SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Excellent question but I think not quite the game :-) If you want to open a thread on memory and recall, Brendon, that'd be great!

Allison wrote: "Excellent question but I think not quite the game :-) If you want to open a thread on memory and recall, Brendon, that'd be great!"

My apologies Allison, my mind tends to wonder.

No apologies necessary! Obviously I also enjoy thought experiments :)

Would you rather inspire unwavering loyalty or instant good humor?

I'd love to be able to make people happy! ^_^ That'd be such a great skill, and then maybe they'd occasionally return the favor?

Oh, instant good humor every time! I have no particular need for unwavering loyalty.

I'd go for unwavering loyalty. Then I can go on conquering kingdoms with my faithful armies... Okay - definitely too much fantasy reading ... ;-)

XD

Instant good humor for me.

Hmm… I think I’d go with unwavering loyalty. I’m basing my choice based on what I think it would say about me. If I inspire unwavering loyalty, the other person must have a great deal of respect for me and like who I am. If I inspire instant good humor, that might just mean I’m a complete idiot and people can’t help but laugh at me. :)

They aren’t mutually exclusive, but the people who make me laugh the most aren’t necessarily the people I respect and/or care about the most.

If it's like magic or a super power, then I'd go with instant good humor, because that would make the world a little happier. The loyalty side as an actual supernatural power is textbook evil emperor/super villain, and I'm not cut out for that.

If I inspired either loyalty or humor just because of who I am, I would prefer the loyalty. Like YouKneeK said, it shows that you have that you have a lot of respect from others and aren't just the class clown.

Travis wrote: "Either pleases. The worst is when I lend someone a book because they've expressed enthusiasm, and then they don't bloody read it. Bent spine; dog eared: Both are signs of true book reading/hugging,..."

Yess!!

Honestly, I think that even a person who could remember everything would indeed be able dismiss distracting memories at will. I don't see why they'd experience time differently, because they wouldn't have to spend more time creating or processing memories; it just wouldn't work that way.

That being said, my whole life is about fresh starts. I get bored easily, so I'm regularly doing stuff to change up my life, with different jobs, states of residence, husbands, etc...

I don't feel the need to remember more than the basics. I'll just journal any insights, any wise advice, create my own resource for reference for lessons I should be learning.

Good humor! I enjoy making people smile and the world could use a whole lot more of it.

Loyalty should almost never be unwavering. Once earned it should be maintained. I mean, I have loyal friends, but if I become an ax murderer in the future, current me does not expect them to have my back. (Unless there were some serious extenuating circumstances for the ax murdering.)

Good humor, so long as it's not because people feel like they have to feign happiness in my presence.

Kristin B. wrote: "Good humor! I enjoy making people smile and the world could use a whole lot more of it.

Loyalty should almost never be unwavering. Once earned it should be maintained. I mean, I have loyal friends..."

I agree w/ everything in this comment.

I've got one.

Would you rather know the day of the year you would die, but not which year (e.g. 28 Sep) or know the year you would die, but not which particular day?

I'd want to know the day. Then, I'd be a professional Russian Roulette player for about ten months after that day. The two month buffer would be to ensure I don't injure myself a few weeks earlier, then eventually expire as prophesized.

I would rather know the year. That way I could make preparations up until then, and live my life as I see fit. Then when the year arrives, I'll expect to die January 1st, and anything after that is a bonus. If I only know the day, I will be a nervous wreck every year leading up to it.

haha!

I think I'd want the year so that I could make sure everything was taken care of before then and then just really go for broke that year until whatever happens, happens.

(Which, I've already decided, will be coconut related, so I guess I'll spend that year or whatever portion of it I have in tropical places ;-) )

The year, definitely.

There seem to be few takers on my last choice, so I'll try to redeem myself.

Assuming you can survive the environmental factor of temperature, would you rather be able to breathe under water or fly?

