this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023

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Just before death you are granted one truthful, understandable answer to one question. What would you want to know? (mander.xyz)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by Mothra@mander.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Obviously a hypothetical scenario. There is no way to pass on the knowledge to anyone else. Time freezes for you only, and once you have your answer you are out of this world.

The question can allow you to see into the past, present and future and gain comprehension of any topic/issue. But it's only one question.

Edit: the point isn't "how to cheat death". You can't. Your body is frozen and there is nothing you can do with this knowledge other than knowing it, and die. So if you would rather be frozen in a limbo just thinking of numbers for eternity, be my guest.

Such a variety of replies, it's been really interesting to read them!

What would you want to know? Personally I'd want to see a timelapse or milestone glimpses of humanity's future until the end of Earth's existence (if we survive that long)

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[–] FoundTheVegan@kbin.social 42 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

What was life like for ever human that has ever existed? I'd like to see every single day start to finish from their perspective, sorted as randomly as possible.

The worst part of traditional immortality is being stuck as you, I'd like to experience the entire library and range of human experinces. It would eventually know how it started and how it all ended, while seeing every perspective that got us there. They'd be a lot of days toiling in a field, a lot of days in office cubicles toiling in excel, but most importantly I'd see the small victories and tragedies that make up every life. I think that'd be the real beauty.

[–] Lumun@lemmy.zip 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

For folks who haven't read it before: Andy Weir's 'The Egg'

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[–] A1kmm@lemmy.amxl.com 26 points 9 months ago (5 children)

I'd pick an irrational number, say pi, and ask for every decimal digit of it. Then, I have infinite time to walk around the world in explore mode (i.e. I can't die, and hence don't need to eat etc..., and am effectively an infinite energy source, and can interact with objects) while time is frozen. This effectively makes me a god, but only for one point in time, with the ability to create a discontinuity in the world state at that point. I'd travel around the whole world (even if it involved swimming oceans) and try to make it so that the infinite sum of each action I take while the world is frozen converges on a world that is in a much better state infinitesimally after the moment compared to infinitesimally before.

[–] little_water_bear@discuss.tchncs.de 33 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

But if you actually had infinite time, then that would mean that the world for all intents and purposes has ended. It would never continue, ever. No matter what you do, it would have absolutely no impact at all.

Furthermore, I imagine if you actually had to wait infinitely long for the answer to finish, that would be like hell. There is only so much you can look at in a frozen world, assuming you would even be able to move at all. I can hardly imagine any happiness after some billions and trillions of years of no new stimuli in a frozen world.

[–] viking@infosec.pub 13 points 9 months ago

That's how you trigger a blue screen.

[–] 4L3moNemo@programming.dev 5 points 9 months ago

And in a moment you'll learn, that at your scale, for the practical purposes, the universe rounds pi to n numbers. E.g. ~3.1416. Check & mate.

[–] jackpot@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 months ago

it would be like a detective game, figuring out intent between non-verbal, static people and deciding what is the right course of action

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[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 24 points 9 months ago

Was I ever a good impact on someone else's life?

Simple and sweet. Let's you go to the next thing either with your head held high or knowing for sure if you just lived and died.

[–] PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com 20 points 9 months ago (5 children)

What was the point?

[–] LanternEverywhere@kbin.social 25 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

To quote King Missile, "there are no points"

There is no point to life
There is no point to death
There is no point in continuing our meetings
There is no point in not continuing our meetings

There is no point in going out
There is no point in staying in
No point in gaining weight
And no point in staying trim

There is no point in answering the phone or opening the mail
There is no point in getting drunk or doing drugs
And there is no point in staying sober

There is no point in needing someone
And no point in being alone
There is no point in doing nothing
And no point in not doing nothing

These are all good points, yet none of them lead anywhere
None of them are points at all
There are no points
There is no point

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 12 points 9 months ago

Welcome to existence, where everything is made up and the points don't matter.

