The ULTIMATE decision..

[r2d2651]

This is an amazingly hard decision.. I was on the throne the other day and thinking about lucid dreams (As I do every day at least 20 times a day... No joke..). Anyway.. The question.. Continue your life as it is now OR... Let's say you have seven(7) days in the real world.. And then.. You fall asleep into an endless and stable lucid dream for the rest of your natural life.. No food or air or anything needed. You would just continue living as long as you would have normally if you HAD been eating, breathing etc... So... If you happen to choose #2 please tell me what you would do during those 7 days... And even if you choose #1 tell me what you would do anyway..

[r2d2651]

I, personally would choose #1 but... If I had to choose #2... I would spend the first 2 of days telling my family how much I love them.. (2 Days) I would then go to my girlfriends house and tell her how much I love her and request that we make love. (2 days) I would then spend about half a day indulging in Roman-esque feasting. (This includes vomiting to eat more) Then the other half I would start typing a biography (1 day) I would then spend the 6th day finishing my biography (Note: it would be pretty dang short) so then I would talk to my friends, family and girlfriend again... I would spend the last day in church..

[ultimatedood]

oh man. my life pisses me off, might choose #2

[Fonzythedog]

1#, no question. I'd rather face waking life's ups and downs, than a false dream world. I won't lie, my life friggin sucks at the minute, and it will take me years to make some sort of future out of the mess I'm in. But anyway, since I'd be lucid all the time I would become lonely, since every person I meet wouldn't be 'real'. They'll just be another DC AKA a part of myself. Sure I could make them SEEM real, but I would always know it isn't true. I'd miss all of my friends and family in real life too. Life can suck, but you just have to soldier on. Jumping into a false dream world and pretending to be God won't fix things. You'd be forever plagued by the fact that you decided to give in, and throw away your life. EDIT - If I did choose 2, I'd spend the week with my friends and family. Boring I know, but there's nothing else I can really do. I'd also probably take as many guitar lessons as I could, so I could carry on practicing in the lucid dream.

[SystemsLock]

I'm really glad you brought this up! I think very often about the same question. It comes down to the philosophical concept of blissful ignorance. It can be extrapolated far past lucid dreaming and down to human nature itself. I know I may be wind up alone in this but I would choose option #2. I know it sounds selfish but our brains are wired that way. I understand your argument Fonzythedog but lets just ignore the moral argument for a moment. You wouldn't miss anyone because you won't remember them and if you did it wouldn't matter because you could make yourself forget. You'd be happy, all the time, every time. You could create a would around you as real as you want it to be. Choosing to be blissfully ignorant doesn't have repercussions in a world without consequences (such as lucid dreaming). In such a perfect world there is no "grand balance", nothing is "missing" from your life. Your brain would correct any inconsistencies the second you noticed them. You would be happy by definition! happiness is happiness, friends and family are only a means to that end.

[Mzzkc]

I'd definitely choose #2, for entirely selfish reasons. Dealing with society and the "real world" annoys me. I wouldn't miss that aspect of life in the slightest. However, in those 7 days, I'd say goodbye to loved ones, play a crap-ton of video games, listen to music non-stop, and finish up my to-read list. Those are things I'll definitely miss, for awhile anyways.

[Fonzythedog]

@Systems, I'm not sure I'm following you. It says nothing about forgetting about the real word. The very definition of being Lucid is being aware that it's JUST A DREAM. You see what I mean? He's on about constant lucidity, which means you would always be aware that it's just a dream. As for making yourself forget things... try that in real life. Ever tried to forget about a girl? Notice that the more you try to forget her, the more she stays in your thoughts. We can't make ourselves forget things, it's something that happens naturally and is uncontrollable. I know I'm alone in this argument. 99% of people would ditch their lives for a dream world, but that's just giving in... Life isn't about that...

[Samael]

#1. As annoying as some people can be, my world wouldn't be nearly as interesting without them. If I had to take option 2, I would empty my bank account, take the next flight off the continent, and backpack across Asia. Dunno what would happen to my body after that, but I figure it would be worth it.

[Maria92]

#1. As much as life can sometimes suck, it has real women and a crapload of stuff I can't dream up...like music, movies, books, games, and so on. I'm not creative enough to keep myself entertained for another 80 years. But if hit with some sort of nerve gas that would force #2 upon me...I'd spend a lot of time shagging, eating to the point of sickness, and chilling with my family. Then I would slip into the dream with my last words being "farewell, cruel world!"