Hmm? How about pressure? Because the low pressure of the upper atmosphere and the high pressure of deep ocean can cause a real issue.

Although, thinking about it, I would probably still take flying. Just for the convenience of getting around. Seeing the crazy underwater life would be awesome, but it wouldn't help my commute to work. :)

Also, I am less likely to be eaten by anything flying in the sky.

I’m a little behind, but…

On the first question, I think I’d rather know the day than the year. I’m basing that on which would be the worst anticipation-wise. Assuming I’m not likely to live past 100, and I’m 42 now, knowing the particular day would mean about 60 more days in my life in which I would expect I might possibly drop dead any moment, and then I would feel like I was home free for another year after that day passed. On the other hand, if I knew the particular year but not the particular day, any date past early March would mean more days spent expecting to drop dead. If I didn’t die until December, that would be 330+ days in a row of expecting to drop dead which I think would get a little nerve-wracking. Preparation-wise, I’d rather just do it the traditional way – have a will, let people know what you want, and try to do the things that are important to you while you can.

As far as breathing under water or flying, I think Kristin’s answer convinced me to go with flying, both for the convenience of being able to get around and also because of the getting-eaten factor. I live in the Atlanta area, where traffic is ridiculous. I could save a ton of time if I could fly everywhere, depending I guess on what speeds I could achieve.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with flying:

-Way easier to regulate body temperature while dry
-Don't need a dry suit to get to work
-Flying assumes some amount of speed
-The flying equivalent of the bends makes you a vampire (okay, this is an exaggeration, but this is my flight of fancy *wink*)
-The coolest types of dreams
-Save on airfare
-Save on home repair
-Can live safely on any story of a building
-Works great with capes

Whereas breathing underwater

-Inconvenient inland
-I still don't want to dive into any local waters
-Requires suiting to do stuff like see
-Eff the bends. No vampirism
-Yucky toes
-Big animals
-Boats everywhere like it's freakin' Mardi Gras
-Need to figure out flippers or some sort of engine situation to move faster through water than I do now

Flying of course. My whole life I've wished for wings, or carpet, or Pegasus, or jet-pack....

Phillip wrote: "Assuming you can survive the environmental factor of temperature, would you rather be able to breathe under water or fly?"

My first instinct was to breathe under water, and after some thought I still would want to breathe under water. My conception was much more superheroic and and fanciful than Allison's, and didn't take water pressure and a seabed clogged with wrecks and plastic fishing nets into account at all.

Humor vs. loyalty, loyalty all the way.

I should have also mentioned that pressure wasn't an issue for the flight or swim question. Regardless, I've been saving my nuclear option question for now. It's the one guaranteed to rip couples apart faster than infidelity or money problems. Say goodbye to half your relationships.

Spirit fingers or jazz hands?

And if you say "jazz hands," you're dead to me.

haha!

Phillip wrote: "Spirit fingers or jazz hands?

And if you say "jazz hands," you're dead to me...."

I think this depends on the situation. I use Jazz Hands mostly when I'm feeling very sarcastic. Spirit Fingers are for when I'm actually excited. :)

I love that you have a sarcastic dance. Here we lesser beings are still working on getting a sarcasm font, and you just jump straight to a full sarcasm movement.

Allison wrote: "I love that you have a sarcastic dance. Here we lesser beings are still working on getting a sarcasm font, and you just jump straight to a full sarcasm movement."

I take my sarcasm very seriously. ;)

Oh how I need a sarcasm font...

Would you rather be an AI holograph or a ghost?

Absolutely I'm a ghost. Not only does in prove the existence of an afterlife (big relief there), it also lets me be in control. AI can always be turned off. I don't want to be turned off. I'd make myself a type of superhero that haunts despicable people. Force them to see the light and give up their drug trade or human trafficking ring.

I think I’d go with the ghost too. A ghost would hopefully still have their own pre-ghost intelligence and personality versus an artificially-created one.

