Would you choose to die for knowledge?

If you could have all of your questions answered but would have to give up your life the next day, would you do it?

And just for the sake of this arguement (and please adhere to this when you answer), after you die you simply turn to dust, you do not go to heaven or hell, you are not reincarnated, you do not travel to other dimensions, or any other verisons of the afterlife that you may believe in. You simply cease to be.

Well of course no. What's the purpose of knowing everything if you simply dont know verything the next day?

I'd rather live a mhundred years and learn things, apply them, experience things, then die, than to know everything, then die the next day without experiencing life to the fullest and seing what i am fully capable of and what i can make out of life.

If your gonna die and just be dead and turn to dust. Why would you care?
So you find out all the worldly secrets, big deal there of no use to me if Im dead.

Mark

Nah, knowledge comes in time, and I'm happy picking it up everyday. To me, you should learn something new everyday. What is the good to know all only to die the next day and not able to share all you know to others?

Ok, now to answer my own question.

Yes I would do it. For me, life is about learning and I have always wondered what else is out there. My greatest fear in dying is that I will not get to see what happens in the future. Will we colonize other planets, will we travel to other solar systems and visit with other intelligent species. These are all things that I will not likely get to see in my lifetime even if I live to be 100. I think the satisfaction of having all my questions answered would be good enough that I could die happy even if all that was left for me in the afterlife was to simply decay and turn to dust.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by greenkoolaid]

Well if you get knowledge when you die, why choose to die now?


Death is going to come to all of us sooner or later.
Live whilst you can.

why not just choose to die period?

If you choose to live, you don't get the knowledge when you die. You get the knowledge you will obtain in the following natural years of your life, but you don't get to know all the secrets of the universe.

What good would it be then?

Originally posted by TheyWatchYouToo
What good would it be then?

Just to have your curiosity fulfilled.

Whether you live to be 40 or 200, what good is it once you are dead?

Many men and women have given up there lives in the quest for knowledge, astronauts, explorers, etc.

does knowledge include some sort of youth formula?

Originally posted by MarkosOrrealus
So you find out all the worldly secrets, big deal there of no use to me if Im dead.

Exactly.

no i don't want my questions answered for me i wanna find the answers so i have the power

Originally posted by SilverDeath
does knowledge include some sort of youth formula?

...who's a smart cookie then...

Yup...knowing everything would *hopefully* include knowing a method that will keep you from dying...

*edit: Just realised that could look like I was saying Yup to knowing everything at the cost of my life...in answer to that, nope...would ruin the surprise...

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by alien]

Affiramtive alien sir!

Besides, I'd rather have one glorious and fruitful day in my life then spend the rest of it trying to learn what I'm not allowed to hear.

Death is part of life, you've got to be dead eventually.
I won't mind being dead, it's just dying that is going to suck.

- Tass

Hrm, if you knew everything, that would probably mean you used 100% of your brain, and at that point I would think the need to "live" as we know it would cease, and you would exist as shapeless energy, but thats all hypothetical.

As for death for knowledge, I dont think I could make that sacrifice unless I knew my death could save either loved ones, or large numbers of people.

knowing everything would drive you insane, you would welcome death. It has always been stated in books that anyone that recieve the gift of total knowledge eventually goes insane beacause they know every minute thing, those that wish for 'knowing everything' are fools, instead you should wish for select knowledge, or maybe a super computer that had all the knowledge on its hard drive, then you could just search for any bit of triva you would like.