What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

[snowqueen]

http://www.someoneoncetoldme.com/gallery/07062009

 

[Decaf]

First, I would try to fail.

Then I would construct a comprehensive theory about how the mind works and how it diverges from the norm to present what we call personality. That's definitely my one thing.

 

[Da Blob]

Very little - where would be the fun in it?

Hmmm if humans were not fallible, they would not be Humans any longer....

EDIT: Actually, I have fantasied about rebuilding the education industry to reflect reality. I would build a school system based on child psychology and not educational tradition. It is ironic that the dwellers of the Ivory Tower mock religion for its tradition, while education is firmly bound in its own tradition. In fact, I believe the modern college maintains the structure of the original Universities in medieval Germany...

 

[Ashenstar]

Probably waste my time attempting to decide what to do instead of actually doing anything.

I can't even think of something that I would do to post here...

Perhaps.. what wouldn't I do?

 

[Logician]

either eliminate all people who i feel are manipulating society in a bad way ( lack of individuality in our times has cause "society" to be nearly its own, single entity. or at best a collection of two or more large entitles at war with each other.). Or become, myself, a figure with the ability to speak and be heard by society in a influential way that i could try to explain to them, well, a lot of things that i think need to be said... Basically the later is the philosophers goal, to shape society of their own, knowing, will. But eliminating those who shape society without their realizing it ( people are fairly blind to these things in general ) would be a close second.

@Da Blob~ if all humans were infallible then infallibility would become a defining trait of humanity, and any one who fails would be inhuman.

 

[Auburn]

1. Buy a lottery ticket. Win. Never have to "work" again.
   
2. Enter a top-grade university, and graduate extremely early with degrees in bio-engineering, neurology/psychology, and politics.
   
3. Become a leading researcher, expert, and activist for the coming of the transhuman era.
4. Lead a political campaign asking large companies and the public for support in funding my research, and gain enormous support.
   
5. Transcend humanity, and achieve immortality.
6. Continue with my political affairs; proposing a new world order in which nations are governed by wisdom and not power. I would gain incredible support from many presidents.
   
7. Seek for the rare, meek, and noble sages of society - and help them transcend as well, then set them up to lead other nations with wisdom and understanding.
8. Slowly but surely bring about a new world order - creating a perfect society.
   
9. Live for centuries exploring every aspect of existence, and researching more methods in which to explore other galaxies.
   
10. Eventually take my exploration into the cosmos and reach other life-inhabited planets.

 

[Ghost1986]

crate the prefect world with the perfect social and governmental system.

 

[amorfati]

First, I would try to fail.

Then I would construct a comprehensive theory about how the mind works and how it diverges from the norm to present what we call personality. That's definitely my one thing.

You stole my response!

Yes, I would try to fail, because if I knew I couldn't fail, then failing would be the most difficult challenge I could undertake.

 

[adso1980]

1. Design a new propulsion system for faster than light travel.
2. Go find my true love (tm) and practice making babies
3. See #2

 

[Anthile]

I'd do the MBTI test.

 

[asdfasdfasdfsdf]

i would be happy.
if im happy .. why care about anything else?

 

[Ashenstar]

i would be happy.

Infallible happiness is a great concept.

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

Ten things I would do...
1. get a job
2. keep my job
3. get a doctorates degree in three, or maybe more, majors, and do so before the age of 33
4. become a well-known musician and author
5. become an infallible accountant
6. never go into debt, and never be rich
7. perhaps learn social skills lol
8. run an organization in every city providing the homeless with shelter and food for a certain amount of time, along with job opportunities. Providing that they meet certain requirements.
9. go on a diet AND enjoy the food I eat
10. have certain supernatural abilities that only exist when I want them to

 

[Wish]

First, I would try to fail.

Then I would construct a comprehensive theory about how the mind works and how it diverges from the norm to present what we call personality. That's definitely my one thing.

But if you were infallible and you tried to fail, wouldn't that mean you would fail as it is what you're trying to do? Failure in this scenario would be to 'succeed' in whatever it was you were trying to 'fail' at.

 

[adso1980]

This reminds me of that Star Trek TOS episode with Harry Mudd and the androids.

"Everything I say is a lie.... I'm telling the truth"..

 

[Ulysses]

Find a way to get Dr Manhattan's powers, provided that I'll retain the decency to clothe myself in public. Imagine being able to teleport yourself across the universe in an instant.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Become a freedom fighter / messiah.

Change the world how I see fit, become a strong liberating libertarian figure.

When my job is complete, I'll fake my own death and slink into the unknown.

And when everybody fucks it up 500 years later, I'll show up again and do it again.

Live forever.

 

[Anthile]

Become a freedom fighter / messiah.

I'd probably pretend to be the messiah of some obscure religion from the deepest depths of the Amazonas jungle and declare all other religions to be wrong. Because as we all know, irony is the strongest known force in the universe.

