January 2, 2026
Mortality, but make it trending
Real Biological Clock Is You're Going to Die
Internet erupts: have kids now or wait—your clock won’t
TLDR: An essay says waiting to have kids doesn’t save time; it reduces years you’ll share together. Commenters split between calling it a bleak guilt trip and defending “have kids when you’re ready,” with personal stories and an [upbeat reply](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46452763) fueling a lively, important debate about life’s trade-offs.
An essay about the one clock no one can snooze—mortality—hit the internet like a gut punch. The writer maps ages across generations (remember Nabi Tajima, who lived to 117) and argues waiting to have kids doesn’t “bank” time; it subtracts years you’ll share with them. Cue the comments: some readers were moved to tears, with one asking, “How do we carry an entire ‘adult world’ forward as a gift to our kids?” Others saw it as a needed wake-up call, especially when the piece name-drops “Mick Jagger at 73” as tech’s favorite optimism trap.
Then the brawl broke out. The “live your life first” camp called the essay “depressing, judgmental, self-centered,” insisting you should have kids only when you’re truly ready. The pragmatists chimed in with hard realities—one commenter flatly said, “I have super-bad genetics… I wouldn’t wish them on a child.” Meanwhile, a brighter counterpoint landed when another user linked their own upbeat response here. And yes, the memes arrived: “Mick Jagger daycare at 93,” YOLO vs FOMO, and “you don’t ‘save’ time, you spend it.” Verdict: this thread wasn’t just about babies—it was about who gets to decide what a “good life” looks like.
Key Points
- •Nabi Tajima, then the world’s oldest person, died at 117 and was the last living person born in the 19th century.
- •The essay uses family ages and experiences to illustrate finite overlaps between generations and relationships.
- •It argues that delaying milestones like having children reduces the years parents share with their children.
- •Public discourse often focuses on fertility limits (especially for women) while rarely addressing illness or death preventing parenthood.
- •Technological options (e.g., cryogenics) are noted, but the essay highlights that extended fertility does not extend lifespan, exemplified by Mick Jagger’s late-life fatherhood.