[–] averyminya 2 points 9 months ago

To quote Harry Nilsson,

Finally, the two travelers reached what Appeared to be the entrance to the Pointless Forest.

There was a huge stony barrier with A small sign at its base which read " THIS WAY".

Once on the other side of the barrier, Oblio and Arrow had their first encounter with the Pointless Man or the Pointed Man depending upon your point of view.

You see, the Pointless Man did have a point.

In fact, he had hundreds of them, All pointing in different directions.

But as he so quickly pointed out A point in Every direction is the same as no point at all.

And, speaking of points, I don't know if you've ever been to a Pointless Forest but a forest Is a forest and one of the first things Oblio and Arrow noticed about The Pointless Forest was that all the leaves on All the trees had points and all the trees had points.

In fact, even the branches of all the trees pointed in different Directions, which seemed a little strange for a Pointless Forest.

And when the Pointed Man disappeared Oblio and Arrow were left Standing alone wondering what to do next when suddenly, They were aware of a strange sound coming in from the north.

And when they looked up there was a Giant swarm of bees headed straight for them.

So, to seek cover they jumped inside a hollow log. But when the bees attacked the log was jarred loose and it tumbled Down a steep hill and careened and crashed Finally into the base of a most unusual rock pile...

In fact, the Rock Man.

And the Rock Man said, " Say, what's happening with you boys? It looks like you're pretty shook up, been goofing with the bees"?

And Oblio told the Rock Man that they were banished and Asked him whether or not this was the Pointless Forest.

And the Rock Man said, " Say, baby, there's nothing pointless about this gig. The thing is you see what you want to see And you hear what you want to hear - dig. Did you ever see Paris?" - Oblio said, " No". " Did you ever see New Dehli?" Oblio said " No". Well that's it - you see what you want to see and you hear what you Want to hear", said the Rock Man and with that the Rock Man Fell soundly asleep leaving Oblio and Arrow once again all alone.

So they continued on through the Pointless Forest until suddenly, Arrow, who had been running a few yards ahead of Oblio, disappeared into a hole, the point of no return.

[–] refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 9 months ago

There can't be a point unless you make one.

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[–] butsbutts@lemmy.ml 16 points 9 months ago (2 children)

is p != np

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[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

By what mechanism did the universe come to be, or if it simply always existed, why does it exist in this particular way with these particular laws?

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[–] not_amm 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

"Can I see the moments when I made other people feel good/better?" or to know what people i helped and how

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[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 13 points 9 months ago

Why do hotdogs come in packs of ten while hotdog buns come in packs of six?

[–] mub@lemmy.ml 10 points 9 months ago

Given that God is infinite, and that the universe is also infinite, would you like a toasted tea-cake?

[–] Piers 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

This kinda just feels like "what single question would you ask ChatGPT if it was omniscient" so my mind is just getting lost in the arcane and complex structuring and restructuring of the question to get the answer you want rather than one that literally answers the exact question you asked.

Assuming though that you actually do just get the answer to the intent and spirit of your question the only rational one I can think of would have to be some variation of:

"What answer could you give me that would offer me the most peace, contentment and sense of resolution to my life?"

Otherwise I'd spend an eternity (or however long I'd have to consider my question) pondering how to ask that question without getting an accurate and correct response like:

"A really good one."

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 4 points 9 months ago

"What answer could you give me that would offer me the most peace, contentment and sense of resolution to my life?"

Also the concept that this is like asking ChatGPT really shows that the techno-futurists are winning with their idea of building a their own god of wires and processors that they can use to give the world answers in the place of a god that only lives in the heads of its believers. That's a dark future where someone can program god to have specific answers to questions.

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[–] Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 9 points 9 months ago

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

[–] sudoshakes@reddthat.com 8 points 9 months ago (3 children)

What is the diagnosis and cure for the disease that has ravaged me for the last 13 years?

Thanks.

