# Pain for Cash, plus Amnesia: How much for how long? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446 "2010-05-05T21:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/21 "2010-05-07T03:16:32Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > If there was no cancer, then… what was there? 😕 It was called a hepatic adenoma – non-cancerous tumor. Had been growing a LONG time. Your liver is supposed to be 3-5 lbs total. What they REMOVED from me was 15 lbs. Had to take the gall bladder, too, just to get at it. Sheesh! NEVER AGAIN! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/22 "2010-05-07T03:56:24Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You know, there is no real point to putting the title of the work you’re spoilering INSIDE THE SPOILER BOX. Well of course there is. Seeing as how the spoiler part is the entire OP, I can’t just put at the bottom “Oh, and by the way, this is related to the major reveal of \_\_\_\_.” Normally, you’d put the title outside and the info inside, but since the info had to be outside, I was forced to put the title inside. Right? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/23 "2010-05-07T04:01:41Z")
OK, I thought about this. The amount of money would have to be so high that I’d fight through the tears (and you can bet your ass I’d be crying in terror) leading up the experiment, seeing as I can back out of it at any time leading right up to the moment before its start (obviously you can’t quit mid-experiment, because the pain would make every volunteer back out immediately). So. I’d need a billion dollars for around ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/24 "2010-05-07T07:06:43Z")
Oh, I thought of something else. What about meditation, mind-over-matter type stuff. Would I be allowed time to train in deep meditation? I mean, look at that Buddhist monk in Vietnam. He incinerated himself without even flinching. Surely pain can’t get much worse than burning to death. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/25 "2010-05-07T07:50:27Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Oh, I thought of something else. What about meditation, mind-over-matter type stuff. Would I be allowed time to train in deep meditation? I mean, look at that Buddhist monk in Vietnam. He incinerated himself without even flinching. Surely pain can’t get much worse than burning to death. He was also likely stoned out of his mind. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/26 "2010-05-07T08:05:44Z")
If your subject won’t remember the procedure, why bother paying him anything at all? ---
**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:** [May 7, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/27 "2010-05-07T12:17:11Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > If your subject won’t remember the procedure, why bother paying him anything at all? If the subject doesn’t have a signed contract and/or hasn’t told a confidant about the deal, she/he doesn’t _deserve_ the money. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/28 "2010-05-07T12:53:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Thirty minutes. > [@Autolycus](#): > > So you’d do it for free eh? Sicko. Whoops. I fucked up. I thought I could do 30 minutes for 25 million. Damn. Is my post binding? How do I get out of this. Shit. I just missed out on the Cash for Clunkers deal, too. Shit. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/29 "2010-05-07T13:25:56Z")
$1,000,000 a minute for up to an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Rosetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Green\_Rosetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Rosetta)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/30 "2010-05-08T00:21:21Z")
I’m a real wuss. The idea of being tortured absolutely terrifies me. But I think I could do 10 seconds for $25,000 or so. Enough to rent an apartment in an expensive city for a year, with some left over for living expenses. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/31 "2010-05-08T15:11:22Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Well of course there is. Seeing as how the spoiler part is the entire OP, I can’t just put at the bottom “Oh, and by the way, this is related to the major reveal of \_\_\_\_.” Normally, you’d put the title outside and the info inside, but since the info had to be outside, I was forced to put the title inside. > > Right? Er, no. The title is necessary to know if you have or have not seen the work in question; the spoiler box is meaningless without knowing what work is being spoiled. You might as well not offer the info or leave it unconcealed. And now I’ll drop the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/32 "2010-05-10T14:17:25Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Er, no. The title is necessary to know if you have or have not seen the work in question; the spoiler box is meaningless without knowing what work is being spoiled. You might as well not offer the info or leave it unconcealed. > > And now I’ll drop the hijack. Agreed. How would I know if I had seen the movie (and wouldn’t be spoiled) unless I knew what freaking movie it was? ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446/33 "2010-05-10T14:39:54Z")
I’m in for a million for a minute. I have a reasonable tolerance to pain itself (not that it would make much difference in this case), but I’m a squealing pansy when it comes to anxious anticipation. The million bucks would offset the mental torture I’d put myself through in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to the event, and the fact that I know that it would only be a minute would hopefully be enough to keep me from backing out. Also, I’d like a commemorative purple hat. Just because. Something else just occurred to me. If I could somehow be made to believe I was only going in for a minute, but then have the actual procedure last longer (for a higher payout), I could agree to that. I think my perception of time would be completely absent during the procedure anyway. It’s more the anticipation causing me to back out that I’m worried about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-for-cash-plus-amnesia-how-much-for-how-long/538446.md?page=1)