epilogue

Happy 2010, everyone!

As originally intended, the beginning of the new year marks the end of the thought lab, so hopefully it served as a fun and thought-provoking distraction during its 52 week run. Thank you everybody for your comments, I enjoyed this project.

Matt

#52 - superhero

One night while sleeping, you are startled by a booming voice. The voice informs you that when you awake the next morning, you will be vested with the superpower of your choice. All you have to do is name the power.

You are free to use an existing superhero to frame your choice, but your selection must consist of a single, distinct ability. You could choose from a particular hero's repertoire ("Superman's x-ray vision") but would not be permitted to adopt a host of superpowers ("I wish to be Superman").

Also, this ability will last for the rest of your life, though its effects may lessen as you age. For instance, if you chose superspeed, though you would still be able to move faster than any human for the rest of your life, your top speed at age 64 would not match your max in your thirties.

What superpower do you choose?

#51 - repeat

A new drug has been developed and patented. It is being referred to in the media as the "Groundhog Day drug" as it allows the user to re-live a specific day in his or her life while sleeping. You are one of the lucky individuals who has received a free trial.

The drug comes in pill form and works by essentially playing off of the user's memory. An individual merely has to swallow a single pill, after which they focus on memories from a single day in the past. The drug then strengthens the (often dormant) associated memories, and recreates the day as a sort of lucid dream as the individual sleeps. Should you take a pill, it will be as though you are really re-living this day, complete with the sights, sounds, and memories you may have since forgotten.

The pill is to be taken shortly before sleeping, as the onset of extreme drowsiness usually occurs within a half an hour. If the individual is unable to choose a specific, unique day from their past within that time (and instead brings to mind various unrelated memories) the drug has no effect. Also, it is an adaptive drug, meaning that once you have used it to re-live a day, it will then be primed to trigger the same memories the next time. Using it again will cause you to re-experience the same day while you sleep.

The FDA has extensively tested this drug and has given approval for its distribution. There are no side effects or health risks (short or long term) associated with the Groundhog Day pills, and they are not addictive.

Your trial includes five pills, so if you choose, you will be able to re-live a day from your past up to five times. What day do you decide to re-live?

#50 - others

It is the mid-21st century. Undoubtedly the most shocking event of the past decade, and likely the entire century, was the discovery of the lost city of Atlantis.

The city, which in actuality functions as a larger undersea society, is populated, and it was the Atlanteans who first made contact several months ago. Not much is yet known about them or their culture, but it seems that their way of life is fairly comparable to ours. However, having limited space in their sea bottom location, they have focused on advancements in technology and the arts (and architecture for their watertight cities). In fact, it was a remarkably complex electronically produced shroud that allowed them and their world to remain undetected for so long. They are fluent in many languages.

Physically, the Atlanteans appear very similar to land-dwelling humans. They walk upright on two legs (and are not mermaids/mermen as most of the tabloids initially speculated). One noticeable difference is the presence of gills on the side of their neck, which allow them to breathe underwater without any external apparatus. Scientists are divided on whether or not the Atlanteans can be classified as homo sapiens and their origins are unknown.

Thus far, all interactions with the Atlanteans have been civil. There is no way to be sure of their intentions, but their claim is that they revealed themselves in order to partner with the human race in protecting earth's environment. Their main wish is to be recognized as a nation, thus having a voice in world events and international affairs. Not surprisingly, opinions and attitudes on this subject vary widely, running the gamut between welcoming and extremely cautious (many have urged the president and other world leaders to act as they would if earth had made extraterrestrial contact).

You are serving as an ambassador of the United States. The president has dispatched you to meet briefly with the Atlanteans in a neutral location and wants you to return with your recommendations.

How do you deal with the Atlanteans? What questions might you ask of them during your meeting? Assuming that everything seems "on the level", do you recommend giving Atlantis nation status?

#49 - dining

You come across an e-mail message one day that you are about to junk, when you notice a line at the end informing you that you are one out of only 101 individuals receiving this notice. Curious, you read the message more carefully.