 

[Ashenstar]

Change the world how I see fit

That is a wonderful answer. I think I will steal it.

AHEM.

I would change the world how I see fit....

So I guess since neither you nor I can fail, RT, you had best learn to view the world as to your liking from a viewpoint that is harmonious with mine.

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

Taking advantage of people isn't exactly something I'd admire in a person.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Find a way to get Dr Manhattan's powers, provided that I'll retain the decency to clothe myself in public. Imagine being able to teleport yourself across the universe in an instant.

YES AWESOME but I really think you're missing the point of Dr. Manhattan's powers. His metamorphosis and understanding of the universe is so real and complete that he recognizes how absurd it is that we worry about clothing. He's kinda being an INTP in that way, being kinda lazy or being a smart ass, snubbing his nose at authorities.

 

[warryer]

I would start an off earth society.

Materialism would not exist as there would be no need for a person to profit off their fellow man. Focus would shift toward gaining an understanding of the universe and increasing the knowledge/technology of mankind.

This will happen eventually anyways.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

So I guess since neither you nor I can fail, RT, you had best learn to view the world as to your liking from a viewpoint that is harmonious with mine.

Or maybe I could just persuade you into making yourself no longer be an issue. (Maybe a martyr? If you wanted to lose this Power for No-Failing, could you?)

 

[Ashenstar]

Or maybe I could just persuade you into making yourself no longer be an issue. (Maybe a martyr? If you wanted to lose this Power for No-Failing, could you?)

Persuade?? Your mind tricks will not work on me, boy.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Okay I just thought of something else. If we can never fail... that means we could pretty much have magical/Jedi powers, right? Like "I wish I could create a 10^20 photons of light all pointed at Ashenstar's head?"

 

[Madoness]

First of all... my knowing I cannot fail is a serious clue towards having a mentally ill brain.

I'm most probably sure there are a lot of people who think they cannot fail, as there are people who think they can fly etc. Who guarantees me to not fail? As I'm a bit paranoid..... I would not push the limits of my knowing not to fail.

What would I do....?
I don't know... situation has not yet happened.

 

[Adymus]

First, I would try to fail.

How would you know you truly failed or not?

If you try to fail, then that would mean your intention would shift to whatever prerequisites would need to be met to "fail", which would then lead to succeeding in failure. But that would mean your intention was never actually "Succeeding" through the means of whatever you had in mind, but to fudge up that success plan, thus never failing at all.

 

[Adymus]

I would change the world how I see fit....

So I guess since neither you nor I can fail, RT, you had best learn to view the world as to your liking from a viewpoint that is harmonious with mine.

Or you could just kill him. If there can be no failure, then she who strikes first wins.



Just a thought...

 

[Ashenstar]

Or you could just kill him. If there can be no failure, then she who strikes first wins.



Just a thought...

Oh I thought

Live forever.

would have negated any attempts on his life.

 

[Adymus]

Oh I thought would have negated any attempts on his life.

That means if you attempted it, either you would fail at killing him, or he would fail at living forever. It would be interesting to see who fails first.


Like playing chicken, but with god mode hax.

 

[Ashenstar]

But neither one of us can fail and continue to exist in the same universe and playing chicken would equal fail for one of us. This can not be. So.. I guess we would cancel each other out and both of us would cease to exist to prevent something that can not exist from existing.

 

[snowqueen]

• I would invent a pain killer that actually worked without any side effects.
• write a novel that changed people's lives
• find a cure for AIDS/HIV
• become a poet
• get rid of religion and allow true spirituality to flourish thus cancelling countless wars of the present and future
• have an intimate relationship
• restore the rainforests
• sing in public

 

[Adymus]

But neither one of us can fail and continue to exist in the same universe and playing chicken would equal fail for one of us. This can not be. So.. I guess we would cancel each other out and both of us would cease to exist to prevent something that can not exist from existing.

But then to not exist would mean he still failed at living forever which is still an unresolved paradox, so then all of existence including the "law of cannot fail", would be wiped off the face of existence to prevent any more paradoxes from occurring.


I wish my logic was that fool proof, like anytime someone proved me wrong everything just stops existing.

 

[Cryss Winters]

It would be a paradox: Immortality would be questioned and you wouldn't be able to fail either way.

 

[bananaphallus]

- Teach animals to communicate verbally
- Lead a 6 day long parade through a major city
- Build a balloon ship consisting of a transparent outer layer, filled with enormous multicolored balloons, with a small zip-up pouch on the bottom where I'd be - launch it and float over Paris on a cool autumn night while listening to Caetano Veloso's 'Cucurrucucu Paloma'.
- Become an art thief
- Deconstruction en masse, do away with the bureaucracies and maligned political expediencies which chip away at my will to live day by day, bit by bit.
- Survive a tumble down Mount Everest
- Win the Isle of Man TT twice in one year
- Fly
- Find intelligent alien life, create interplanetary/galaxy/universe transportation network - become ridiculously wealthy
- Win the F1 WC 5 years running, survive numerous harrowing catastrophes in the process, shake humanity's faith in gravity/natural law with my pace
- Win several oscars per year for 11 years, create movies which bring even the most brusque and stoic men to tears, accept awards in front of sobbing audience, who are all consistently overwhelmed emotionally by the aesthetic merit and textural intricacies of my work
- Create a new color, one never before seen or imagined

 

[Ashenstar]

But then to not exist would mean he still failed at living forever which is still an unresolved paradox, so then all of existence including the "law of cannot fail", would be wiped off the face of existence to prevent any more paradoxes from occurring.


