LogFAQs > #966202012

Muscles posted...

It would give people the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones before the end

It would also give other people the opportunity to rape and murder your loved ones before the end.



KodyKeir posted...

If someone invented a machine that could predict down to the nano second, your moment of death, you would refuse to use it.

To be fair, while you're addressing their specific comment, it's also worth noting that there's a difference between one individual knowing the moment of their death and everyone knowing the moment of their death (and that moment being more or less the same time for everyone).

One person will selfishly exploit their knowledge for personal satisfaction knowing that society will go on without them (and spending time with loved ones or acting to provide for their future is more meaningful when they'll actually go on without you). But everyone knowing for a fact that literally nothing will matter after tomorrow because there won't be anything after tomorrow is an entirely different phenomenon with entirely different results.

If one guy knows when he's going to die all you really have to worry about is him running up a ton of debts he knows he's never going to repay and then maybe doing something exceedingly dangerous or aggressive on his way out. But if you tell everyone that the world is going to end in about a week, then you're basically causing society and civilization to end today.