# What would be the best system for a magic healer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898 "2023-07-11T14:15:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/1 "2023-07-11T14:15:40Z")
If someone had the ability to instantly heal any physical or mental injury, deformity or illness (including adding an extra decade to their lifespan) by merely touching the person with their hands and wanted to help as many people as possible while still having their own life what would be the most effective and efficient system for them to do so? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/2 "2023-07-11T14:24:17Z")
In the long term, the greatest benefit would come from studying the magical healing ability, so as to figure out how to replicate it. One miracle-healer can do a lot, but ten thousand miracle-healers can do a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/3 "2023-07-11T14:28:46Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > . . . by merely touching the person with their hands and wanted to help as many people as possible while still having their own life what would be the most effective and efficient system for them to do so? They should become a preacher, build a massive church and charge people a goodly portion of their life’s earnings to belong. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/4 "2023-07-11T14:29:37Z")
Run, hide, and heal discretely and anonymously. You have become a commodity and possibly a weapon, and the law will not protect you. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/5 "2023-07-11T14:32:23Z")
^^^ This. > **[The Immortal (1970 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immortal_(1970_TV_series))** > > The Immortal is an American television series, starring Christopher George as a man whose blood chemistry and resistance to almost all diseases (including old age) makes him both almost immortal and a target of several wealthy men who would basically use him as a personal blood bank, aired on ABC from September 24, 1970 to January 14, 1971. The series is based on a pilot film of the same name, which aired on September 30, 1969 as an ABC Movie of the Week. The pilot is based on the 1964 science fi... ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/6 "2023-07-11T14:40:01Z")
Is the healing permanent? Does one touch heal all physical or mental injury, deformity or illnesses" or just one specific “physical or mental injury, deformity or illness?” Can the healer heal themself? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/7 "2023-07-11T15:43:51Z")
I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘system’? Does the healer know how this works, or is it something that ‘just happens’? If the latter, then I guess you are asking what sort of clinic or other social organization would produce the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’? Of course, there would be a risk that if this ability was revealed, the healer would be whisked away to a government or corporate laboratory where they might be subjected to possibly very nasty tests to try to discover how it works… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/8 "2023-07-11T16:01:35Z")
How much of the hands must contact the other person? For how long? Would I have to grab them by the throat for 5 minutes, or can I flick a fingernail trimming at them? Does it work on me? Does the power lie in my total corpus, or just my hands? Is a fingertip of contact enough? Because I could see having a fingertip removed surgically, regrowing it instantly and send the tip to the Mayo Clinic or St. Jude’s for use on the terminally injured/ill. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/9 "2023-07-11T16:05:09Z")
Whoever wanted to harm you would have to be confident first that you _only_ have abilities to heal, not harm. How do they know you can’t hurt those who’d hurt you? ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/10 "2023-07-11T16:13:09Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > Is the healing permanent? Does one touch heal all physical or mental injury, deformity or illnesses" or just one specific “physical or mental injury, deformity or illness?” Can the healer heal themself? Yes to all three questions. > [@silenus](#): > > How much of the hands must contact the other person? For how long? Would I have to grab them by the throat for 5 minutes, or can I flick a fingernail trimming at them? Does it work on me? Does the power lie in my total corpus, or just my hands? Is a fingertip of contact enough? The healer has to grab the other person anywhere for a second. The power is only in the hands and the healer can heal himself. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/11 "2023-07-11T16:15:17Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > Is the healing permanent? Does one touch heal all physical or mental injury, deformity or illnesses" or just one specific “physical or mental injury, deformity or illness?” Can the healer heal themself? To further this, can the healer control how long the healing takes? Taking a year rather than instant could make it much harder to “connect the dots”. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/12 "2023-07-11T16:35:46Z")
No. It takes a second every time. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/13 "2023-07-11T16:42:38Z")
They wouldn’t to harm you, though. They would want to keep you from harm, _any possible harm_, to ensure that you can be used. You would be in a nice comfortable cage, fed food designed to extend your life, and denied access to any information that might cause stress. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/14 "2023-07-11T16:43:51Z")
Damn it, wish you’d spoilered that ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/15 "2023-07-11T18:44:44Z")
Also, this: > **[Resurrection (1980 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_(1980_film))** > > Resurrection is a 1980 American drama film directed by Daniel Petrie, written by Lewis John Carlino, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, Richard Farnsworth, Roberts Blossom, Lois Smith, and Eva Le Gallienne. It was produced by Renée Missel and Howard Rosenman. The plot involves a woman who returns to life after dying momentarily in a car crash and finds that she has the power to heal people. > The film received two nominations at the 53rd Academy Awards: Best Actress (Burstyn) and Best Suppor... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/16 "2023-07-11T19:08:24Z")
Y’know, all these threads about “what would you do if you had superpowers”, everyone’s always saying what they’d do to make sure they wouldn’t end up in some lab. Me, I’d do what I could to make sure I would end up in a lab. Set it up as a collaboration between, oh, the National Institute of Health, the Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins University. Publicize it as much as possible. With different institutions involved from government, academia, and private industry, and with enough publicity, it’d be really hard for any of them to just disappear me or to hide the results, but they would be able to study me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/17 "2023-07-11T20:06:42Z")
I hadn’t fleshed the idea out, but that gives me a hint. Once I couldn’t be “disappeared” I’d offer my services to any billionaire on the planet - the minute they become **not** a billionaire. Or even a 100 millionaire. Give away all your riches to make peoples lives better in myriad ways. _Then_ we’ll talk about curing your cancer. Same same for every nuclear power - none of your citizens get bupkis until all your nukes are gone. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/18 "2023-07-11T20:19:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Y’know, all these threads about “what would you do if you had superpowers” Most of them started by the OP… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/19 "2023-07-11T21:07:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Same same for every nuclear power - none of your citizens get bupkis until all your nukes are gone. That part would never work. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898/20 "2023-07-11T21:51:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Once I couldn’t be “disappeared” I’d offer my services to any billionaire on the planet None of the agencies mentioned in the previous post have the ability or agency to protect you. In fact, I can’t think of a single incorruptible government agency that would act on your behalf and not on the behalf of the congresscritters that fund them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-best-system-for-a-magic-healer/986898.md?page=2)