such subjects with others including their children. In spite of death being a universal truth, almost all of us lead our life in way that shows that this rule does not apply to us. Almost all vices that we see in our society is an unconscious representation of denial of death.
I have a suggestion that some of us may or may not find useful. Whenever you feel stressed or you think your life is not going the way you want, just visit a cremation place, or a place where last rites are performed after death. I have tried it sometimes, and believe me the feeling of being a mortal gives me a powerful experience. I feel the power to take decisions that i have been postponing, setting priorities of my life, to look at my life in more broader terms etc.
The beauty of death is you don't know when its going to happen. Death is the most democratic system in the world-it does not discriminate between the rich and the poor- it is the greatest leveler.
If people were able to know the time of their death, they would have planned a calendar for their lives and made only useful things for themselves and for their communauty. May be bad things or evil actions could have been avoided from societies as people are engaged with their calendar. Unfortunately most people forget that they are mortals...
" The sweetest memory is that which involves something which one should not have done; the bitterest, that which involves something which one should not have done, and which one did not to do. "
----- GEORGE JEAN NATHAN. The Theatre, the Drama, the Girls. 1921
The thought that you could die tomorrow frees you to appreciate your life now.
Dear Talib !!!! -Yes, do take care. She seems a bit dangeous !
Nevertheless, I do agree that you should enjoy your life to the full, everyday of your life... just in case, even if you don't get to meet Angelina in person, tomorrow...
I would pursue my passion and live life full of love and compassion. I would like to quote the famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore :
“Thou has left death for my companion
and I shall crown him with my life’
Thy sword is with me to cut asunder my bonds,
And there shall be no fear left for me in the world” ( Ref; Gitanjali, page 133)
“On the day when death will knock at thy door
What wilt thou offer to him?
Oh, I will set before my guest
The full vessel of my life—
I will never let him go with empty hands.” (Ref: Gitanjali. Page 229)
Quite so, dear Krishnan. Thank you.
I also believe that self-respect and self-esteem are the fundamental first steps to altruism and true loving care for others... We need to start building our own selves if we want to further help others...
Do We Plan Our Lives Before We Are Born?
"“Many people feel that reincarnation can’t exist because they don’t remember their past and my answer to the world is we do remember. We don’t have the details but we have certain key hints as to who we are. The type of music we like, the people we are most attracted to, the types of food we like, the clothing we wear, certain periods of history that we identify with. These are indications this is where we have been before and so our present incarnation or our present lifetime is a composite of all the fruits of what we were before.” Carey Williams – Co-Author: Reincarnation: A New Horizon (Ancient Mysteries – Reincarnation Documentary Hosted by Leonard Nimoy)...."
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/09/16/do-we-plan-our-lives-before-we-are-born/
Ljubomir,
This argument for reincarnation, the explantion of certain of our attractions by the hypothesis that these are a past memory is hard to swallow. We have a some understanding of the passing of the biological genetic inheritance from our parents to us. We have some understanding of the passing of our socioligical tradition by our enculturation through our parents and society. We even have some epigenetic mechanism where the life experience of our mother may have influenced us during our early ontogeny. But how a past life experiential memory could migrate from one dying body to a newly formed organism cannot currently be imagined.
Instead of trying to find how reincarnation could be made possible we can question why such idea was found attractive in various culture. I sudgest that this idea was found attractive not because there were so much evidences for it but because in a cast system the cast privilege could be justified as a rewards of examplary past life and then hope can be given to the lower cast that be good and you will get to our privilege cast in a future life if you tolerate your sad condition that you deserved given the sins of your past life. This is a very powerfull ideology for justifying a cast system and maintaining such cast based society. This seems a much simpler explanation for the idea of reincarnation.
The middle eastern religions have invented other forms soul survival because they have other type of society. Each form of society try to promote forms of soul survival that promote the survival of social relations. The paradize is for the one caring and loving his fellow humans. This form of survival tries to promote this form of behavior. We know that it is not that successfull. The materialist scientific mode of thinking assumes that when you die, you die, NOTHING after. What kind of behavior and society does it promote? Exploite the most you can when you can.
Interesting point of view, dear Louis, Thank you. I personally respect all other views of the question. Especially when it comes to religious beliefs. I respect.
Thank you, dear Ljubomir, for bringing the subject of reincarnation. Indeed, there's so much we do not know...
