Would you want to know or not?

[TPFKA@W]

Perhaps this should be in science or philosophy but , oh well. The thought was inspired by a conversation I had with @hub and a thread about a movie that made Meade cry.
Apparently there is a hoax circulating that we are, humanity and other living things on the planet, about to be wiped out by a meteor. An extinction event that @hub describes as being overdue. He reads more than I do on that sort of topic, by far so I take him at his word. So we are told this is a hoax circulating and to never mind. But, would the powers that be let us know up front if it were to be about to take place or would they have us go obliviously about our business to the end? Would you want to know months in advance or would you prefer not to know?

I decided I would not want to know and would want to just go at the end, kind of like fly meets flyswatter.

[Big RR]

I would think I'd like to know; a lot of my current effort is directed to providing for the future (saving for retirement, weddings, etc.). If I knew we definitely were not going to have a future, I could devote the remaining time to other pursuits (like being with my family). No sense cleaning a burning house.

[Gob]

Yup, best to go out with a bang, it'd be all sex drugs and rock and roll for me.

[MajGenl.Meade]

No, I think I'd prefer not to know. Who needs all the crazies rioting, stealing, raping, burning and killing in the final days? I think one point of the movie @w refers to is that we should be living rightly now - individually, any given day might be the last. Don't be a mope. So we already should be spending time with family, enjoying each other. And if we're fooled into saving for a day that never comes... well, we can't ever take it with us.

[Big RR]

I don't know, there's a big difference in saying "I know I'm going to die in 6 weeks, so I will rake my money, stop working, and use it to spend time with my family" and saying we should live each day like we might die. Face it, if I knew I was going to die/the world was going to end, I would want to spend time in my office, because even the people I might want to help won't need my help. Face it, it's easy to say let's live each day as your last because we never know what might happen; but as a practical matter, we could never do that. If we know it is our last day, Oldr could start drinking again on his last day without consequences beyond that day, diabetics could drink shakes, people with serious heart conditions could have sex, etc. But we can never live like that because it is just a possibility it is our last day.

Now your point about the crazies does make sense; while I would like to know, I wouldn't necessarily want anyone else to know for that very reason.

[wesw]

of course i would want to know.

I d get me 3 or 4 hillbillies, and a couple new Hampshire Yankees, together and go tackle that damned meteor and beat it in the head until it was unconscious.....

[Lord Jim]

I would definitely want to know...

Because I am so arrogant and self assured that I would believe that if I knew about it in advance I might be able to do something about it, and change the time line....

And prevent it from happening...

And if I failed, what would be the loss?

[wesw]

ok, me and jim are gonna go get the the m***** f******

[wesw]

i would like to get a bunch of folks praying for us too....

[Lord Jim]

It's The End Of The World As We Know It...

(Lenny Bruce is not afraid... )

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh shoot. I just wrote a wonderful reply to Big RR and somehow my left little finger deleted it all

Summary: don't be a dweeb. Living the day as if it were your last doesn't require giving up the job and going home. It means loving your neighbor (not as Gob would) and doing the best thing. It means don't procrastinate; don't ignore what's right; invest the time you have wisely and don't fritter it away on anger and pettiness.

Oh. This place would be empty. Forget it.

[TPFKA@W]

Yet I am pretty sure a large number of folks would strive to sink to the lowest common denominator.


I would want some guns and ammo.

[Lord Jim]

Send lawyers guns and money...

the shit has hit the fan...

[RayThom]

Yeah, I'd want to know.

Just before the meteor hit I'd wrap myself in foam rubber and aluminum foil and hide in the closet. After the dust settled I'd scavenge as much gold and platinum as possible and then wait for the economy to bounce back. With my new found wealth I'd then register as a Republican and run for the office of POTUS. The little people (Democrats) would enjoy their "trickle down" and all would be right with the country.

God bless America... wherever it is.

[Lord Jim]

I will not go easy into that "good night"...

I will not go quietly from this mortal coil...

I will squirm, wriggle and fight till the last breath of my existence...



Gee, that sounds good...

[Econoline]

Of course I would want to know.

Summary: don't be a dweeb. Living the day as if it were your last doesn't require giving up the job and going home. It means loving your neighbor (not as Gob would) and doing the best thing. It means don't procrastinate; don't ignore what's right; invest the time you have wisely and don't fritter it away on anger and pettiness

That is all true, but all of life is filled with tradeoffs and the more you can know or guess about the future the better off you are, and the better equipped you are to handle those tradeoffs.

The most interesting thing about the OP is that there are some who think that millions of scientists worldwide could all somehow be persuaded to do the exact opposite of what their scientific training expects of them--i.e., to widely share their observations with their colleagues.

Ray - you can never go wrong stocking up on aluminum foil.

[TPFKA@W]

You don't think scientists fear possible anarchy? I think that fear could persuade them to not share.

[Econoline]

Some of them, yes, maybe. ALL of them, no.

[MajGenl.Meade]

..and the legions of amateur astronomers out there... they'd never keep quiet.

[Gob]

given six months to live says he has no regrets eight years later.

Doctors believe Bryan Baldwin, 65, from Redditch, Worcestershire, owes his "extraordinary" survival to cancer drug Nexavar.
Mr Baldwin and wife Sue wanted to enjoy the time they had left together.
He said: "I wouldn't have done it if I'd known I was going to live 10 years... but I'm glad I did it."

Mr Baldwin, who is retiring to the Isle of Wight, was diagnosed in September 2006 with kidney cancer which had spread to his lungs.
He was originally turned down for Nexavar, which is not routinely available on the NHS and costs £36,000 a year, but won an appeal and has had the drug since February 2007.
Mr Baldwin was told he only had months to live but his latest scan this month showed tumours had not returned.

The couple spent their savings on cruises and holidays, including to Las Vegas and Mexico, as well as treating their grandchildren.
Mrs Baldwin said: "I don't care. I've still got memories.
"I would rather have memories than £20,000 in the bank, I'm afraid. That means more to me than money.

"I'm quite capable of getting off my backside and going and getting a job when he's not here."
Cancer specialist Dr Emilio Porfiri said: "I also have patients treated with drugs of the same family who have lived for a number of years but not as long as him.
"He is quite extraordinary and in my experience the patient who has lived the longest - eight-and-a-half years."