The text asks you to follow a link to a short 20 minute consumer survey about restaurants. Nothing about the message or the link looks suspicious, and you are promised an extravagant prize, so you decide to take the survey.

You finish in a little less than 20 minutes and are soon looking at the final completion screen, notifying you of your prize. You are now eligible to make one selection from a list of restaurants, and will be able to eat there for the rest of your life, free of charge. Scrolling down, you are shocked at the length of the list. Extensive is too mild a word. In fact, every restaurant you can remember visiting (that remains an active business) is on this list. Local places, chains, everything.

You call a couple of neighborhood hotspots and they confirm that they are participating in this offer. It seems that eateries everywhere were open to such an arrangement, believing that the winner would often be bringing family and friends (who would be charged as normal) along with them.

There is, of course, a catch outlined in the fine print. You will never be able to set foot in any restaurant you do not choose (though there is no way of preventing food from being brought or delivered to you by someone else). This clause does not seem to make sense, but that is the rule. You can choose one restaurant and eat for free at the expense of ever going to any other restaurant, or decline the prize and continue to dine as you do today.

Do you select a restaurant? Which one? What restaurant would you choose if you were forced to decide?

#48 - a large building

In recent years, the nearest large city has been trying to decide what to do with a domed stadium within city limits that has remained unoccupied for some time.

After running many projections and estimates, the city is wary of selling or auctioning the site, fearing that the offers would end up being only a fraction of what it cost to construct the arena. Instead, they have set up a contest to find a new owner. Applications were submitted in advance of a random drawing, and whoever's application is chosen will inherit the site, with the stipulation that 10% of any profits (before taxes) made from the use of the land will go to the city. The winner will also be responsible for any annual property taxes.

Back when applications were being accepted, you submitted one almost as a lark. You did not include a full-fledged business model with your application, but somehow, it advanced to the final drawing stage and you were notified of this a couple of months ago. Since then, the entire ordeal had been filed away in the back of your mind. However, the day after the drawing, you are notified that you have won the stadium and land!

The arena is currently on a large lot (that served as a parking lot for fans). It is very accessible, both by highway and light rail. Also, if used as a stadium for a concert or sporting event, it can seat around 70,000.

What do you do with your new dome?

#47 - sea rescue

You wake up alone in a sailboat somewhere in the ocean. You had taken the boat out with a couple of friends, one of them relatively skilled at sailing, but they are now nowhere to be seen. You have no idea how much time has elapsed since you began to sleep (or otherwise went unconscious), and no memory of how you came to find yourself stranded.

As you take in your surroundings, you see a larger ship nearby. Then you noticed a uniformed man hailing you. The two of you are close enough to communicate vocally.

He asks who you are and you respond with your name. You tell him all that you can remember about the sailing trip with your friends, finally asking if he can help you. The man takes a moment to assess the condition of you and your craft, and sighs.

This man identifies himself as a crew member on a very unique vessel. The ship is transporting a number of compromised secret agents to a secret island. The island contains a peaceful, self-sustaining society, but the agents on the boat (and those already in the island community) are considered by those in charge to be too dangerous to leave unattended. They have accrued too much information.

The uniformed man indicates that to his eyes, your craft looks to be in pretty bad shape. His vessel is not going to change course (taking you back is not an option), but he offers you a choice. You can go aboard his ship and proceed to this mysterious island, or take one of the ship's rescue boats and try to make it back home on your own. If you choose the island, you would never be able to leave or communicate with the world at large. Otherwise, existence would be made as pleasant as possible for you. You would have an occupation, but it would not be cumbersome, and the island is stocked with most of the creature comforts you are used to. The spies there are not being punished so much as kept from communicating sensitive knowledge or data.

As for going it alone, your new boat would be equipped with both a sail and motor. You would be provided with supplies and rudimentary navigational tools, but the crew would not be able to show you a map or your exact location (and risk indicating the island's location). You would merely be given a heading to follow (as best you could).

