Provoking Thought: Death Pool

To anyone who had Heath Ledger, you have just won. Yikes. Chris Farley, you'd expect. George Burns, you'd expect. Heath Ledger? Not so much. It appears that death catches up to everyone.

But what happens to us as we think about death, while we are living?

A lot of it depends on your views of how the world works. Modern psychological research speaks to this with something that I've briefly talked about before, Mortality Salience, which is a part of the broader Terror Management Theory. One way to look at it is that in life, we all want to be a part of something. When we're faced with death, we want to make sure that what we were a part of actually mattered. Some cultures make ostentatious displays of their lives. The pharaohs had their pyramids. Other elaborate tombs were common for leaders in many cultures. Some tribal cultures burn mounds food as a show of wealth. So, whatever matters the most to us is embraced further when we are faced with death. For some, it's family. For others, it's possessions. For others still, it's faith.

Whatever it is, your world view becomes more entrenched when you are faced with death, as you rely on it to make sense of the world. Think of the scene when the plane's about the go down, and the truth comes out in Almost Famous. That seems to be an accurate portrayal of what people do in the face of death. It's obviously more magnified, when death is imminent. However, even the thought of death triggers some response.

A lot of this makes sense when you see how those who have lived fruitful lives are often unafraid of death. The portrayals of those who have missed their chances (think of Scrooge from A Christmas Carol) fear death.

My cohort is getting old. OD turns 30 within the week. C-Lauff just turned 30 this past weekend. Capt. Matt, Schultzie, and Olthoff have been there. Suckers. I think that most of these guys have pretty strong views of the world, to which we can rely on when we think about death.

As for me? Beats me. I'm planning on living forever.

-Chairman