# Would you rather be a super-genius or have super-fast healing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547 "2015-05-21T20:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**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 22, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/41 "2015-05-22T17:11:46Z")
I’d choose being able to fly. Yeah, I realize it wasn’t on the list, but I don’t really believe you can give me the other two, so it’s either flight or invisibility, and I don’t trust myself with invisibility. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/42 "2015-05-22T18:11:29Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > No living hundreds of years? Take the supergenius option. Maybe you’ll figure out a way to not die from old age. If the super-fast healing was full on wolverine, I’d take it in a heartbeat, though. This covered my opinion in it’s entirety. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/43 "2015-05-22T20:21:30Z")
I think I’d take the healing. I’ve got lots of minor things wrong with me already, and the prospect (genetically) of a lot more before I’m through, none of them really fixable currently. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/44 "2015-05-22T20:51:18Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > See, I don’t agree with this. Death of loved ones is hard when you’re young, but I’ve gotta believe it becomes much easier to deal with when you’re old. My nana, who died at age 93, told me that she didn’t want to live to be 100. She said it was very difficult to age and have everyone who knew you when you were young (which to her at that point included her 40s), die. Losing your peers is tough, it seems. > [@](#): > > Whenever I’ve gone to funerals or wakes, it seems like the elderly folks are the ones most at ease. Heck, I’ve even heard a few of them make jokes.\*\*\* (Not jokes about the deceased of course.)\*\*\* You haven’t been to a funeral with my family. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/45 "2015-05-24T08:17:03Z")
For once you made it really easy. The healing. Remembering everything is a curse, not a blessing. My sister has it with what people say to her, and it led her to depression. I’m honestly surprised anyone is choosing that one, let alone that is seems the most popular. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/46 "2015-05-24T16:56:05Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > This covered my opinion in it’s entirety. With the super-genius option you’d be able to remember whether possessive “its” takes the apostrophe. 😉 And also an awful lot of other things both for the betterment of mankind and enjoying a life of fulfilment and ease, which would probably allow you to avoid the need for super-fast healing. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/47 "2015-05-24T19:48:49Z")
If healing gave immortality it would basically be a wash in the long run. If you pick healing and live forever, within 100-300 years we will have AI that can function at the level of supergenius. If you pick supergenius you can invent healing potions. So either way, you get both superpowers if you got immortality with the healing. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/48 "2015-05-26T04:07:42Z")
I’d take super healing. That way, I could learn all the necessary stuff the hard way. If it works well enough, I may not have to learn some of it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/49 "2015-05-26T11:08:27Z")
Super-intelligence. I’ve never broken a bone, but I’ve often been limited by my brain. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/50 "2015-05-26T11:11:03Z")
So no one else thinks photographic memory and phonographic hearing would be horrible, really? Okay, what about the fact that you will be too smart for your friends? We’ve got a _Flowers for Algernon_ situation here, you know. You will just keep getting smarter. The further apart you are in intelligence, the harder it is to be friends, especially deep friendship. Super-intelligence of this kind sounds like a complete nightmare. It’s actually making me wonder what the downside to super healing is that it would be offered alongside. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/51 "2015-05-26T11:58:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So no one else thinks photographic memory and phonographic hearing would be horrible, really? Okay, what about the fact that you will be too smart for your friends? We’ve got a _Flowers for Algernon_ situation here, you know. You will just keep getting smarter. The further apart you are in intelligence, the harder it is to be friends, especially deep friendship. > > Super-intelligence of this kind sounds like a complete nightmare. It’s actually making me wonder what the downside to super healing is that it would be offered alongside. This is pretty much why I never believed in the “If I only knew then what I know now.” fallacy. It would totally suck. The reason why youth is so awesome is because you’re too stupid to know any better. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/52 "2015-05-26T16:55:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > you’ll go the Wolverine route […] you won’t be regenerating your entire body from a single cell,or live hundreds of years. This is so _not_ the Wolverine route - it’s Wolverine-light - it’s the Stoat route… Because of that limitation, I’m going super-genius. I’d only choose the super-healing if it also came with the no-aging option that it logically should. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/53 "2015-05-26T18:30:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So no one else thinks photographic memory and phonographic hearing would be horrible, really? Okay, what about the fact that you will be too smart for your friends? We’ve got a _Flowers for Algernon_ situation here, you know. You will just keep getting smarter. The further apart you are in intelligence, the harder it is to be friends, especially deep friendship. > > Super-intelligence of this kind sounds like a complete nightmare. It’s actually making me wonder what the downside to super healing is that it would be offered alongside. I find this line of reasoning bizarre. While high intelligence can be somewhat isolating, it is neither completely nor automatically so. I suspect you’re conflating it with other mental or social issues. Again, people can be fun to be around, even if they’re not as smart as you are. Memory can be a double-edged sword; remembering traumatic events is pretty unpleasant, but the memory of moments of joy and wonder can carry you through dark times. The thing is, most people remember bad things more vividly. (I suspect a survival mechanism is at work there). Insofar as Athena’s gift might improve recall overall, the improved ability to remember good things would surely be a balancing factor. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/54 "2015-05-27T04:26:52Z")
I was going to choose super-healing since I’m a major klutz, but then I saw you can’t get drunk, so I’ll go with super-genius. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/55 "2015-05-27T12:01:32Z")
Oddly enough, Wile E. Coyote had both. At least, by his own reckoning. ---
**Author:** ![Flughund4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@Flughund4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flughund4)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/56 "2015-05-27T15:02:39Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I find this line of reasoning bizarre. While high intelligence can be somewhat isolating, it is neither completely nor automatically so. I suspect you’re conflating it with other mental or social issues. Again, people can be fun to be around, even if they’re not as smart as you are. > > Memory can be a double-edged sword; remembering traumatic events is pretty unpleasant, but the memory of moments of joy and wonder can carry you through dark times. The thing is, most people remember bad things more vividly. (I suspect a survival mechanism is at work there). Insofar as Athena’s gift might improve recall overall, the improved ability to remember good things would surely be a balancing factor. Agreed. I think the benefits of intelligence far outweigh the drawbacks. Being smart does not prevent one from enjoying simple things like humor, food, music, sex, the beauty of nature, or even popular entertainment (guilty pleasures?). And if we can enjoy such things on our own, then why not also with others? I’d rather be smart with the option of being able to dumb down than be average and not being able to elevate my IQ on demand. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/57 "2015-05-27T17:37:59Z")
Super-intelligence for me - not a hard decision. Make a killing on the stock market and then offer to work for Uncle Sam. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547/58 "2015-06-06T15:45:53Z")
There’s an interesting issue here. I personally have one of those “overinflated” abilities to take tests. There are people smarter than me, but I typically achieve scores in the top few percentile on nationally ranked tests. And, I do know a lot about a wide range of topics. That’s what people usually mean by intelligence. However, in other mental tasks, I’m a moron. I can’t look at a person and accurately predict a way to manipulate them into doing what I want. I can barely tell what they are feeling by facial expressions - I’m probably not autistic, but I’m not great at this. I don’t have the self control not to eat candy bars, and gain weight. Every task I’ve ever done requiring coordination - playing sports, a musical instrument, shooting a rifle - I was average at at best. (much worse than average at sports, although to be fair in high school PE I didn’t have the muscle development to do many of the tasks at all) Fact is, objectively put, I’m \*stupid \*in many areas. And some of those areas have cost me dearly. Had I made different decisions, I would be in a very different place in life. If the intelligence option in the poll just boosted that test taking ability - make it so I score the best in the world instead of just the top couple percent - but didn’t boost anything else, it wouldn’t help. So many big mental tasks require access to a vast amount of data to do, and researching that data takes time no matter how smart you are. When I do my day job, I often have to wait on the hardware I am developing, and being smarter would not make those waits take any less time. I often do not have enough information to actually determine the cause of a problem without spending time with the oscilloscope and the multimeter and various software debugging tools. Even if I were infinitely smart, I still would not know which of the countless possible causes for a problem are the problem this time without using the instruments. So, anyways. Better test taking? Pass and take the healing. Mind powers like in the movie Limitless, where you have the self control to actually _do_ the optimal move every time? Where you can just remember some martial arts movies and defend yourself with accurate strikes? Yes, please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-a-super-genius-or-have-super-fast-healing/720547.md?page=2)