Your choice is between a comfortable but secluded life amongst strangers and a longshot attempt at finding your way home across an unknown amount of ocean. Which option do you choose?

#46 - your funeral

A courier visits you one day while you are working, dropping off a relatively thick 9x12 mailing. When you remark that you haven't been expecting any sort of special delivery, the messenger replies that the package came from an unknown source.

After the messenger leaves, you open the envelope to discover a number of 8.5 x 11 sheets bound together. The top page is marked "FUNERAL TRANSCRIPT" with your name underneath.

A note is attached to this bound document, and reading the note sheds some degree of light on its contents. This is a script of your funeral, a line by line account. It is based 100% accurately on the actual event, whenever in the future it will take place. However, it has been altered in such a way that reading it would not indicate the exact identity of any of the speakers, or the year that the funeral occurs. You would likely be able to determine the general time period (and thus a ballpark age of death), but all specifics have been blacked out of the document.

In order to verify the authenticity of the transcript, the note directs you to the inside cover of the bound pages. There, you see an insignificant fact about yourself of which nobody else has any knowledge. This does not give you much to go on, but you have no way of explaining how this fact is included. You begin to sense that the document may be legitimate.

Though many details will be missing, reading the transcript would likely provide you with a sense of the overall course of your life. The main question you have is whether this account of your funeral represents your inexorable destiny, or if it is simply based on the general direction of your life as it stands today (and can be impacted by decisions you make in the future). On this matter, the note is silent.

Knowing nothing else, do you read the transcript or not?

#45 - three wishes

While coming home one day, you notice an old aluminum can sitting on your front yard. Seeing no nearby places to dispose of the object, you bring it inside to throw it away.

Once inside, you take note of the its relative good condition, despite being a can of a long defunct brand. You rub the aluminum a bit to clean off the only piece of mud that you see, and seconds later a great deal of colorful smoke issues from the mouth of the can.

After a few more moments, the smoke has gathered and formed into a recognizable shape... it's a genie!

The genie seems pleasant enough, though not overly talkative. He states that you have three wishes.

When, remembering the genie education of your youth, you ask if there are any rules associated with the wishes, the genie shares the one rule (besides wishing for more wishes, which will not work and does not seem to amuse the genie). You may not wish for anything that will directly conflict with or override the free will of another individual. This seems fair, but also limiting. You wouldn't be able to make someone fall in love, and a world peace wish would be problematic to say the least. You couldn't use a wish to land yourself a job, though you could wish for a good interview performance.

As you reflect on this, the genie shares his one other main limitation (a result of him being merely a sodapop genie, which you gather is sort of like the minor leagues of genie-dom). Any wish not made within the week cannot be used. In one week he will travel to some other place and any unused wishes will expire.

How do you use your three wishes?

#44 - the human race in (moving) pictures

NASA is preparing to launch a space probe that will gather information from the far reaches of the solar system. Since the craft will eventually leave the solar system and continue on towards distant galaxies, it will be equipped with a multimedia device similar to the Voyager Golden Record, an archive of information about the human race and life on Earth (in the event that the probe is someday discovered by extraterrestrials). While the Voyager records were limited to sounds and images, the disc for this new probe will contain two hours of video footage.

You have been selected to serve on the final selection committee, the group that will decide which video clips make the final cut.

As a member of this body, what recommendations do you make as to the content of the disc? Do you push for any specific footage to be included?

#43 - paralysis

During your recent annual checkup, your physician scheduled a series of tests without going into a great deal of explanation. You went through these various tests, which seemed harmless (if a bit unusual). The results have since come in, and you have been asked to come back to the office to discuss them.

Upon entering, you are greeted somberly by your doctor, who is the bearer of bad news. You are suffering from an ultra-rare condition that has recently been termed "synapse fatigue". For whatever reason, your nervous system is overworked and needs to rest. For this to occur, your body will soon become paralyzed from the neck down (the doctor estimates that this will happen within a month's time).