We inevitably should come back to the unsloved problems of the Origin of Life, if we want to understand the meaning of Death... shouldn't we?
Interesting question, Maria!
I guess that some people will change and others will not. It depends on psychology and rationality. Young people will probably change little, thinking that there is still a lot of time. For an older scientist or a writer it might be important to know whether he has 5, 10 or 20 years more to complete his plans. But still some might go in panic, and thus not to know might be a better option for them.
But cell’s death is not a unique reason for the end of life; there might be an accident, or death penalty. I also think that cells are not told to live, let say, for 77 years for a particular person, but plus minus, let say 10% or 20%, that depends on the way of life. In other words, genetics may determine our end by 50% or more, but that is not a unique factor. I also heard that only 15% of our health depends on doctors, while the rest on genetics, environment and the way of life.
Thank you, dear sirs, Yuri and Napoleon.
Indeed, I fully agree with Napoleon. We were not asked on weather to be born or not (or at least, we have no memory of any decision...). But we have grown accostumed to decision-making, in our modern society... Hence the strange request to decide on the crucial moments of our lives. And maybe not.
Much probably, we'll live a more peaceful live in acceptance and resilience towards what doesn't depend on our faulty human decisions.
I will never forget the strangest patient I got to follow. He had once decided to commit suicide and shot a firegun onto his forehead. But he was trembling so much and perspiring at that moment, that the gun slipped and he survived the shot, to be paralised after brain surgery... He had lost everything in his life, but he soon became the happiest most devoted man to recovery, at the physiotherapy ward. He regained confidence and the love for life, because he found a meaning and a goal to aim for. After a few months, when he was near total recovery from his paralysis, he fell on the bath tub, trying to pick up the soap, and broke his neck. . He became tetraplegic, and was admitted to hospital again. He could hardly produce any movement fro his muscles, but again, he was the happiest person on that ward, clinging to what life had left him, singing around and comforting everyother patient, providing them the confidence to move forward and to accept any endeavour that life had to offer.
Indeed a strange person, but one who held the secret of human happiness, in the sence that we have to accept, how we are, and that we need an aim to our lives, as long as we perdure, even if only to help others.
I will never forget the great lessons in life that this strange patient , a simple man, offered me.
So I share.
Dear Napoleon. We live and learn. We just have to be aware and vigilant. The lessons are there for us to pick.
Dear Maria Bettencourt Pires,
I am not expert. My answer may not give you correct one ! but your question is interesting ! because you put a question with "IF".
Well, As I think, In this world many things are hidden. We are not conform/sure. For example, one leaf is falling from tree, we can not tell exactly where it would be strike on the floor ! Even we can not count our hairs on head ! One is not sure, the coming new born will get birth or die before birth. similarly, we cant say how long we would stay in this world. The second word for this life is " uncertainty ". The good thing is, in the normal scenario one can just predict how long he will stay in this world on the basis of his wisdom and health. So, he makes his life good, as he receives good education, job, marriage, etc etc.. then death !!
I am sure, " There will be NO exact programmed time of your death."
I wish that I will not dye into an unpredictable accident. For sure, it is an easy death. I prefer to know that I am terminally hill and that I have only a few months to live and that I would have time to prepare and reflect on my life and my exit. David Bowie learned that he had a cancer and he battled the desease for 18 months. He continued to make music, releasing his final album Blackstar and the video: Lazarus: with the line “Look up here, I’m in heaven,”. He was a star. '' The biblical Lazarus didn’t actually stay dead; Bowie’s musical of the same name was a sequel of sorts to The Man Who Fell to Earth, in which an alien thoroughly fails to assimilate on Earth. '' He was Major Tom and later Ziggy Stardust a few years previous to that. I whish I would do like Bowie and used this time to reflect on my life from this privilege position where I know it is over, and the only remaining thing to do is to come to some conclusion on it.
Merci, Louis.
Thank you for the beautiful example of David Bowie.I will always remember his last concert in Lisbon, that I attended with delight.
Dear @Maria, here are some good related questions and very interesting answers to this questions.
https://www.quora.com/If-you-had-the-means-to-find-the-exact-date-and-time-of-your-death-would-you-use-it
https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-people-knew-their-exact-date-of-death-since-they-were-born
http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic-31/would-you-want-to-know-the-date-of-your-own-death-554812/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/reicu/if_you_knew_the_exact_time_and_date_of_your_death/
Wow !!!
