# Chose your own afterlife **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487 "2012-01-05T09:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/1 "2012-01-05T09:37:15Z")
Poll to follow. You die and to your surprise things don’t go like you thought they would. Instead of nothingness or judgement or whatever you’re standing with someone who gives you the following options. [ol] [li]Oblivion. Your soul will be erased and that’s that.[/li][li]Eternal paradise. You will be in a world you can control, or make random, or whatever. And if it starts getting dull you can change it.[/li][li]Reincarnation. You can chose gender, skin color, nationality, and whether you get born to a poor, middle class, or wealthy family.[/li][li]Nirvana (the Hindu or Buddhist version, not the band.):D[/li][/ol] What would you chose? I would chose #2. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Enn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dave_enn/32/426_2.png) [@Dave\_Enn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Enn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/2 "2012-01-05T12:11:37Z")
No “Other” category? I would like to look forward to becoming a Guardian Angel to some people, and a haunt to some others. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/3 "2012-01-05T12:16:03Z")
Although I would prefer _Morrowind_, I chose Oblivion :D. All I ask of my afterlife is unconsciousness. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/4 "2012-01-05T12:21:32Z")
1. And when I get bored, I can go to one of the other options for a bit and then come back to 2 again. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/5 "2012-01-05T12:30:21Z")
Paradise. I don’t want oblivion if there’s a reasonable option, nirvana (at least as I’ve heard it described) has never interested me, and as I’ve [mentioned before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511458) I regard reincarnation as just oblivion by another name. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/6 "2012-01-05T13:33:03Z")
What, no Valhalla? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/7 "2012-01-05T14:22:55Z")
Of course paradise, under your rules. Who wouldn’t? But I don’t want to be praising God or some such thing for eternity, that sounds icky and boring. I’d want to have a great afterlife. Oh, and FYI, it’s _moksha_ for the Hindus. Just doing my part. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/8 "2012-01-05T14:46:12Z")
Reincarnation – but I’ll take my chances! S/b interesting, considering the life I’ve lived so far … ---
**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:** [January 5, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/9 "2012-01-05T15:23:42Z")
Does reincarnation include complete memories of previous lives? ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/10 "2012-01-05T15:50:31Z")
Under these options I think most will go for paradise, but the really most would want something else. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/11 "2012-01-05T16:08:26Z")
I chose wandering through time and space. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/12 "2012-01-05T16:10:46Z")
Oblivion - it’s the only choice for me. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/13 "2012-01-05T16:11:26Z")
CAKE OR DEATH? Oh, I’ll have some cake, please. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/14 "2012-01-05T16:22:31Z")
Simply because I just replied in a “Wizard of Id” thread and that was on my mind, this issue reminds me of my all-time WOI strip: Spook is being held by two guards in the corridor of some prison and is told, “Spook, behind one of these doors is a beautiful young maiden and behind the other is a starving tiger that hasn’t eaten in two weeks. Which door do you take?” Spook says, “I’ll take the one with the maiden.” ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/15 "2012-01-05T16:33:37Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > Oblivion - it’s the only choice for me. Ditto… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/16 "2012-01-05T16:50:49Z")
Why would anyone choose oblivion over paradise? I can only guess that it comes from living a life that sucked so bad that you can’t believe even paradise would be pleasant for you. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/17 "2012-01-05T16:55:06Z")
Based on your descriptions, I’ll take Door #2. But if I start to smell some kind of deity demanding my eternal gratitude, then it’s off to oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/18 "2012-01-05T18:07:14Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Why would anyone choose oblivion over paradise? I can only guess that it comes from living a life that sucked so bad that you can’t believe even paradise would be pleasant for you. Yeah, pretty much. I know there would be a catch and I’d just end up living this same life over again. Oblivion is the pessimist’s choice. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/19 "2012-01-05T18:13:50Z")
Nirvana, obviously. Unfortunately, I’m nowhere near ready for that yet. I need at least a few more playthroughs. My only ambition for this one by now is to maybe, \*maybe \*do well enough to get another human form and not be reincarnated as a rat. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487/20 "2012-01-05T21:42:31Z")
> [@Dave\_Enn](#): > > No “Other” category? > I would like to look forward to becoming a Guardian Angel to some people, and a haunt to some others. > [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > What, no Valhalla? I limited the options to the beliefs (more or less) of the major modern day religions and atheism (the oblivion option). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chose-your-own-afterlife/608487.md?page=2)