Just curious about my brother and sister traders-- Let's assume we are 30 years old for the sake of clarity. One dark night you are visited by the evil one, the angel of light Mephistopheles. You are given a choice. 1. Have everything you want, live like Floyd Mayweather with none of the downside but know you will die for certain on your 60th birthday. 2. Live an average good life but have to struggle and not know how long you will live but it will be past 60 and could be past 100. You are healthy in both choices.
What's the point of living, if you can't feel alive -- no point in living to feel or live like a slug or some other relatively meager existence. I say Quality, over quantity ...it's kind of like choosing to drive an exciting Formula 1 race car, over a street legal sports car. (i would have to...reluctantly... say option 1) Why are you asking this question...is MarketSurfer like Lucifer or something...trying to make deals in exchange for our souls...
I bet you're in your 20's or 30's. Try answering again when you're pushing 50. Your incredibly immature perspective will change over time. Mine did.
For me there is no question. A long mediocre life with a bit of struggle here and there is the better option.
This would have been an interesting question, where one would probably use some utility function involving the quality and the quantity of life. However, the Lucifer thing throws the theological dimension into the equasion, which complicates the calculations. If we set aside the notion that a deal with the Devil is never a good idea, a reasonable utility function might be: U(y, q) = y * log(q) where y is the number of years to live, log(q) is the natural logarithm of the quality of life.
How about option #3, live my current life which I already consider to be better than average and not really a "struggle". I already have that option as I can simply turn away and make no deal. The answer to this question will depend on one's expected longevity as well as their optimism for science's ability to extend lifespan during the expected time that they have left. Second, I'd never do a deal with an evil being that has the ability to shorten my life and radically change it...as I'd already be at a disadvantage going into the deal. And third, what would be their motive for making the deal...certainly nothing in my best interest if they are in fact evil. Finally, at least for me, knowing that I will die for certain on my 60th birthday would negate most of the benefit of having a good life. It would really be a mind f**k knowing exactly when your life ends. Not sure how terminally ill patients deal with that. Although in a sense, we're all terminally ill as old age will eventually get us if nothing else will.
Who would entertain a moron who reduces life to some absurd binary negative construct. Put a pill between his eys , throw him in the river and enjoy the day. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/28204/