Real SimEarth Experiment

[_Gadianton]

If you have strong opinions about everything from world economics, politics, law, and religion (including Mormonism) to science and tech then this hypothetical scenario is for you.

Suppose you were abducted by aliens, angels, or the supernatural entities of your choice, and told that you were to be their guest for a while as they are interested in your opinions about the world. Time on earth will be frozen for your stay with them and you get all the best food and the luxury suite of your choice; you're out nothing by playing along. Every "day" you will have conversations with different experts from among these beings and discuss current events. One day you might be discussing global warming and the next, China's economy. They are patient, and you are free to tell them at length what should be done to make the world a better place. Perhaps you think a wall should be built between California and Mexico or a 50% tax laid upon the rich to fund green technologies. Perhaps you think the Federal Reserve should be abolished or that all Democrats (or Republicans) in congress should be killed -- things might be bad enough that extreme measures are necessary for improvement to be realized. Maybe Mormonism should be the official state religion.

You are not only free to state plainly what you'd like to see changed, but outline exactly how the change should happen to whatever detail you wish. You can state how you would like people to think. For instance, you can insist that everyone should believe in the Limited Geography Theory or believe that there is a world oil crisis. You, of course, don't have to state opinions about how others should think because perhaps you don't think it is your place to do so, it's all up to you. You can state your preference that the US government fund a bigger supercollider than the LHC and the beings will take you seriously, however, they'll ignore comments suggesting people should have higher intelligence or there should be more uranium in the ground.

After extracting your very last opinion regarding how the world should change, the beings present you with a button. If you push the button, then all your ideas will be implemented exactly as you had envisioned. If your ideas make the world 50% better than it would have been, then your reward is pretty much whatever you wish. You can become king of the world, go back to your normal life, or be immortalized and live in a paradise on another world -- pretty much whatever you want. If you make the world less than 50% better or up to 50% worse, then you are simply sent back in time to when the changes were put in place, your memory wiped, and you get to live in what you created. If you totally screwed up and made things more than 50% worse overall, you are tortured, and then sent back in time to when your changes begin to live in the very worst place you created.

So, would you push the button? Or rather, how seriously do you take your own opinions?

[_sock puppet]

Dean Gad,

You've hit upon it. Exactly what it is that creeps me out about Mitt Romney. With all the hubris mankind has ever seen, Mitt would press the button without a nanosecond of hesitation or thought. It would be reflexive on his part.

[_Tarski]

If you have strong opinions about everything from world economics, politics, law, and religion (including Mormonism) to science and tech then this hypothetical scenario is for you.

Suppose you were abducted by aliens, angels, or the supernatural entities of your choice, and told that you were to be their guest for a while as they are interested in your opinions about the world. Time on earth will be frozen for your stay with them and you get all the best food and the luxury suite of your choice; you're out nothing by playing along. Every "day" you will have conversations with different experts from among these beings and discuss current events. One day you might be discussing global warming and the next, China's economy. They are patient, and you are free to tell them at length what should be done to make the world a better place. Perhaps you think a wall should be built between California and Mexico or a 50% tax laid upon the rich to fund green technologies. Perhaps you think the Federal Reserve should be abolished or that all Democrats (or Republicans) in congress should be killed -- things might be bad enough that extreme measures are necessary for improvement to be realized. Maybe Mormonism should be the official state religion.

You are not only free to state plainly what you'd like to see changed, but outline exactly how the change should happen to whatever detail you wish. You can state how you would like people to think. For instance, you can insist that everyone should believe in the Limited Geography Theory or believe that there is a world oil crisis. You, of course, don't have to state opinions about how others should think because perhaps you don't think it is your place to do so, it's all up to you. You can state your preference that the US government fund a bigger supercollider than the LHC and the beings will take you seriously, however, they'll ignore comments suggesting people should have higher intelligence or there should be more uranium in the ground.

After extracting your very last opinion regarding how the world should change, the beings present you with a button. If you push the button, then all your ideas will be implemented exactly as you had envisioned. If your ideas make the world 50% better than it would have been, then your reward is pretty much whatever you wish. You can become king of the world, go back to your normal life, or be immortalized and live in a paradise on another world -- pretty much whatever you want. If you make the world less than 50% better or up to 50% worse, then you are simply sent back in time to when the changes were put in place, your memory wiped, and you get to live in what you created. If you totally screwed up and made things more than 50% worse overall, you are tortured, and then sent back in time to when your changes begin to live in the very worst place you created.

