Would You Want to Know Your Last Day?

Mr. Ed said:

Would You Want to Know Your Last Day? Yes, I would mark it on the calendar with much anticipation .​

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Mode of death is so unpredictable that it is not possible. Just like the day birth can only be in any way accurate if by planned caesarian section. It's not under our control and I think that is a good thing.
 

Murrmurr said:
It's highly unlikely there will ever be a reliable predictor. It's impossible and always will be, imo.
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Kind of true. Kind of not. Precise date and time, no. But there are people living with disease that get pretty accurate timelines these days. Sadly, many people are here today knowing the window they exist in.
 
VaughanJB said:
Kind of true. Kind of not. Precise date and time, no. But there are people living with disease that get pretty accurate timelines these days. Sadly, many people are here today knowing the window they exist in.
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Yes, I meant predictors besides disease. Genetics and heredity could never be predictors, for example, because lifestyle is a huge factor.
 
Murrmurr said:
Yes, I meant predictors besides disease. Genetics and heredity could never be predictors, for example, because lifestyle is a huge factor.
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Pure conjecture on my part, but I think with the advances in our understanding of genetics, and with AI models getting increasingly powerful, I'd imagine they're going to be able to get pretty close at some point. In the end, it's all math and modelling. I can see a future where we're far more aware of our longevity, even taking into consideration environmental effects etc. It's about having the data, imo.

Or not.
 
VaughanJB said:
Pure conjecture on my part, but I think with the advances in our understanding of genetics, and with AI models getting increasingly powerful, I'd imagine they're going to be able to get pretty close at some point. In the end, it's all math and modelling. I can see a future where we're far more aware of our longevity, even taking into consideration environmental effects etc. It's about having the data, imo.

Or not.
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I know life insurance companies would love to develop the technology to provide a more accurate predictor.
My mortician told me, if you want to know how long you're gonna live just ask the insurance company, they know.
 
VaughanJB said:
Pure conjecture on my part, but I think with the advances in our understanding of genetics, and with AI models getting increasingly powerful, I'd imagine they're going to be able to get pretty close at some point. In the end, it's all math and modelling. I can see a future where we're far more aware of our longevity, even taking into consideration environmental effects etc. It's about having the data, imo.

Or not.
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I think there's too much variation in what we eat and where we live (in global terms). Americans are told that carbs are bad, but carbs are a staple for billions of people in Asia, and they live longer on average than we do. Maybe that's because they consume more veg, way less sugar, and virtually zero chemical additives, but that's a guess.
 
OldFeller said:
I know life insurance companies would love to develop the technology to provide a more accurate predictor.
My mortician told me, if you want to know how long you're gonna live just ask the insurance company, they know.
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It's why they increase your premiums when you turn 80. But the only data they need is average lifespan.
 
OldFeller said:
I know life insurance companies would love to develop the technology to provide a more accurate predictor.
My mortician told me, if you want to know how long you're gonna live just ask the insurance company, they know.
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Oh, they've been crunching the numbers for years. With the progress being made, they will make a lot of inroads. What they lack is all the data, since I'm not aware they have my DNA and its contents to factor in.
 
Murrmurr said:
I think there's too much variation in what we eat and where we live (in global terms). Americans are told that carbs are bad, but carbs are a staple for billions of people in Asia, and they live longer on average than we do. Maybe that's because they consume more veg, way less sugar, and virtually zero chemical additives, but that's a guess.
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I hear you - but it's all numbers. You just need access to the data, and then have sufficient computing resource to crunch the numbers. AI is designed to contribute to this kind of thing - conclusions from huge data sets of disparate data, in real time.

I did some work for an adjunct to the NHS which allowed you to input your blood sugars, your weight, your BMI and so on. You wore it on your wrist. A lot of people use it, but I wonder if they realize that this type of data is invaluable to the likes of insurance companies, and even your local health providers.

As we become increasingly connected - we have refrigerators, cars and their components, door bells, baby monitors and thousands of things feeding data into storage today - then it stands to reason that at some point WE will become connected. We sort of are now via Social Media. We can see what someone is eating, where they are. who their friends are, what they're doing, what their preferences are, and so on...... it's all a dispersed base data set to determine much about us. All we need is some smart folk to write the code, do the math, and follow up research etc.
 
Murrmurr said:
It's why they increase your premiums when you turn 80. But the only data they need is average lifespan.
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OK. I'm a research lab trying to develop this technology. Then I need to sell it to somebody.
Who is going to profit from the information it provides. My first guess is insurance cos. Term life plans could certainly benefit. I guess that right now term life plans already factor in your demise date (within a year maybe?).
 
OldFeller said:
OK. I'm a research lab trying to develop this technology. Then I need to sell it to somebody.
Who is going to profit from the information it provides. My first guess is insurance cos. Term life plans could certainly benefit. I guess that right now term life plans already factor in your demise date (within a year maybe?).
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Well, they're doing pretty well with the basic average lifespan data, and it's free.
 
Murrmurr said:
To predict when I'm gonna die?

I don't think so.
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We won't be alive to know what significant progress they'll make. You don't think so, but personally, I think they're going to narrow it down by huge amounts in the coming decades. If it were possible today, imagine what business would use it for. I mean, people are actively working to make us live longer - and it's just an extension of that type of work.....

Still, we won't be here then, so........
 
Nope. I have already had the worst day of my life. It just seems to me one should try to frame your life as if any day may be your last, because it just may be.
 
I can't see any advantage to knowing unless you need to schedule things. Pay off debt, get money/property over to your kids that might be tied up after you die.
 
Many of my family members have lived to 100. So I've decided that will be the number I'll reach, or maybe even beyond. Centenarians and supercentenarians are becoming more common.
 

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