There's an article in The Week magazine about researchers in Mexico developing a test to predict the odds of getting Alzheimer's in the future. It uses skin tissue to look for certain proteins that are present in people with neuro degenerative diseases. So far it looks very promising.
But what kind of promise are we looking for? Does seeing into the future offer a promise of a cure? Is there an implied promise that knowing what is going to happen down the road somehow will make it less tragic when the inevitable finally strikes? Would you, would I live life differently?
I'd like to think I'd save more money. Be a better person. Do all those exciting things that we think we have all the time in the world to do and end up not doing because we run out of time or energy. But knowing myself as I think I do, I'd probably be frozen in indecision. I don't think I'd be depressed, it's not in my nature. But I can have a hard time deciding between a bagel and a biscuit for breakfast. I can't imagine dealing with life altering decisions for events twenty, thirty years in the future.
Would I choose to not have children, fearful of passing along some defective genetic trait? And miss the joy of babies or the agony of teenagers? Never! Would the love of my life be foolish enough to commit to a life together knowing what might be ahead? I hope so but... Would I write the great american novel or invent some clever device or found a great institution of knowledge? Probably not. Actually, definitely not.
I'd just muddle along like I'm already doing. Like most for us are doing. The fact is that knowing the future doesn't mean we'll ever have to face the future. It really isn't "written" like Jamal said in
Slumdog Millionaire. Bad things could thwart the inevitable. A fatal skydiving accident, getting shot while trying to rob a bank. :) Good things could derail the prediction. A cure for the disease would be the best possible outcome and certainly within the realm of possibilities.
So knowing the possible future isn't knowing the future. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Seize the moment. Smell the roses. Are there any other platitudes that cover such a dire prediction for the future? Oh yeah, "Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out. " –Anton Chekhov.
But what kind of promise are we looking for? Does seeing into the future offer a promise of a cure? Is there an implied promise that knowing what is going to happen down the road somehow will make it less tragic when the inevitable finally strikes? Would you, would I live life differently?
I'd like to think I'd save more money. Be a better person. Do all those exciting things that we think we have all the time in the world to do and end up not doing because we run out of time or energy. But knowing myself as I think I do, I'd probably be frozen in indecision. I don't think I'd be depressed, it's not in my nature. But I can have a hard time deciding between a bagel and a biscuit for breakfast. I can't imagine dealing with life altering decisions for events twenty, thirty years in the future.
Would I choose to not have children, fearful of passing along some defective genetic trait? And miss the joy of babies or the agony of teenagers? Never! Would the love of my life be foolish enough to commit to a life together knowing what might be ahead? I hope so but... Would I write the great american novel or invent some clever device or found a great institution of knowledge? Probably not. Actually, definitely not.
I'd just muddle along like I'm already doing. Like most for us are doing. The fact is that knowing the future doesn't mean we'll ever have to face the future. It really isn't "written" like Jamal said in
Slumdog Millionaire. Bad things could thwart the inevitable. A fatal skydiving accident, getting shot while trying to rob a bank. :) Good things could derail the prediction. A cure for the disease would be the best possible outcome and certainly within the realm of possibilities.
So knowing the possible future isn't knowing the future. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Seize the moment. Smell the roses. Are there any other platitudes that cover such a dire prediction for the future? Oh yeah, "Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out. " –Anton Chekhov.
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