# How happy could you be if you had to live the rest of your life in a holodeck? (Think Star Trek) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099 "2016-02-03T21:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/41 "2016-02-04T23:50:06Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > A curious and relevant (I think) observation. Logically, the universe being really big and all and surely stuffed with sentience, the actions of an individual have a vanishingly small chance of affecting much more than a small circle of friends. And even the ripples of those effects are quickly overwhelmed by everyone else’s ripples as they plod through their own lives. And if that matters to you, life in or out of the box is so very nearly congruously meaningless to a meaningful portion of the universe (even the planet) as to be identical. At least in the box there is an opportunity to feel the illusion of meaning. I’d rather see only a small meaning that’s real than any illusion of meaning. I don’t even need a holodeck to know that. If you count video games, I have saved the universe at least a hundred times, defeating immortal bad guys time and again. My contributions to the real world are far more modest, but you will not find “Saved the world in Phantasy Star” on the list. Frankly, “Gave a homeless guy $1” will rate higher on my list of achievements than any virtual accomplishment. I suppose the holodeck could provide a pretty real challenge if I was learning a language or taking a new college degree, but anything else would be of dubious value. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/42 "2016-02-05T00:10:45Z")
If I am me and another person selects \*me9 as one of her “10 Real People”, which of us is me? If I want a person as one of my 10 RP’s, is the version I get the real, full person, or just the version of them _ **as I imagine them** _? How many people can you name that you think your knowledge of them is detailed enough to create a “viable” model? There are way too many “how does it do _this_?” questions. It is the Transporter + Matrix scenario. We can’t know what it would entail until it is built. Next Q: who wants to be first to walk into that particular box\> ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/43 "2016-02-05T00:31:49Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Just so we’re clear, the hypothetical isn’t a choice. It’s a situation that has been thrust upon you. The question now is: Can you ever be happy again? As I wrote in my first post:: fuck no. I would be being separated from my wife and kids. The fact that I had artificial duplicates wouldn’t help. It would make it worse. If would be like the myth of Tantalus. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/44 "2016-02-05T01:26:05Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > This describes life outside the box pretty well. Speak for yourself. I have people and things I care about, and people that care about me. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/45 "2016-02-05T01:39:34Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > If I am me and another person selects \*me9 as one of her “10 Real People”, which of us is me? The one who isn’t a hologram. > [@](#): > > If I want a person as one of my 10 RP’s, is the version I get the real, full person, or just the version of them _ **as I imagine them** _? Their memories are downloaded into the program. The computer then hashes out how best to use those memories to make the simulation seem real. > [@](#): > > How many people can you name that you think your knowledge of them is detailed enough to create a “viable” model? N/A > [@](#): > > There are way too many “how does it do _this_?” questions. It is the Transporter + Matrix scenario. > We can’t know what it would entail until it is built. Next Q: who wants to be first to walk into that particular box\> The hypothetical isn’t a choice. It’s a thing that has been forced upon you. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/46 "2016-02-05T01:56:30Z")
Forced? Hell, man, I’d do it voluntarily! G’bye-bye, real world, been nice knowing ya. Now to indulge a rich fantasy life. Cowboy movies on Mondays, Sports Tuesdays, Spy/Noir Wednesdays, Porn…porn…porn… Ahem… “A sufficiently gilded cage is indistinguishable from freedom.” ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/47 "2016-02-05T02:10:59Z")
Is this deal supposed to be attractive? It has no upside to me. No thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/48 "2016-02-05T02:32:39Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Is this deal supposed to be attractive? It has no upside to me. No thank you. As the king of absurd hypos, I daresay this one could have been more succinctly phrased as “Do you love anybody who loves you back?” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/49 "2016-02-05T04:33:11Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Is this deal supposed to be attractive? It has no upside to me. No thank you. It has a huge and obvious upside! I get what I want! I can eat any meal in the universe; I can make love to any woman in the universe; I can have rollicking adventures with Robin Hood or Tarzan. I’m free from want, and free from any degree of fear or danger that I haven’t exactly specified for myself. If it becomes too “vanilla,” I can program in some thumps and bruises, maybe even a real risk of a broken ulna. The Star Trek computer can generate new, original Sherlock Holmes mysteries for me to solve. I not only can read every book in existence, I can be in those books. I can argue with Plato in the Agora. I can save Caesar’s life from Brutus and Cassius…and then see what a terrible mistake it was. I engage these parts of my mind, in real life, by writing fantastic fiction. How much more enthralling (word very intentionally chosen) to live in a fantasy world? Yes, I know: it isn’t real. I’m just living out a daydream. That’s absolutely, perfectly, 100% fine with me! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/50 "2016-02-05T04:39:27Z")