The good news is that this period of paralysis will only last two years. After that time, your body should come back "online". Additionally, the doctor offers another wrinkle. There are groundbreaking drugs in existence that will allow you to delay your body's resting period for a very long time, though not indefinitely. The two year rest must be allowed to occur within the next forty years. If not, your body would likely shut down (despite any medications) and the paralysis would at that point be a permanent one.

The drugs in question would have no associated side effects. Also, because they are relatively new and because you would be among the first to use them, they would likely be provided at no cost to yourself.

It is now up to you to decide upon a course of action. What do you do? For what two year period of your life do you choose to accept paralysis?

#42 - mind reading

You are spending a quiet evening in a local coffee shop when you notice a circular, brightly colored object on the floor near your table. You pick it up for a closer look.

The object is green, similar in feel to a credit card, but in the shape of a disc. The words MIND READER are printed in block letters on one side of the disc, along with an 8 digit code. A toll free phone number is on the opposite side.

Curious, you call this number on your cellphone. After being prompted for and entering the 8 digit code, you are greeted by the voice of an automated operator, who states cheerily, "Thank you for choosing Mind Reader Incorporated. You have 60 minutes remaining on your card. Please remember that your selected individual must be in the same room with you, or within 30 feet. Should your proximity exceed this range, your connection may be lost. Whose mind would you like to read?"

You are taken aback, but sitting in the coffee shop alone and being unable to think of anyone else, you quietly say, "barista". You immediately start hearing phrases in the barista's voice over your phone, thoughts about the orders being filled as well as an exam the barista will be taking on Monday.

After around 30 seconds you hang up, feeling a bit uncomfortable. You look down at the disc and notice that a small "pie" slice is now orange instead of green, presumably indicating the amount of time on the card that you just used up.

You now have the opportunity to read the minds of other individuals for a total of 59:30. Those whose minds you read must be more or less nearby, and you can only hear their thoughts through your phone (though headphones and a laptop would be another option if you were using an internet application such as Skype).

Do you use this card in the future? In what situations might you do so?

#41 - crime

An envelope arrives for you in the mail one day bearing no return address. The envelope seems to contain something relatively heavy, and upon opening it, you find a thin sheet of metal, engraved and embossed.

Actually, it looks exactly like a "get out of jail free" card from the board game Monopoly (and a comparison you carry out later in the day confirms this). Your full legal name is on the back of the card.

That night, a story on these cards leads the nightly national news. Many other individuals have apparently received envelopes just like yours. The cards, around a thousand, began appearing all over the nation earlier in the week, and apparently at least one has already been put to use.

Two days ago, a North Carolina man was arrested while trying to hold up a bank at gunpoint. He had a card similar to yours, and when he presented it to the authorities while in custody, the police were inexplicably forced to drop all charges.

So, you now have in your possession a card that could avert any legal consequences stemming from the perpetration of a single crime. It cannot be used by anyone else, so giving it away or selling it would be pointless. How would you use the "get out of jail free" card? Would you use it? Would it have any impact on your life?

#40 - disc jockey

You wake up in the center of a strange room. You lie near a rather spartan looking table and chair (a turntable and microphone on the table). You stand up to further orient yourself.

The venerable, worn furniture in the room stands in sharp contrast to the room itself. The floor, ceiling, and three of the walls are a spotless white. The fourth wall looks to be comprised of nothing but stacks of vinyl record album sleeves. You notice a note resting between the turntable and microphone that reads as follows:

You have been selected to participate in a most exciting project. You are to serve as a disc jockey! Though your participation is not voluntary, it should nonetheless prove to be an exciting opportunity. The only way for you to leave this room is to choose a record from the wall and play it on this turntable. The album will be broadcast in its entirety to the world's population. You may preface your selection with a short message (using the microphone), but this message may not exceed 30 seconds in length. Once the record has finished playing you will wake up in your personal place of residence. Your identity (beyond age and nationality) will not be revealed to those listening unless you wish to do so during your spoken introduction.