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[–] mr_satan@monyet.cc 8 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Assuming other implications (existence of an afterlife and God) with this scenario I would have but one question. Why? Why everything? Honestly I would be mad furious if there was an afterlife. More so if there was a God.

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[–] Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I would want to know if I could have accomplished anything different that I did. Could I have been a super successful NFL quarterback? Could I have been a lawyer? Could I have been president of the United States? Could I have been a rockstar or a movie star? Could I have been a bodybuilder? Could I have been a New York times best-selling novelist? I would like to know all the possibilities of what I might have been. I would like to see them lived out, what it looked like, what steps were taken, what decisions were made. Given the limited raw intelligence I had, the genetic potential of my physical body, what was the most I could have done with it?

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[–] boatswain@infosec.pub 7 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Starting right now, how can I preserve my personal conscious existence until I'm ready to no longer exist?

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 3 points 9 months ago

If you're not mentally ready to go this is hands down the best question

[–] Perfide@reddthat.com 3 points 9 months ago

"You can't. You had literally all of eternity to ask your final question, you could've used some of that time to come to terms with your death, but instead you immediately used up your question(and your remaining time) trying to cheat death. Goodbye"

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[–] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 7 points 9 months ago

What's really the meaning of life - like are we really just a cosmic roll of the dice going through an at most ambivalent universe?

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 months ago

What caused the bronze age collapse and are we socially overdue for a similar one?

[–] rho50@lemmy.nz 6 points 9 months ago

“Why?”

[–] Linnce@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 months ago

Nah, I'm good

[–] ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How does priority work in MtG?

In actuality though I'd probably kick up a reincarnation loop by asking for the full experience of every living and inanimate thing the universe has to hold, starting with everyone/everything I ever interacted with and branching exponentially from there.

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[–] Poggervania@kbin.social 5 points 9 months ago

Who is your daddy, and what does he do?

[–] Dumbkid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 9 months ago

What are the 23 flavours in Dr. Pepper?

[–] TheLobotomist@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 9 months ago

Is the Standard Model correct or is there a single fundamental particle/string/anything that we haven't discovered yet?

[–] kowcop@aussie.zone 4 points 9 months ago

How much lost money have I walked past in my life and not noticed.. can also include gold.

[–] Gabu@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Will our efforts in philosophy ever lead to a non-circular answer to the worth of life? I.e. will mankind ever create or find its purpose?

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[–] wabafee@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago

I would probably ask the question to whoever give this option to me. Probably something like "Tell me about yourself in the most detailed way".

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 3 points 9 months ago

"What's next?"

[–] carnimoss@lemmings.world 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

What happened to the other species of humans? Would they like metal? The first question can be ignored if both are not allowed

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[–] MargotRobbie@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago

After I'm gone, how would everyone I've loved remember me?

[–] NAM@lemmy.ml 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

What was the single thing I did that had the last direct impact on myself, that had the greatest lasting impact on anyone else?

Things like spending the extra time one day making a cup of coffee made it so this specific person was stuck behind my slow-ass speed limit driving, averting what would've been a multi-car pileup or some shit like that.

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[–] Saigonauticon@voltage.vn 3 points 9 months ago

I feel like it would probably be something about Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem. That thing is really annoying.

Although I feel I might get stuck in a recursive answer if I ask the wrong thing. So maybe I would ask something about a loved one, that I already know the answer to.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 3 points 9 months ago

When I die my first question to the Devil will be: What is the meaning of the fine structure constant?

— Wolfgang Pauli

[–] blargerer@kbin.social 2 points 9 months ago

https://youtu.be/qjtQSMe0VeI

[–] Lolman228@kbin.social 2 points 9 months ago

Do it squirt?

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago

I would rather have one wish granted and live just long enough to see it happen.

[–] Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Over or under?

[–] ulkesh 3 points 9 months ago

The meaningful questions…

And over is the correct answer, of course.

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