Thanks dear Ljubomir!
Aparently, it is indeed a common question to ask, and a common phylosofical problem...
(no direct answer, indeed). I also notice that, now with the newest accurate methods of diagnosis for followup of pregnant women, which can predict the gender of the baby with acuracy, some of the young mothers prefer not to know in advance, and keep to the surprise and wonder of the moment of birth. Just the same, if you asked those if they wanted to know their time of death, they would surely answer NO...
If i know my exact death time then i will enjoy each and every moment of my remaining time of my life. I will try to finish my all pending work within remaining time.
Programmed cell death (PCD) is important to metazoans because it’s key to homeostasis, embryo development, defense against a variety of pathogens and cancer-cell elimination. However, successful multicellularity as, for example, in biofilms demands control over individual cell behavior; PCD does this by tightly regulating self-destruction in prokaryotes and simple eukaryotes.
http://googleweblight.com/?lite_url=http://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2013/08/od.html&ei=H87QQeSC&lc=en-IN&s=1&m=202&host=www.google.co.in&ts=1471877166&sig=AKOVD66kc7d4ED9g91IK7JFIqCUwDfyjBA
Dear Banovac,
So nice story about your grandfather (RIP).
Regards, Emad
My 62 years of life behind myself brought me an excellent experince and joy. I do enjoy my life, family life, hobbies, friends, nature... and I would never change anything. I do keep on living the same way, never thinking about the time of death. The trajectory of my life has its end and I travel along.
This philosophy does not seem to have lost its strength, and has become part of the discourse of accumulation and collusion. Because alternatives will only have promises based on waiting. If the paradise of Eden is made of imagination, like the virtuous cities, this industry is not a philosophical achievement but, on the contrary, an exclusion of it, so that people are divided again and again into: To a margin that uses biology to increase or limit it, according to the survival of the wise are sitting above philosophy.
I totally agree with dear Brenda and dear Ljubomir's positive approach.
Nevertheless, on my behalf, I have slowly (very slowly...) begun to build a cathalog list of the books in my personal library, hoping not to leave before I finish... (this has become such a joyful hobby, that I do hope not to finish before I die...)
As it may be predictable that, in a near future, most people won't be able to open a book without the help of a "mouse" or remote control, I feel very proud of this inheritance that I leave behind, but I am very much afraid that future youngster won't consider this a treasure to keep, and will soon dismantle the collection...
(Probably, the thing to do if I know the time of my departure, would be to donate that collection to the University Library...)
I think you can write them a letter before you die bequeathing your collection to them. I am in about the same quandary. I think some of my books should be in U Michigan, and others to Albion. Any time while you exist corporeally is a fine time to assess what you want done with your books, etc.
I think now is also a good time to write your obit the way you want it. :-)
Thanks, dear Martha. My mother did just that... At her University, they accept their late schollar's books, and they build small reserved corners where they restaure the persons's study, with desk and all... I will miss my mother's personal objects at home.
In my particular case, I expect noone would accept the tremendously messy desk I keep, much less would they accept my kitchen table, which is where I write most of my deepest thoughts... (kkk!)
Hi! Maria,
As per Hindu philosophy human life is a programmed one. We have 4 stages (ashrama). After birth infant child adolescent youth (sisumara bala kaumara yavvana stages in youth). This is student stage (Brahmacharaya). Follows marriage (Grihasta) to lead a family life. After this (Vanaprastah) retired life in the sense to completes all family responsibilities marriages etc. Finally Sannyasa means to abandon, forsake, discontinue not actively take part in routine activities (an action, habit, intention, etc) sometimes by open declaration also to handover the responsibilities to the next hereditary income.
What else programmed death we need more than this.
We can say the other way also 'Dharma Artha Kaama Moksha' (Chaturviadha Purushartha) (seems I explained long back in some question about this may be related to what is life or something).
Ashrama (stage)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashrama_(stage))
Varnashrama Dharma, The Four Stages of Human Life
(http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/concepts/ashramas.asp)
Cycles of Life
(http://zivichristian.blogspot.in/2012/11/cycles-of-life.html)
Components of Purushartha (SlideShare)
(https://www.slideshare.net/TitikshaChaturvedi/business-ethics-38060253)
I think the life will be changed towards the worse because there is no motivation or competition in the life, in other words there is no life at all.
Best regards
Raid
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