[HN Gopher] Regrets of the Dying (2010)
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       Regrets of the Dying (2010)
        
       Author : yamrzou
       Score  : 6 points
       Date   : 2022-03-07 21:04 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (bronnieware.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (bronnieware.com)
        
       | amerine wrote:
       | I don't necessarily trust the provenance of the regrets, but I do
       | find that the regrets listed do invoke some thought about my life
       | and the future, and so I appreciate it!
        
       | Ariarule wrote:
       | Robin Hanson expressed some doubts about this list back in 2010:
       | https://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/11/deathbed-regret-is-fa...
        
         | coldtea wrote:
         | I don't find his arguments any good. Basically "my wife is also
         | a nurse and she haven't heard many" and "they're no good
         | anyway".
         | 
         | > Ms. Ware said regrets are expressed "when questioned about
         | any regrets they had or anything they would do differently"; my
         | wife isn't thrilled about this as a care technique.
         | 
         | Or:
         | 
         | > Deathbed folks are usually far from their analytical peak -
         | they are often in great pain, and rather muddle-headed. So why
         | would we think their comments especially insightful?
         | 
         | It also gets comically reductionistic:
         | 
         | > Added 9a: Stephen Smith suggests these regrets are the
         | predictable result of opiate pain medication.
         | 
         | But I think it's more about the author trying to force his
         | opinion, when it's not really needed, insightful, or that
         | useful.
        
           | steve_g wrote:
           | I think "my wife is a hospice worker who has provided care to
           | over 5000 patients and hasn't heard these regrets" is a
           | pretty decent argument. I'm not saying Hanson is right, but I
           | wouldn't dismiss his wife's experience.
        
             | coldtea wrote:
             | > _is a pretty decent argument_
             | 
             | Well, did she fish for them? The author states that she
             | disagrees about asking such things, so isn't the answer no?
             | 
             | (And, beyond asking: is she the type people would trust
             | with such things, or e.g. does she come of as more cold,
             | etc? There can be many factors).
        
       | dang wrote:
       | Related:
       | 
       |  _The Top of My Todo List (2012)_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28238124 - Aug 2021 (18
       | comments)
       | 
       |  _Top five regrets of the dying_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9689907 - June 2015 (5
       | comments)
       | 
       |  _The Top Of My Todo List_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3872613 - April 2012 (185
       | comments)
       | 
       |  _Regrets of the Dying_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3646379 - Feb 2012 (4
       | comments)
       | 
       |  _Top five regrets of the dying_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3542280 - Feb 2012 (1
       | comment)
       | 
       |  _Top Five Regrets of the Dying_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3331535 - Dec 2011 (1
       | comment)
       | 
       |  _Top 5 Regrets People Make on their Deathbed_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2615886 - June 2011 (51
       | comments)
       | 
       |  _Regrets of the Dying_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1643239 - Aug 2010 (90
       | comments)
        
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       (page generated 2022-03-07 23:01 UTC)