[SystemsLock]

@Systems, I'm not sure I'm following you. It says nothing about forgetting about the real word. The very definition of being Lucid is being aware that it's JUST A DREAM. You see what I mean? He's on about constant lucidity, which means you would always be aware that it's just a dream. As for making yourself forget things... try that in real life. Ever tried to forget about a girl? Notice that the more you try to forget her, the more she stays in your thoughts. We can't make ourselves forget things, it's something that happens naturally and is uncontrollable. I know I'm alone in this argument. 99% of people would ditch their lives for a dream world, but that's just giving in... Life isn't about that... Okay, I suppose I wasn't necessarily pertaining to lucid dreaming. But generally in the "sad truth" vs. "blissful ignorance" argument you are unaware of the choice you have made. Which is sorta the point. Here is the same question in a different context. Suppose I were to offer you a million dollars to kill someone whom you do not know but I would wipe your memory afterward, would you take the deal? I know we would all like to think we wouldn't, but can you in all honesty do so? It's an interesting question and one I feel society as a whole needs to think more about.

[Samael]

I'd be more freaked out by the idea of having my memory erased than the idea of killing someone. Priorities, right?

[Mzzkc]

Hell, I'd have serious issues with both. Having your memories frakked with is essentially the same thing as being murdered in my book.

[Fonzythedog]

Well that's an entirely different situation you have there, but still I wouldn't do it. My actions would still have meaning and consequence, even if I couldn't remember what I had done. Plus money is fickle and human life is priceless. I wouldn't do it out of principle.

[Hukif]

1 without a doubt, dreams and waking are both important, and thus each should have its time.

[AndresLD]

If someone had asked me this question 7 months ago, I would definitely have chosen option #2. But now I would choose option #1. If I had to choose #2, I would spend 1 day with my family, and the other 6 days with my girlfriend.

[llaamaface]

I don't know how to answer this question. Admittedly, my life does actually really suck right now. I have considered...options, but always decided not to choose the cowards way out, suck it up, survive. The problem with #2 is that you are lucid. You know you're dreaming, that everything around you is a fantasy your own mind has fabricated. For me, I think that'd be depressing. I mean, I love lucid dreaming-- it's an mind blowing, phenomena of escape and meditation. But if you're living in a dream, you're only living for a dream. It'd be a fantasy life, but just that; a fantasy. Nothing in it would be real for the rest of your life. Tough one, good topic though.

[Ashouren]

#2 Trip my ass off while high on acid for the whole week.

[exdreamer]

I'd choose #1 for many of the reasons already stated. I wouldn't want to be trapped in my own head forever with only myself for company -- even if it was in the guise of other characters it would still be limited by my own mind. However if I did have to do it... I'd just spend the time with my loved ones? I really can't see how doing anything else would be worthwhile to me.

[ReachingForTheDream]

I would choose #1 unless people could prove to me 100% that dream sharing is real... and yes I do believe it's possible but I wouldn't want to be mistaken and then be alone forever.

[SystemsLock]

Well that's an entirely different situation you have there, but still I wouldn't do it. My actions would still have meaning and consequence, even if I couldn't remember what I had done. Plus money is fickle and human life is priceless. I wouldn't do it out of principle. Yes they are different situations but they follow the same philosophical argument. While your actions do have meaning and consequences they don't to you. Gilt is a natural human emotion and has it roots deep in evolution. The memory wipe is merely a way of removing the burden of that gilt and thus freeing yourself from all foreseeable repercussions. Your essentially valuing your own happiness to that of others. Consciously or not we make these kinds of decisions every day.

[Samael]

It's not a philosophical argument that works well for amnesiaphobics, though.

[SystemsLock]

One word: Arachibutyrophobia.

[Samael]

Is there a phobia of random tangents?

[Oreo]

Okay, I suppose I wasn't necessarily pertaining to lucid dreaming. But generally in the "sad truth" vs. "blissful ignorance" argument you are unaware of the choice you have made. Which is sorta the point. Here is the same question in a different context. Suppose I were to offer you a million dollars to kill someone whom you do not know but I would wipe your memory afterward, would you take the deal? I know we would all like to think we wouldn't, but can you in all honesty do so? It's an interesting question and one I feel society as a whole needs to think more about. I'm not sure which option I would pick, but I have an idea of what I would do if System offered me a million dollars to kill someone. I would probably kill you and take the money. >.<

[Samael]

Seriously, though. In the interest of philosophical integrity (if there is such a thing), we would have to alter the context once again. In the original question, there are two options: take the money, kill a stranger, and get your memory wiped, or don't. If your subject takes the money, then you can be assured that they value their own happiness more than the happiness of others. If, however, your subject does not take the money, you can't be assured of their altruism. The subject may just be motivated by the desire not to have their mind fucked with. So, the question becomes, how can you alter the context to remove this error?