I went with that. I mean, I can actually witness all these things in the history books that I’ve read about. How cool is that? Of course, I understand that I’d have to blend in and all that. Maybe time travel just to witness events, i.e., like watching a virtual reality video? That would be amazing.
The key to Teleportation would be Distance and Mass Limits. If I was limited to a couple of thousand miles and little more than my person, I could still don a space suit and bop up to the space station, or just hang out in orbit for a while. If the distance was Solar System and the Mass limit was in the thousands of kilos, then I could carry people and equipment to Mars, or drop probes in orbit around Jupiter or stuff like that. Or rescue Astronauts and bring them safely home. Can you say “First Man on Mars”? I sure could. Hell, I’d establish a second home there just to keep myself safe from people hunting me.
And them pesky Immortals? You just keep right on being Immortal when I drop your ass on Venus (hell) or Titan (immortal block of ice), or that isolated asteroid.
Does immortality come with perfect health, will it cure me of all current ills, or will I end up with a myriad of diseases that will make me wish I were dead? Does immortality come with an escape clause, where I can off myself if I really want to, or must I enjoy the sun expanding to envelop the Earth, and the eventual 'Big Crunch" or heat death of the universe? If immortality comes with perfect health and an escape clause, that’s pretty appealing.
Think I’ll probably go with the healing of the sick, assuming I can also heal myself. Would that also involve regenerating lost limbs, repair of poor eyesight, etc?
I chose teleportation, but what I’d really want to do is become intangiable–walk through walls, have bullets pass through me, the whole schmear.
Immortality is certainly tempting, and I may change my mind when it actually comes down to signing the dotted line, but I’ve gone with other for now.
Other being the ability to persuade anyone anything.
First I’d persuade Bill Gates that I’m a consultant worth a hundred grand a month. Then I’d have a little chat with Jolene Blalock and another dozen or so hotties.
And when I got to feeling too guilty about abusing my powers, I’d negotiate peace in the Middle East, explain to Kim Jong and Fidel Castro or their successors the error of their ways, and maybe see what’s going on in Africa.
And Fred Phelps would still be in the news. Boy would he still be in the news.
Ohhhh, sign me up for book-touching! How is this not getting more votes?
I just got my private helicopter license and I’m studying for more ratings, I can’t tell you how awesome it would be to just stroke a bunch of aviation books and internalize all of that delicious knowledge.
I’d still have to put in a lot of hours flying to become a good pilot but I’d have such an advantage.
This power strikes me as a really great compromise as it confers a great advantage without making life so easy that it’s pointless.
Time Travel. The most omnipotent and invincible power there is
I would be able to manipulate time in any way I choose: slow it down, speed it up, reverse it, go forward, create pockets of reality that run differently than others.
As a failsafe, I would speed up my mind so that it knows what’s in the future, while allowing me to comfortably live in the present. This way, I could never be surprised, nor would I be in danger because I would be able to know any threats in advance.
From the OP:
I’d be very interested in hearing from the two who politely declined.
mmm
Live forever. I’m way past the eternal youth thing unless I actually get to start over at a certain point and from the OP, I’m not sure I’d get that privilege. I take the word ‘limitations’ to mean I’d have to start from where I am. Even so, I’ve reached an age where I get good solid whiffs of my mortality every day so I’d be willing to start from where I am now. I just flat don’t want to die. Besides, given that I am the center of the known universe when I snuff, the rest of you go with me when and if I go at all and I’d hate to have that happen.
I chose making myself irresistible.
But I really can’t believe you left off the power to read minds!
That would have really come in handy over the years. 
Wow, a lot of people want to live forever. Is death really so bad?
Is death really that bad? One only has to consider how much we work to avoid it, and how much effort goes into preparing ourselves a better place in a (hoped-for) afterlife to know the answer to that.
If I lived forever, I could learn all those things I always wanted to, so the ‘learn the contents of a book by touching it’ trick would essentially be included by dint of available time. LOTS of disadvantages can be made up for if you had enough time, and put forth the effort. The only real problem would be hiding your immortality from the world so they don’t vivisect you, or burn you as a witch, or give you the Rasputin treatment.
I’d want an escape clause, however. No roasting in a red giant for a billion years for me, thank you.
Touching the book would be awesome but I like the act of reading too much to want to give it up. Besides, there’s tons of books out there I’d rather not read.
Time travel. Very cool for a history buff like me. But how to observe the Black Death without becoming part of it? Maybe Connie Willis can do it but I can’t.
Communicate with alien life forms - like who, my niece?
I went with communicate with animals. Then I could find out just why boxers like squeaky toys and labradors are so damn happy. What does a giraffe think about. How do dolphins see us? And maybe once, I’d be able to pull the wool over my backyard squirrel’s eyes.
Snikkt!
Think of everything you like in the world.
To experience it, you need to be not dead.
I choose “live forever”. With the usual restrictions :
- Eternal youth, not getting older and older and eventually inhumanely decrepit
2)Ability to put an end to my life whenever I so choose.
The least tempting “power”, on the other hand, has to be the ability to freeze all life. Why would I want that?
I just thought of another one I should have included:
The ability to require zero sleep.
Anyone interested?
mmm
Well, if you were interested in a career as a bank robber, this ability may increase your chances of success.
mmm
Live forever. Without the time limit of immortality, most of the other powers on that list could be eventually achieved. Second on my list would be time travel, for much the same reason.