Robert Heinlein’s first published short story was about a man who invented a machine that could predict your demise.

In Life-Line, Dr. Pinero has devised a device that can look at your life through time, described as a “pink worm,” and predict when you would die. There were some complications, such as “reading” a pregnant woman, but in general one could discover how much longer a client would survive.

In the story the antagonists were the insurance companies who we threatened by people cancelling their life insurance until just a few days before their demise, thus throwing actuarial tables out the window.

My question today is not a financial one but a moral one.

If you could determine your date of death would you want to know?

If you did know would you change your life accordingly? For example, if you knew that you had twenty more years left would you be more likely to engage in a dangerous activity such as parachuting or rock climbing?

I guess I fall into the “surprise me” class. At my age I have already made as many preparations as I can and have resolved to live each day as if it were my last.