A demon appears before you. Or perhaps she’s an alien from a far-flung world, or an evolved human from the distant future. The creature explains that it has the power to alter time, space and the fabric of reality. He explains that time and the progression of events is not fixed, but malleable. It offers you a choice.
- To be sent 10,000 years into the past, to live life until the present day.
- To be sent 1 year into the past, to live that year, 10,000 times.
In either case, in the event you are killed or substantially damaged, you will be provided with a new body of similar quality.
Which do you choose and why?
Bonus question: You believe that you might be able to negotiate with this omnipotent being to grant you some reasonable advantage in your new life. You worry, though, that if you ask her for too much, he will refuse utterly and cast you back in time. But if you ask for some reasonable accommodation, given the extraordinary nature of what is about to happen, it might be granted. What super-power do you ask for?
By chris ennen October 23, 2010 - 7:19 pm
10,000 years into the past, to live life until the present day.
By Tuebit October 23, 2010 - 7:49 pm
But why?
10,000 years ago puts you close to the last glacial period, within the range of a possible comet strike causing the Holocene extinction, and well before the invention of deodorant, toothpaste and toilet paper.
By Psychochild October 24, 2010 - 2:08 am
Hmm, this made me think. Going back 10k years would be interesting: see the development of humanity and perhaps help shape it into something different. Going back 1 year 10k times would be more of a journey of personal development, I think.
Ultimately, I think I’d go with last year and reliving it 10k times. Although it’s possible to create more boredom, it’d be an opportunity to do better myself. Going through the last 10k years means that I’d potentially have a lot more temptation to fiddle with things, and I couldn’t guarantee it’d always be for the best.
As for the bonus question: I assume I’d be able to keep my memories from one year to the next, but if not that would be the thing to ask for, obviously. Alternatively, perhaps asking for an eidetic memory would be nice, allowing me to memorize important bits of code or other things I’ve worked on or learned over time.
My turn for a question: what prompted this? Just a “what if…?” type question?
By Tuebit October 24, 2010 - 1:33 pm
Just a fun “what if” question to distract me from studying.
I like it from a number of angles: there are moral issues (what about family and friends; after 5,000 cycles are you still you?; is it bad karma to coat a bush in fire protectant gel and light it on fire?); what would I want to accomplish in either case?; what would do I in my last cycle through? (or in the case of the 10,000 year scenario, what would I do when I caught up with myself)?; there’s infinite room for creative approaches.
There’s also a bit of parallel to games. Many would like to see “the story” unfold. In the 10,000 year scenario, how much of “the story” would you actually get to see (or influence)? It only works if you’ve got the right super-powers. In practice, we spend most of our time repeating (and perfecting?) some small bit of content.
By Jason October 25, 2010 - 10:14 am
I believe I’d have to pick the Groundhog Day scenario and repeat the same year 10,000 times, but I’d want to make sure that my memory wasn’t being reset each time. I wouldn’t want to go back 10,000 years because, frankly, I’ve grown up in the modern age and I don’t think I could wait around 9,950 years to play video games again.
By Tachevert October 27, 2010 - 3:44 pm
The last year in particular might be fun. You’d have 10,000 chances to spoil the ending of LOST for people. Really makes you think.
By Ferdinand November 17, 2010 - 10:59 pm
Spoiled.