On the other hand, a holograph could be backed up and restored if the main copy is lost whereas I assume one good exorcism would be the end of me as a ghost.

So my interpretation of the choice boils down to a real personality and a potentially short life versus a fake personality and a potentially long life, in which case I’d have to go with real and potentially short.

AI holograph, they can just try to catch me in the wires! Plus if I am really AI, I can change and grow all on my own.

Would you rather be world famous (regardless of field), but your fame only comes after your death. Or, would you prefer to do what you love, but live at the median income in your city.

I'd rather be unappreciated in my own time, but have a profound legacy (assuming it's for good reasons). As much as it would be fun to make a living doing what I love, the appeal of impacting the world is too strong a pull to ignore.

Do what I love. What I love has a small but noticeable impact on my community and slowly makes everything a little easier for the people who really drive the economy. I'd rather do a little good consistently and serve quietly as a model of how I wish the rest of my profession functioned in the hopes others follow suit.

I couldn't have said it better. I am comfortable being one of the masses, attempting to change the world in very small, consistent but largely unnoticeable ways. I think finding your own joy and sharing it accomplishes more than most people realize.

As an introvert I far prefer not having any focus on me. They can put me in the spotlight all they want once I’m dead, hah!

Ghost vs AI: Depending on the lore you go with, most ghosts aren't "you", but a ghost... they tend to be echoes and either sort of repeat specific events, like your death, or are a strong emotion, like rage.

So if an AI holograph could be more of my actual memories and personality, then I think I'd go for that.

***

I would definitely prefer to do what I love. What I love would most likely be acting or entertaining or some variety, so I like to think it would have an impact on people anyway. ;)

To clarify, in both options you may do what you love. The question is whether you'd like just enough pay off to only have to do it, or would you want to have to do something else with massive pay off after you die. A 9-5 job doesn't mean I have to give up on passions, hobbies, and relationships.

? Now I'm confused. Are you saying would you rather be poor doing what you love but become famous posthumously or earn the average now doing what you love?

I mean, still the second one. I had assumed "do what you love" is the pursuit of a career that brings ultimate fulfillment regardless of what it is rather than, like, the things that bring me ultimate joy. I don't think even the median pay for "animal patter" would be enough to sustain me, and probably I'd still want to do something that made humans happy, too.

Allison wrote: "Would you rather be an AI holograph or a ghost?"

Fantasyland all the way, a ghost! As long as we're talking about preferences, the kind of ghost that's just like me only without the meat body. Staying on earth 'til my business is finished (ideally not vengeance), then heading off to the river of Lethe.

Allison wrote: "? Now I'm confused. Are you saying would you rather be poor doing what you love but become famous posthumously or earn the average now doing what you love?

I mean, still the second one. I had assu..."

I'm asking would you rather work hard at something, but only get success after you die, but it's MASSIVE success. Or, would you prefer to get by doing the same thing, but nobody remembers you after you stop doing it.

I'll give a literary example. Would you rather author a Harry Potter masterpiece, but nobody reads it outside of your inner circle until you die. (Perhaps Oprah hears about it after your death and picks it for her book club). Or, would you rather write for a living, but only make about $50,000 a year? You make enough money to survive off your writing, but only your diehard fans know of you. There won't be movie/TV deals in option 2, but option 1 will keep money rolling into your family for generations. The downside is that the option 2 person can at least feel appreciated, albeit on a minor scale. The option 1 person will die thinking he/she failed as an author.

Oh, yeah. Okay that's what I thought. Yeah, I stand by my answer ^^

Allison I just read what you said. My hat's off to you. We need more people that think that way.

Dawn if you're dead you won't enjoy the spotlight Live a little! Do something really good but outrageous. Let the spotlight shine on you.

Norton wrote: "Allison I just read what you said. My hat's off to you. We need more people that think that way."

Kind of you to say! :)

I appreciate your reply, but I think my statement was really a comment on society in general. Although, my hat is off to you for having those values.