What do you think would happend if alone for 3 years

**changed** · 01-12-2011 04:46 AM

I just finished reading I Am Legend by Richard Matheson for the second time. In the book he goes without any social interaction for three years. So, I was curious to know what you think the effects of living without any type of social interaction for 3 years would be. No dogs, no cats, no people, just nothing. Then you just randomly find another person.

**Maria92** · 01-12-2011 04:59 AM

Well, at the end of three years, I think me and Wilson would be quite unchanged, really. Isn't that right, Wilson?

**StonedApe** · 01-12-2011 07:45 AM

Is that the original wilson mario?

It depends on the situation, I'm guessing the book is in a post-apocalyptic setting. If that was the case I think my mind would become completely concerned with my own self and my own survival. In some ways it would be freeing, but at the same time it'd be difficult. It's strange to think that this is sort of an extreme extension of the individualistic philosophy I endorse. It would be a very animal like existence, mainly concerned with basic needs like food and shelter. My first thought was that I'd have lots of time to read and play guitar, but I'd probably lose interest in these things, although matybe not, it depends on how harsh the conditions are.

Then to run into another person would be incredible. Either the social drives would have worn away and I might even be hostile to them, or the need for human contact might be extreme and I'd immedietly befriend them.

When I first read the title I thought about what it'd be like to live somewhere in society but cut off from people, finding forester style. I think if I was in a situation like that I'd probably go crazy and be completely unable to rrelate to people if I ever did try to go back into society.

**changed** · 01-12-2011 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Mario92

Well, at the end of three years, I think me and Wilson would be quite unchanged, really. Isn't that right, Wilson?

**nina** · 01-12-2011 02:13 PM

I don't think 3 years is a very long time at all. Some people need social interaction and I guess they'd have more difficulty with it. Personally I would LOVE to spend 3 years entirely alone. Although, pets would be nice. In I Am Legend, he had a dog at least. What better friend does he need? Animals > people.

**changed** · 01-12-2011 04:25 PM

In the book he finds a dog and it dies in a week, then he spends another 2 years alone. If your going by the movie, he has a dog the whole time until it dies shortly before he dies himself.

**StonedApe** · 01-12-2011 07:31 PM

I take this is a damn good book since you read it twice, how long is it?

**Dannon Oneironaut** · 01-12-2011 08:08 PM

I am planning on going 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days soon. I am going to live in a yurt in Arizona. I am going to have someone leave food and supplies in a box for me outside my place so I won't see them. I just need to find the right person I can trust. I said "soon" but probably it will be in ten years from now.

**spockman** · 01-12-2011 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by stonedape

I take this is a damn good book since you read it twice, how long is it?

Fairly short. I read it on a plane ride.

**changed** · 01-12-2011 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by stonedape

I take this is a damn good book since you read it twice, how long is it?

It's not that long of a book, about 160 pages. Although I like the setting and the story, the ending kind of pisses me off a bit. The book feels very first person even though it is a third person book. You hear the Protaganists thoughts since he doesn't talk to himself. So the book has very little, actual dialogue.

**Raspberry** · 01-12-2011 09:14 PM

Hmmm 3 years... Well I am the type of person who very much enjoys being by themselves. I used to love the time when I got in from school before my dad came home and I had about an hour to myself. I would sing reeeaaally loudly. But unfortunatly that changed and now I savour the times I have the house to myself.

But three years? I dunno... I guess I could. I'm not a lonely sort of person, I don't remember feeling lonely before. If it was just normal life but without people I would be very happy. But if it were a apocolyptic setting i'd be terrified. Once in the summer me and some friends paired off to play hidey (basically teenage hide and seek but in bushes and flats and garages. Not a nice area but fun to run around in) and I got really serious about it. I felt like I was being hunted down and if I was caught I'd be shot or something.

So me and a friend paired up but one round she got caught and I was left on my own. I was genuinly terrified! There was no one to watch my back or check around corners. It was only ten minutes myself but I ended up dragging myself into a bush and then crouching for about ten minutes. Lets just say I could barely walk afterwards. Very fun times

**spockman** · 01-12-2011 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by bradysdreaming

It's not that long of a book, about 160 pages. Although I like the setting and the story, the ending kind of pisses me off a bit. The book feels very first person even though it is a third person book. You hear the Protaganists thoughts since he doesn't talk to himself. So the book has very little, actual dialogue.

Its like 1984. The ending pisses you off, sure, but the theme would be totally different without such a craptastic ending.

**Alric** · 01-12-2011 10:31 PM

It probably depends on where you are, and if you have something to do. Being alone for long periods of time with nothing to do, is horrible. If you have a lot of stuff to keep you busy, it may not be so bad.

**greenhavoc** · 01-13-2011 01:44 AM

I think after 3 years I wouldn't care.

**Abra** · 01-13-2011 11:23 PM

If I was in a post-apocalyptic setting... I'd scan radios, every day, and stay at home. I'd hoard batteries and loot bicycle stores, get a generator. Free any pets I come across. Weeks pass. Then I'd leave, traveling through population centers, forming a plan to which I'll dedicate the rest of my life: ensuring the survival of our civilization's remnants. My goals would be long-term preservation of important documents and technologies, and ease of translation. My thoughts would eventually wander toward a third objective: to leave a memoir for Human Earth. I would leave warnings.

**Taosaur** · 01-15-2011 01:53 AM

The 3:3:3 retreat Dannon mentioned is a standard preliminary for any intermediate Vajrayana Buddhist practice. It typically takes place at a retreat center and there will be some interaction with a single guru (I forget how often, but not often).

If I were left to my own devices for three years, assuming no electronic media and limited access to books, I would probably meditate a fair amount, establish a survival routine, and almost certainly get involved in elaborate art and engineering projects, assuming survival didn't require a huge proportion of my time.

**Dannon Oneironaut** · 01-15-2011 02:01 AM

I would meditate a lot, and also do some art projects. Maybe a huge mural. Maybe a sculpture. Maybe a bunch of things.

**AirRick101** · 01-15-2011 06:16 AM

Originally Posted by Dannon Oneironaut

I would meditate a lot, and also do some art projects. Maybe a huge mural. Maybe a sculpture. Maybe a bunch of things.

sounds just like sean connery's character in "finding forrester." first thing that came to mind, I swear.

**StonedApe** · 01-15-2011 07:43 AM

3 years is a long time, I don't know if I could do it. I think after I graduate I'm gonna spend the winter up at my parents cottage since no ones there during the winter, less than 100 people in the town. I wanna practice guitar 8 hours a day and make some solo recordings. And do a lot of meditation and dreaming.