Reasons to Postpone your suicide
 

From: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentSe...012571727 126

Dear Economist
By Tim Harford
Published: October 11 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: October 11 2003 5:00

Dear Economist,

I do not know whom to turn to. A few months ago I discovered that my wife was having an affair with my boss. I lost both wife and job in quick succession. My wife also took the dog. As I cannot afford my mortgage repayments, I am about to lose my house as well. Betrayed and homeless, I feel very depressed. I have become so desperate as to consider taking my own life. Please help.

-- A.W., Dulwich

Dear A.W.,

Don't do anything rash. You are on the verge of making a terrible mistake, albeit one often made by naive practitioners of cost- benefit analysis.

Presumably you are contemplating suicide for the usual reason: a net-present-value calculation suggests that the future benefits of living are outweighed by the future costs. You will have considered the low probability that you will ever love again, the disadvantages of your poor credit record, and the difficulty of securing a new job, especially if applying from no fixed abode. While this cost-benefit analysis may appear to be a rational approach, it neglects advances in the field of real option theory.

Many decisions are irreversible but can be postponed to gather new information. The quintessential example is that of exercising a stock option, which allows the purchase of a share at a particular price. It would seem to a naive investor that an option to buy a share for £5 should be exercised immediately the market price of the share climbs above that level. But this is a mistake: the share may climb much further, or may fall, so while the option remains open there is a value to holding on to it while more information comes in.

Real option theory extends the idea beyond financial investments and into the real world. Apparently rational irreversible decisions to buy houses, build factories, or, indeed, to take one's own life, should often be postponed to gather more information. Your decision to kill yourself would deny you the opportunity to take advantage of any change of fortunes.

The latest economic theory therefore strongly recommends that you postpone your suicide indefinitely. It may be hard to believe, but there is every chance that you will again find true love and a satisfying job.

This week's Economist is Tim Harford, an FT leader writer

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Hmm, I don't know why anybody would postpone it! If you wanna kill yourself, do, ya know. Don't sit and look for attention. The people that say they are gonna do something and don't do anything, want one thing. Attention.

If you wanna kill yourself, do it, and don't brag about that you're gonna do it! That's the way I feel and that's what I told my ex.

jDoG

not a funny subject, but LOL

what did she do?

I probably shouldn't have posted it to GFY... I am not helping the world by offering GFY morons hope.

She took something like a butterknife and scraped up and down her arm and then, before she was living in Tucson and was cutting her wrist and her cousin walked in, and she'd always bring that up. And I'm like, you're just looking for attention, otherwise you would've made sure nobody was gonna be there or was gonna walk in! And I handed her a knife, I'm like if this is such bad world to live in, here, I promise to call the Ambulance after you cut deep enough - and she never brought any of it up again! :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

jDoG

Hey I'm just saying, if somebody wants to be shelfish and take their life, I'm not gonna stop them. It's their way of finally getting attention!

And it's their life, if they wanna die - that's their choice!

jDoG

how are they selfish? its their life...

its also selfish for someone else to want them to stay alive when they don't want to