So, would you push the button? Or rather, how seriously do you take your own opinions?

Can I set up a set of conditionals for actions so that we try this and if that then we try the other and so on--a sort of tree diagram or flow chart of actions based on outcomes?


By the way, your avatar is no longer showing. There is thread about this in case you can still see it from your own computer. Trust me, it isn't there.

[_Analytics]

So, would you push the button? Or rather, how seriously do you take your own opinions?

Interesting question. I'd be tempted to make the following changes:

1- I'd make everybody put a really high value on exercise.

2- I'd make everybody put a really high value on eating healthy, quality food.

3- I'd make everybody some variant of a humanist.

4- I'd make everybody industrious, creative, skeptical, and hungry for knowledge and education.

5- I'd make social interaction in the form of getting together with your friends after work to be an important community ritual.

With a few changes like that, I'd be quite tempted to push the button.

[_sock puppet]

So, would you push the button? Or rather, how seriously do you take your own opinions?

Interesting question. I'd be tempted to make the following changes:

1- I'd make everybody put a really high value on exercise.

2- I'd make everybody put a really high value on eating healthy, quality food.

3- I'd make everybody some variant of a humanist.

4- I'd make everybody industrious, creative, skeptical, and hungry for knowledge and education.

5- I'd make social interaction in the form of getting together with your friends after work to be an important community ritual.

With a few changes like that, I'd be quite tempted to push the button.

Is that how you'd create worlds if you are exalted as a god in the CK?

[_Analytics]

Interesting question. I'd be tempted to make the following changes:

1- I'd make everybody put a really high value on exercise.

2- I'd make everybody put a really high value on eating healthy, quality food.

3- I'd make everybody some variant of a humanist.

4- I'd make everybody industrious, creative, skeptical, and hungry for knowledge and education.

5- I'd make social interaction in the form of getting together with your friends after work to be an important community ritual.

With a few changes like that, I'd be quite tempted to push the button.

Is that how you'd create worlds if you are exalted as a god in the CK?

How I would do it, or how I will do it?

Seriously, all I'm saying is that I'm pretty confident that these changes wouldn't make the world 50% worse, and have a good shot at making at least 50% better.

[_asbestosman]

If your ideas make the world 50% better than it would have been, then your reward is pretty much whatever you wish. You can become king of the world, go back to your normal life, or be immortalized and live in a paradise on another world -- pretty much whatever you want. If you make the world less than 50% better or up to 50% worse, then you are simply sent back in time to when the changes were put in place, your memory wiped, and you get to live in what you created. If you totally screwed up and made things more than 50% worse overall, you are tortured, and then sent back in time to when your changes begin to live in the very worst place you created.

Under what criteria do we get to judge whether my ideas make the world better or worse? Is it something where everyone else has to vote? If so, I suggest that everyone think that my ideas are wonderful and always make the world a better place. Problem solved.

[_ludwigm]

So, would you push the button?

Yes, I would. I think I would. I hope I would.

In most cases, I've pushed the button.

Why most and not all? You know, the army is not the place for personal opinions.
I was persecuted - many times. "Persecution" is a relative word. Sometimes it means only the lost gratuity at the next red-letter-day.

I had only one excuse, and it has saved me. I was the numero uno expert of radar maintenance in the Hungarian army - reached that level before 30.

The ~150 radar technician and engineer, the 4-500 operator I've taught all liked me. My leaders - well, they have not always liked me...

I would push all that buttons again.

The other one to save the world? I hope I would.

[_Gadianton]

Can I set up a set of conditionals for actions so that we try this and if that then we try the other and so on--

lol. no, can't do that.

And yeah, i know my av is missing. I'll have to work on that. thanks.

[_Quasimodo]

So, would you push the button? Or rather, how seriously do you take your own opinions?

First of all, if I was being kept in the best of quarters and being fed the best of food, I might delay answering questions for as long as possible. I think I may have a few thousand questions to ask the aliens first.

Second, I've been proven wrong just enough (although this almost never happens ;) ) to be very insecure about pushing the button. I might give it a pass.