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A sports watch has been developed by Dr. Vijay Patel that could measure, analyze, diagnose, and predict complex health issues. Dr. Patel has also developed a “Final Notice” option that advises the user of certain death within a user-selected number of days. Is this an option that you would consider for your own sports watch? Do you feel like it was wrong to include the Final Notice option in the original test group for this watch?

I think I would want to know. Then again, maybe I wouldn't. It's so hard to say! I definitely wouldn't want more than a few days notice though...I would worry too much. A few days would give me enough time to do a few last bucket list items and say my goodbyes without giving me time to dwell on it or get depressed, I think.

I would absolutely not! My personal reasons being that I believe in living every day like it’s quite possibly my last. If some device was supposed to tell me when I had only a short time left, it would be easy to slip into a mindset of thinking I have time until otherwise notified, when that might not be true, and that would mean wasting today, potentially neglecting the work God has for me because I’m assuming I will still be here tomorrow.

That said, I wouldn’t wear a smart watch anyway. I had a fitness tracker briefly but tossed it over radiation concerns that nobody could ever talk me out of. I just don’t want any device that can receive or transmit information continually remaining within 3ft of my body.

I found the idea of the Final Notice really frightening. Also, even with all the dramatic advances in technology, I doubt anything could actually accurately predict how much time you had to live. How does it work if a terminally ill person meets with an accident? And I personally feel it would be very depressing to be told something like that- human beings are in general very hopeful creatures-hope gives us strength to keep going against all odds, and it would be almost cruel to be told there is no point and your time is up!

I’d like to say that I would opt out of the “final notice” option, but I know that my curiosity would force me to opt in.
If the technology is available it should definitely be available to test groups.

I would really want to know. We all forget to live life to the fullest sometimes. Living the life of one's dreams, going on road trips, having fun experiences and many other things one would love to do and never getting the chance. A final notice is certainly not a bad idea.

I would never consider having a watch tell me how long I had left. What about the possibility of backing? That's definitely a possibility in this day and age. Then you really weren't supposed to die.

Manali_DC wrote: ↑02 Mar 2018, 11:11 I found the idea of the Final Notice really frightening. Also, even with all the dramatic advances in technology, I doubt anything could actually accurately predict how much time you had to live. How does it work if a terminally ill person meets with an accident? And I personally feel it would be very depressing to be told something like that- human beings are in general very hopeful creatures-hope gives us strength to keep going against all odds, and it would be almost cruel to be told there is no point and your time is up!

I find it frightening as well, and cruel. You're right about hope giving us strength to go on. I've known several people who were diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, and lived productive lives long after. Hope and strength had a lot to do with that.

I would not want the option on my watch. But it is wrong to include this option period. Think about it. How do doctors discuss when results show a person has cancer, especially terminal cancer? The patient doesn't receive a phone call, they go to the office. There is protocol because of the psyche. So, to receive a message like that from a watch and not know how to process it is dangerous.

brunettebiblio wrote: ↑02 Mar 2018, 09:28 I think I would want to know. Then again, maybe I wouldn't. It's so hard to say! I definitely wouldn't want more than a few days notice though...I would worry too much. A few days would give me enough time to do a few last bucket list items and say my goodbyes without giving me time to dwell on it or get depressed, I think.

I totally see your point on this. Curious what you would think if the final notice option actually sends the message to your doctor so they could tell you rather then you getting it yourself. Kind of how doctors give you test results.

I would never opt for a watch like that my reasons being not wanting to feel anxious about what I did or didn't do. We're given one life to live to the fullest until the clock runs out. I'm okay with that.

I found the idea of a Final Notice too frightening to want in my own watch. I wear the Garmin branded version of the FitBit now, and I've seen how easy it is to manipulate that. It has a pulse monitor and if I move my arm a certain way, it reads like I have no heart beat when really I'm just resting my wrist against the arm of a chair. How many ways could a final notice go wrong?

I thought this concept was really fascinating and made me interested in reading how users would react. I feel like ultimately I would want to know, because knowing won't make it happen faster/slower but it would affect my decisions on how I would spend my last days.

I don't think I would want that on my watch. I would be dreading seeing it pop up one day knowing I would die soon after. Others might like it, but I wouldn't recommend it since it might change how some people behave once they get the notice.

I think I would want that to prepare myself and my loved ones. Also, such an option could lessen the anxiety of the user. But who would really want to be reminded that they only have, three of five days to live? and on their freaking watch?