# Hypothetical Question... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469 "2007-09-17T06:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/21 "2007-09-17T17:56:46Z")
1- Insults…ha, easy 2- Punch, fixable, temporary, definitely worth $1 3- Bomb. 5000 years from now I think we’ll either be screwed anyways or able to handle it 4- Nothing 5- Magic. The ONLY reason I didn’t put “magic” at #3 is that the nature of the change is so incredibly vague. If I simply suddenly found myself a left-wing hippy, or a die-hard marxist, even observantly religious (not a bible-thumper though), maybe not so bad. But if I suddenly had the personality of some of the people I’ve met…well… i don’t want to be those people ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/22 "2007-09-17T18:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=enigm4tic] The ONLY reason I didn’t put “magic” at #3 is that the nature of the change is so incredibly vague. If I simply suddenly found myself a left-wing hippy, or a die-hard marxist, even observantly religious (not a bible-thumper though), maybe not so bad. [/QUOTE] Not to mention that any of these three people, if they accepted the million dollars at all, would likely put it to not-very-fun uses. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/23 "2007-09-17T18:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=suncrafter] “Insults” option ---- Twenty people will shout terrible insults and obscenities at you for one full hour. These people will not come into physical contact with you nor harm you, but they will say all sorts of horrible and upsetting things to you. After one full hour of intense verbal abuse - you will be given the $1,000,000! [/QUOTE] I sent this along to a friend who responded with the strangest comment. She claimed that while the insults wouldn’t bother her, she would still prefer the “nothing” option because she feels that the people who insulted her might feel remorse afterward and therefore be negatively impacted. She also suggested that in order to properly insult her, they’d have to know her somewhat, so it could be seriously harmful to them to have to put her down. So…I guess I’m asking for clarification about the people who are doing the insulting?! And for my own curiousity, are they getting paid to do it? ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/24 "2007-09-17T19:23:41Z")
**suncrafter** , are you a Chuck Klosterman fan by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/25 "2007-09-17T19:25:04Z")
1 - insults (sticks and stones etc.) 2 - punch 3 - nothing No other choices acceptable. My personality may be nothing to write home about, but it’s mine and I’m not changing it. And there’s no way I’m going to touch off a global disaster for personal financial gain. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/26 "2007-09-17T19:41:59Z")
1. Punch 2. Insults 3. Nothing 4. Magic 5. Bomb ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/27 "2007-09-17T19:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=enigm4tic] … 2- Punch, fixable, temporary, definitely worth $1 … [/QUOTE] Um, here’s a dollar… _PUNCH_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/28 "2007-09-19T05:56:05Z")
Insults all the way. If anybody gets too personal I’ve got $1,000,000- I’ll hire the guy who was on standby to bust my lip to go bust his lip instead. Hell, even if you have to hire him to bust several people’s lips, how much is he gonna charge? $1,000? I’ll post his bail if he’s arrested- won’t be more than a misdemeanor charge I wouldn’t think, and go enjoy my money. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469/29 "2007-09-19T06:09:04Z")
Allow me to be a black sheep here. 1. \*\*Bomb \*\* - 5000 years? If humanity is still around (certainly no guarantee), they’ll be able to deal with it by then. If not, screw 'em. They deserve it for not having flying cars and whatnot by then. 2. \*\*Magic \*\* - Everyone’s saying this isn’t an option, but think about it: once your opinion/personality is changed, you’d be just as defensive about not wanting to go back. By taking this option, yes, you’re ‘killing’ the current ‘you’, but by eschewing it, you’re just killing another version of ‘you’ by precluding its existance. 3. \*\*Punch \*\* - I don’ t like insults. 4. \*\*Insults \*\* - I do like money. 5. \*\*Nothing \*\* - Where’s my money? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-question/419469.md?page=1)