# Can you defeat the evil genie? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903 "2022-12-21T14:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/121 "2022-12-21T23:25:33Z")
Don’t you believe I deserve wisdom if I ask for it? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/122 "2022-12-21T23:26:12Z")
Not my call, it’s the genie’s call at that point! My hands are clean! ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/123 "2022-12-21T23:27:13Z")
At least you don’t need to wash them. Good. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/124 "2022-12-21T23:28:01Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I would go with the only part of the Old Testament that I ever found convincing: “I want wisdom.” Some people argue that we need illusions to function. Absolute wisdom might be realizing that life is meaningless and there is no point to existing. It’s a lack of wisdom that allows us to feel that we have a reason for living. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/125 "2022-12-21T23:29:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > That effectively gives you more wishes though and so won’t work according to the parameters of the OP. No, it gives the power to grant others wishes, not to give himself more. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/126 "2022-12-21T23:30:04Z")
But absolute wisdom would also allow me to accept that fact with the necessary equanimity and balance of mind. Ah, well… Better that to keep on living a lie, innit? ETA: BTW I have the feeling that your assumtion is right. Better be sure, though. And I don’t need a reason for living, I _am_ already alive. I need a reason for not dying. Or for dying with peace of mind, if that is the best I can do. If anything else is an illusion then so be it. Sorry for you all that don’t realize that yet. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/127 "2022-12-22T00:18:07Z")
So, would asking that Ye be circumcised be in violation of any of the rules? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/128 "2022-12-22T00:25:15Z")
What if I wish that the only change is that the genie is good instead of evil from now on? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/129 "2022-12-22T02:27:14Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Can the genie add on unasked for things that are not inherent in your wish just to spoil them? The wisher didn’t specify how the money had to be submitted. Remember, the Genie is EVIL. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/130 "2022-12-22T02:29:44Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I wish that, with no other changes to the universe, no being ever acts out of malice, cruelty, or sadism again. The entire universe freezes in place. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/131 "2022-12-22T02:34:48Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > “I wish for a turkey sandwich on rye bread with lettuce and mustard. And I don’t want any zombie turkeys and I don’t want any other weird surprises. Got it!?” You get one thin slice of turkey on stale bread topped by 50 thousand pounds of rancid lettuce, garnished with one swipe of grey poupon. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/132 "2022-12-22T02:37:47Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > Since the genie didn’t specify that I couldn’t ask for powers, I would just ask for omnipotentcy. So I can just undo any mistakes I make anyway. Superboy granted a similar wish to an arrogant rich boy. He flew him back in time to where he was the only boy on Earth. You’re definitely omnipotent when you’re the only member of your species. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/133 "2022-12-22T02:52:22Z")
There’s probably a better structure for a gambling based strategy, but this request seems foolproof (said the notable fool): _“The next ten roulette spins I wager on will land on black. You will take no other actions that will affect my life directly or indirectly.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/134 "2022-12-22T02:52:44Z")
Freezing the universe _is_ a change to the universe. But if the genie does that anyway, it goes down with the ship, so booyah, genie. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/135 "2022-12-22T02:53:58Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Let’s see–if I’m in a good mood when I meet the genie, “I wish that no human child can be conceived without the clear intention of conception of both parents and both parents must orgasm to make it happen.” Considering the number of people who secretly have reservations about having kids, the number of men who are really bad at making women orgasm, and the number of women who fake orgasm so as to not make the men feel bad, the average human birthrate falls far below that needed to make up for annual deaths, and the human population gradually dwindles towards zero. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/136 "2022-12-22T02:54:38Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > “The next ten roulette spins I wager on will land on black. You will take no other actions that will affect my life directly or indirectly.” That’s two wishes! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/137 "2022-12-22T03:40:37Z")
Yup! And this is me in a GOOD mood–welcome to the inside of MY head! 😃 I mean, people could bring the birth rate up but they’re gonna have to work at it and actually learn how to communicate well enough to be good coparents and if they can’t manage that then the human race bloody well deserves to die out. Huh, maybe I should apply for that genie gig. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/138 "2022-12-22T04:05:42Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > maybe I should apply for that genie gig. I think, strictly speaking, ginn are not human and do not even have real, material bodies as such, so you could not become a genie yourself. However, should you acquire miraculous powers the old fashioned way, through hard work, surely you could find a better gig than being enslaved to an old lamp for centuries. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/139 "2022-12-22T04:19:38Z")
Then again, to an incorporeal being, why would the inside of a finite space be an issue? Become the size of an atom and the inside of the lamp would be an entire world that could be decorated any way I like. Sounds pretty good, a whole world but no rent lol. I could have as many tiny animals in there as I liked and I’d magic up a good internet connection. Seems to me that OG djinni just have a problem with being told what to do. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903/140 "2022-12-22T04:34:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Freezing the universe _is_ a change to the universe. As far as all the inhabitants of the universe are concerned, there was no change, because everything is still the same as it was when the wish was made and will never change. Evil genie cares nothing for harming himself, so long as the wisher is thwarted. Not only that, but the entire universe can blame the wisher for freezing them in place for all eternity, if they were aware that it happened. Evil genie might make it so just for a further FU. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-defeat-the-evil-genie/976903.md?page=8)