I wish my logic was that fool proof, like anytime someone proved me wrong everything just stops existing.

so if RT can not come to see things my way... we are going to cause this universe to no longer exist. Not even the destruction.... because destruction exists. Just .... non existent universe.

Well... *grumble* at least if I'm going down he's going with me!

And I'm sorry Snowqueen for ruining your thread. I like your sing in public answer. I've always always wished I could sing. Of course... that will never happen... but I still dream.

 

[asdfasdfasdfsdf]

Infallible happiness is a great concept.

i mean. its totally the best answer.. any other answer is just an attempt at achieving happiness..
what else would you want?

 

[transformers]

more importantly, what wouldn't you do? why not do everything if you knew you couldn't fail at anything?

 

[Beat Mango]

There's actually nothing I want to do in terms of achievement - the world has little effect on
me these days. There's a lot I'd like to be though.

I'd like to eliminate suffering but I don't think it's possible without eliminating joy.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

-I would ban RT, Ashenstar and Adymus from continuing to post on this thread.

-I'd get a few lady friends, hop on an FTL spaceship and go see what's out there. Earth has bored me for the last time.

That's about it. I'm not in an ambitious mood today.

• I would invent a pain killer that actually worked without any side effects.

And I would worship you forever. Wanna ride on a spaceship?

 

[Polaris]

I would wipe the word 'failure' and all its associations from the collective human consciousness.

Failure ultimately implies death, and is the driver of all that is fear-driven.

Then I would do no more.

 

[snowqueen]

-



And I would worship you forever. Wanna ride on a spaceship?

Take me round the universe faster than light and I'll love you forever.

 

[Cognisant]

1. Create God

2. Kill God

3. Start Again

1. Create God

2. Kill God

3. Start Again

etc...

 

[Schema]

If I couldn't fail, this would mean that I have total control over all variables at all times. It would be as near to a living hell for me living with such a level of predictability - what an uneventful existence always knowing the outcome prior to the outset. So with this in mind, I'd ensure the ability to fail remained a part of life.

 

[Taprobane]

Easy, I'd open the batting for England in the Ashes and hit 1000 runs in the series. Not quite as ambitious as others but oh how I would love it.

 

[fullerene]

1. create/find/give people a single, unshakable, and perfect center (the same one, so no one could argue whose was better) to build their lives around, freely, which (since it was crafted to mold to human needs) everybody enjoyed and agreed was worth living for. It would be so unmistakably, infinitely valuable, beautiful, and worthwhile that not a single person doesn't want to build their lives around it, and infinite in the substance of what it can give, so that "more for me" doesn't mean "less for you" at all.

All peoples' self-worth would be tied up in this, so that differences in character, ability, etc, don't even cross peoples' minds as things by which you can judge people. Pride becomes non-existent, because the center of life does not reside within anyone. Thoughts such as "is it ok to let this person I'm talking to know X, or will it cause them to think worse of me?" and "is it socially acceptable to ___?" and the like vanish from everyone's minds. Greed and the subsequent wars cease, because all people already have the only thing worth having. A lot of other activity would cease, too, as people rested and simply enjoyed life, but that would be ok because nobody would want anything more anyway. Of course, things like advertizing, which prey on peoples' desire or more, have to vanish too.

2. I would give all control of nature to mankind, as if it were an ability just like walking. People (and animals) would look around and just see it as "something men can just do." I wouldn't feel bad doing this, because we wouldn't want to suddenly harvest everything for our own comfort (I imagine if you did this now, most people would make oil come together and fill up their jars, and things like that) if they wee satisfied outside of themselves. You would not have to struggle against the elements, though, so survival isn't an issue.

 

[Thread Killer]

I would invest a lot of money and become rich! And then I'd binge on my nerd-ware and then travel the world. Or travel the world and then binge.

 

[Enola.Grey]

Establish a real Stargate system spanning several galaxies.
Advance the technology of man to a state of Star Wars technology and establish a real Jedi order.

Make transhumanism a form of degradation or de-evolution.

 

[Latro]

I'd construct the set containing all sets that are not elements of themselves. Then the universe would explode.

 

[Enola.Grey]

I'd construct the set containing all sets that are not elements of themselves. Then the universe would explode.

I think my mind just divided by zero...

What did you just say?