You wake up having been gifted the ability to take time off of your life as a whole in exchange having more time in-the-moment--whether it’s time to think, time to spend doing something or with people, time to hold onto something or someone, whatever. Others will be unaffected, this is personal.
The conversion ratio is ~6 hours of in-the-moment time --> ~1 year of life (or 1:1,460), and it only works one-way.
- Do you use the ability at all?
- If yes, how do you use it--large chunks sparingly or small moments regularly?
- Do you ‘spend’ a significant amount or prioritize retaining lifespan?
- What would you use it for?
- If yes/no, what ratio would make it not worth it/worth it?
- Would it be better to track usage rigorously or to remain unaware?
- What psychological problems/trauma could usage cause you?
- How would you feel if you found out someone you loved had been trading their time?
- If no, what circumstances would convince you to?
Edit: I’m so glad to see diversity in the responses!
Thank you to all who are taking the time to give answers. I intend to respond more when i have time later. :)
Let’s say I will live to age 90. Morbidity stats would suggest that the last 10 or so years would be utterly unenjoyable, perhaps even torturous. As well as chronic illnesses causing pain, I might be suffering from dementia and/or have lost my eyesight, hearing or ability to walk.
However, I might be destined to die suddenly at age 65, in reasonable health and with all my faculties in working order. So, to answer your question, one would need to know one’s expected lifespan and likely state of health. To a certain degree, this is possible given the science around heredity and genetic testing (UK insurance companies are not allowed to take genetic testing into account when underwriting policies).
Another factor is how much one is enjoying one’s current existence: if you’re hating life, you wouldn’t want to spend more time in the present especially if you believe the future will be better, and vice-versa. Of course, there’s no way to know how things will pan out until someone invents a time machine.
Personally, I wouldn’t be willing to make any decisions without a lot more data!
Yes, i agree. Without knowing how much time you have left it would be hard to spend it on anything.
I will say, though, if you’re hating life right now you might feel more inclined to spend a little longer in a good moment.
I think in reality many people would also be plagued with decision paralysis. I know i would.