You walk over to the record wall and, after looking at some of the labels, name aloud one of your favorite albums. The entire wall seems to shift, as if it possesses dimensions far larger than what can be seen from the room. The motion accelerates, levels off, then finally slows in pace. When the records come to a stop, the album you named slips out a few inches from the rest of the sleeves in the wall, as if ready to be taken.

Your impression is that any musical album ever created is at your disposal. All you have to do is name an album, place it on the turntable, and possibly introduce your choice before playing it to almost 7 billion listeners. What do you select? Do you introduce your choice in any specific way?

#39 - spare parts

While at the doctor's office for a routine checkup, you see a pamphlet for an ambitious new corporation headquartered in your city. Their main operations involve the development of bionic organs for use during transplants, and the pamphlet notes that at this stage in its life, the company offers free walk-in tours. Intrigued, you head to their offices on a Saturday morning.

After a short wait, a tour guide takes you around to the different parts of the impressive facility, including a showroom and the various research and testing labs.

The company's goal is to develop these fully functional transplant parts without the use of any human or animal tissue, and everything you see seems to indicate that they are well on their way. Initial prototype organs the company created for laboratory mice tested without any failures, and the few doctors who have toured and more fully examined the facility have also come away impressed. When you casually joke that you ought to be investing in the company, the guide presents a different offer.

For this week only, the company is taking orders for their products. Within the next three months, they hope to be producing the following organs: eyes, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys. You would place an order and these replacement parts would essentially be held for you by the company until you needed them. The organs are expensive, and you would run the risk of purchasing something you might never use, but for a limited time you have the option of buying some interchangeable organs for yourself. The organs would be developed for your body specifically and though they could be used in the body of another individual, using the parts in this way would carry some risk. Such an action would not be endorsed by the company for fear that something could go wrong.

When you inquire further about the pricing, the guide responds with an amount that would represent about a month's worth of your income (per organ). No money is necessary up front, but will be due whenever the replacement parts are ready. Any order you place will be treated as a commitment, and when the parts you order have been completed and successfully pass extensive diagnostics testing, you will pay at that time. If for any reason the company is unable to develop a certain organ, you will not have to pay.

Do you place an order?

#38 - the reverse diary

You are browsing the shelves and aisles of your local library when you are startled at the sight of your own name running along one of the book bindings. Taking the book in question from the shelf, you see it that your name is indeed the title, with the author listed as "various". It is a large book.

You turn to the table of contents and see chapter headings such as CHARACTER QUALITIES, FUNNIEST MOMENTS, and SHORTCOMINGS. Quickly flipping to a spot in the middle of the book, you see a quote from a friend about a fairly meaningful event involving the two of you.

You shut the book to collect your thoughts. You have no idea how it came to exist, but from what you can make out, it seems that this is a collection of thoughts about yourself from those who know you best. Good, bad, affirming, and brutally honest opinions populate this volume's pages.

As you are in a library, with no other pressing engagements, you are free to pull up a chair and read (for the couple of hours the library is still open). A quick check of the back cover reveals a bar code sticker, so checking the book out also appears to be an option. What do you do with this book? Are there any chapters you would look for, any sections you would avoid?

#37 - flight auction

In one of the more fascinating (if ultimately trivial) news stories to recently develop, a wealthy Richard Branson-type entrepreneur has sponsored a most peculiar ebay auction. Up for auction is the ability of flight.

The listing itself provides only a few concrete details. The ability would last one week from the time of activation and would basically resemble the flight method of Superman or any similarly empowered fictional character. Put simply, one's flight would not require the use of a flying machine or any other apparatus and could be described as true flight, rather than gliding. Nothing much is said beyond this, but a money-back guarantee has been clearly noted as a part of the auction (should the winner not be fully satisfied). It has generally been assumed that the failure of the industrialist to provide what has been stated in the listing, or at the very least to back up this money-back pledge, would be disastrous for his image. So while nobody is quite sure how the experience will be provided, in essence many feel the whole ordeal to be legitimate.

Since the story has been picked up, it has naturally been followed with a great deal of interest by the various news networks and the public at large. Though the average individual will likely not possess the means to participate in the auction once it starts, that has not prevented large amounts of conversation on the subject. Two main questions generally seem to surface during discussions of the auction.