Hmm, let me see if I have this straight… I could have accurate simulations of my two kids, but these versions could be programmed to do their chores on command, go all out on Father’s Day, speak only when spoken to and go into hibernation mode at the push of a button? The other 8 sims could all be copies of the same person, like, oh I don’t know…let’s say _Seka_? The holodeck can make accurate, fully functional simulations of necessary technological devices, like, oh, I don’t know…let’s say ben wa balls, spank-me paddles and nipple clamps? Gosh, it would be tough, but I suppose I could _soldier on_ and find some level of happiness in such a dire situation. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/51 "2016-02-05T05:31:36Z")
I’m gonna go even further: I don’t have any need for those ten copied real personalities. I’ll be perfectly fine with holodeck-quality pseudo-personalities, like Moriarty. I don’t want my family or best friends to be there, reminding me of the outside reality which I will have left behind. I want my own holodeck universe to be entirely constructed in and by the system. My family can go hang, and my friends would understand completely. (A good many of them would also wish to have their own holodeck realities. I’m far from alone in this!) ETA: Can the holodeck give me the illusion of a modified body? Can the holodeck let me switch sexes, or be a merman or lamia, or have extra arms, etc.? I know it can allow me to appear as a giant or a tiny person – I can play Gulliver. Can I have tentacles? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/52 "2016-02-05T05:51:48Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > ETA: Can the holodeck give me the illusion of a modified body? Can the holodeck let me switch sexes, or be a merman or lamia, or have extra arms, etc.? I know it can allow me to appear as a giant or a tiny person – I can play Gulliver. Can I have tentacles? You’re thinking of changing gender? …Breast augmentation? …Buttocks enhancement? …Tongue bifurcation? …the whole 9 yards? Tell you what, if you want to visit me and Seka in my holodeck, that’ll be A-Ok by me! P.S If you go the mermaid route, I prefer the \*bottom \*half to be human. And…you didn’t misspell “tentacles” did you? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/53 "2016-02-05T10:59:21Z")
To me it sounds like life in solitary confinement. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/54 "2016-02-05T20:15:10Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > As the king of absurd hypos, I daresay this one could have been more succinctly phrased as “Do you love anybody who loves you back?” Or perhaps: “Are you a self-loathing narcissist?” (Nobody does/could love me, so I’ll go do what makes me happy) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/55 "2016-02-05T20:17:53Z")
There is no way to get around the fact my family won’t have me and I won’t have them. No holodeck fun is worth abandoning my daughters. I agree with Scumpup; it’s solitary confinement with really good TV. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/56 "2016-02-05T20:20:04Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Or perhaps: “Are you a self-loathing narcissist?” (Nobody does/could love me, so I’ll go do what makes me happy) There are times I DO hate myself. I did some miserable shit in my twenties and thirties. But my wife’s love convinced me that, though I may feel irredeemable, I am not; and my kids’ existence is my chance to do better. I’m not giving any of them up for a fricking holodeck, and if I were forced into one per the OP, I’d spend every waking minute plotting my escape. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/57 "2016-02-05T21:24:24Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > There are times I DO hate myself. I did some miserable shit in my twenties and thirties. But my wife’s love convinced me that, though I may feel irredeemable, I am not; and my kids’ existence is my chance to do better. I’m not giving any of them up for a fricking holodeck, and if I were forced into one per the OP, I’d spend every waking minute plotting my escape. Ooo, that would be an interesting plot twist. Suppose the holodeck allowed you to _think_ you escaped. There you are, all happy. You’re reunited with your family, and then 20 years later, there a glitch in the system. Alerting you to the fact that you never really did escape all those years ago. That would make an interesting short story actually. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/58 "2016-02-05T21:26:41Z")
[An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Occurrence_at_Owl_Creek_Bridge) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/59 "2016-02-05T21:32:01Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > [An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Occurrence_at_Owl_Creek_Bridge) Stop beating me to the link, elf! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099/60 "2016-02-05T21:43:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > [An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Occurrence_at_Owl_Creek_Bridge) Well damn, so much for my million dollar idea. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-happy-could-you-be-if-you-had-to-live-the-rest-of-your-life-in-a-holodeck-think-star-trek/745099.md?page=4)