1) What will be the amount of the winning bid?
2) Would you place a bid if you had the necessary finances to do so (knowing that winning would cost a significant percentage of your net worth)?

How would you answer these questions?

#36 - time capsule

As 2010 approaches, your town, amidst much fanfare, is putting together a time capsule that will be opened 50 years from now. The capsule is meant to shed light on this first decade of the century.

In order to gain a broad perspective on the happenings and significance of the decade, a lottery-type drawing was recently held to select ten individual contributors to the capsule, one from each 10-year phase of life (0-9 years old, 10-19, etc; one's age in the year 2009).

You were chosen to represent your age range, 20-29 for most of the readers of this blog (not to discriminate against any other age group).

Each participant in the time capsule project has been asked to supply up to three items to the capsule. The objects should have some personal connection to your life between 2000-2009 while at the same time representing the decade in some fundamental way. If you are unable to choose at least one item for the capsule, you have the option of tabbing another person from your age group to participate in your stead.

What item or items do you submit to the capsule?

#35 - nutrition boost

While walking with a shopping cart in your local grocery store during some off-hour time period, you notice some movement at the end of one of the aisles. Walking over to investigate, you see three whimsically dressed elves trying to get your attention.

You are understandably started by this, but after backing up a bit, you sense that the elves pose no threat. On the contrary, they look as friendly as can be.

The elves tell you that they would like to offer you a gesture of goodwill, as they have been doing to any other customers who have happened to pass in the last hour or so. You are asked to pick a food item. Whatever you choose will from this point forward have the nutritional value of raw broccoli (a serving of your chosen food would contain the vitamins, minerals, and calories found in a serving of broccoli).

The fine print...

This change in nutritional value will apply only to yourself.

Your selection should be a food in its final prepared form (cake) rather than an basic ingredient that would not be consumed on its own (flour). However, something like chocolate chips (that can stand alone as a food item) would work.

Whatever you choose will still fill you in the same way it does today, though overeating it would make you feel like you ate a lot of broccoli.

It should be noted that others may take notice of an increased intake of the chosen food item, leaving you to come up with some sort of explanation.

Broccoli as you know it will be left unaffected.

After hearing the elves explain things, and having your questions answered (resulting in the information listed above), you decide to take them up on their offer. You also figure it would be a good idea to avoid seeming rude, not sure how the elves would take a polite refusal. What food do you ask them to boost?

#34 - self help

Your neighborhood is home to an eccentric inventor, with whom you have struck up a recent acquaintance. The inventor will occasionally mention some current projects and you have been extended an invitation to view the latest, the "backwards telegraph" in which messages can be sent backwards through time.

You are somewhat skeptical, but think the whole thing harmless at worst. The day of your visit arrives and you head over to your neighbor's house. You ring the doorbell and a half-minute later are hastily greeted and rushed downstairs into the basement workshop. There is a lot of flashing and whirring.

The inventor explains that there was a malfunction during the initial testing of the device. It is operational, but will likely remain so for only a minute or two longer, at which point it may be impossible to even repair (the inventor thinks the malfunction is inherent to the gadget's design). You are invited to use the device if you wish, and you may never have the chance again.

In short, the telegraph machine is set up to send a telegram to a past version of the user. You see from the machine's settings that this message will be sent to your 10-year-old self. You have time to put together one or two sentences worth of advice or information. The telegram will show up in the mailbox you used when you were 10. You have no idea how this works, but there really isn't time for an in-depth Q&A session.

The inventor does warn you, stating hurriedly that any large scale changes that your advice might effect (things like stock investments, for example) will manifest themselves once you have awaken the next morning. Depending on what you say in the telegram, you may awake tomorrow morning wealthy, handicapped, or in another country. The possibilities are endless and difficult to predict, so caution is advised. Also, if not explicitly noted, your younger self will have no way of knowing who sent the message.

What message, if any, do you send via telegram to your 10-year-old self?