# Would you rather get $1 million or three random superpowers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564 "2024-04-20T23:29:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/21 "2024-04-21T01:34:43Z")
I’d take the powers. I’m on a career track to have a decent retirement in a few more years, and these powers wouldn’t detract from that. I’d have some fun with the powers in a way that’s not abusive, and I wouldn’t use them for financial gain unless they were near victimless (like buying 1000 shares of VTI if I knew it were going to go up). Taking the million dollars would be kind of like a small lottery win. Yeah, that’s worth about $40,000 per year in retirement. Not bad, but not really exciting. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/22 "2024-04-21T01:37:01Z")
You folks are all more sure of your ability to do no harm than I am. I applaud your moral turpitude! I on the other hand, am a nasty, vindictive piece of work. Make sure to persuade the Creator / Genie / Evil Cosmic Entity to just pay me cash. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/23 "2024-04-21T01:55:21Z")
I got **Ash Manipulation** (The ability to manipulate burnt or charred matter.) **Enhanced Leap** (The ability to jump longer and higher distances than normal humans.) **Omnilingualism** (The power to speak, understand and decipher any and all languages.) #1 & 3 make me world-renowned for saving the Pompeii/Herculaneum scrolls, among other artifacts. #2 makes me a member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/24 "2024-04-21T02:01:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > #1 & 3 make me world-renowned for saving the Pompeii/Herculaneum scrolls, among other artifacts. #2 makes me a member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Could you make a decent amount of money by breaking world records while winning Olympic gold medals? ---
**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:** [April 21, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/25 "2024-04-21T02:02:37Z")
Nah. That’s cheating. I’d use the power in a commercial, but not commercially, if you get my drift. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/26 "2024-04-21T02:16:07Z")
My main concern with taking the super powers would be the monkey paw effect. Like my first roll had the ability to turn imagination into reality. Obviously powerful, but potentially very dangerous depending on what qualifies as “imagine”. How much do you have to will it into reality? Would I be modifying reality while I’m sleeping? But consider powers like super speed. In reality, you’d burst into flames. And even if you didn’t you causing devastation running. A lot of superpowers need to come with “oh and ignore the drawbacks of it”. But if it is guaranteed comic book-ified, then probably the super powers. There’s almost no super power that could not be used to make a million dollars. Heck get a book deal. If the Randi Challenge was still around you could win that trivially. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/27 "2024-04-21T02:18:32Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Hell, my first superpower was invisibility. Score! Invisibility is a terrible superpower, as are most superpowers: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dNbeyRwT8Uo/hqdefault.jpg "The Best Super Power (Is Not What You Think) | After Hours") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNbeyRwT8Uo) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/28 "2024-04-21T02:20:19Z")
I’m going for the random super powers. Let’s see what I get. Supernatural senses: The power to possess senses drastically beyond what is naturally possible. Prehensile tongue: The power to use one’s tongue to grasp and manipulate objects. Life vision: The power to see/detect/sense the lifespan of other people. I think I could make quite a bit of money with at least two of those superpowers and improve my dating life quite a bit with one of them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/29 "2024-04-21T02:45:05Z")
I’m already retired. I take the superpowers. I rolled a few times and each time, I got one that I’d like, and others that seemed harmless if I don’t use them. Hmm, let’s say the next roll counts. I got: Illusion Awareness - (The power to be aware of surrounding illusions.) Helicopter Propulsion - (The power to achieve a form of flight by achieving a helicopter-like effect.) Neurocognitive Deficit - (The ability to shut down a person’s brain functions.) I wonder if that third is reversible? If it is, it would be terrific if some madman was attacking, or even if I were mugged. The first two both sound generally useful. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/30 "2024-04-21T02:51:48Z")
.Deleted. I misunderstood the power generator thing. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/31 "2024-04-21T03:00:56Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > _Precognition_: The power to perceive future events. > SCORE! Forget the $1 million, you’ll find me at the racetrack. For fifty bucks, will you tell me what powers I’ll get? Then I’ll know if I should take the money or not. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/32 "2024-04-21T03:38:59Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I would want a lot more information about how my “power to heal” works: can I heal anyone, or just myself? See the thing is that a “healing factor” like Wolverine from the MCU would greatly slow aging. Greatly extended lifespan? No diabetes or colon cancer? No flu or COVID? No Russian assassin Polonium poisoning? Also potentially no getting drunk or stoned, really - but I’m virtually a teetotaler now anyway. Hell all that is worth wayyyyy more than $1 million dollars to me. Probability manipulation could be much the same - it covers a potential range from everything like early Scarlet Witch (ow! she hexed me and I just got a papercut!) to…well…late period Scarlet Witch, who is virtually a god. On the other hand, self-exploding is not worth more than $1 million to me. ETA: So I’d probably roll the dice on the superpowers. Lower floor, but much higher ceiling since you get three shots at getting something good. Also, I have defined benefit pension and with my greatly accelerated life-span I’ll be destroying those actuarial estimates. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/33 "2024-04-21T03:42:22Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Yeah, unless you live in a very inexpensive area, $1 million is hardly enough to retire on. What percent of American households do you think have a net worth over $1 million? As for me: - Enhanced Visibility: The ability to become more noticeable by others. - Supernatural Dexterity Plant Merging: The power to merge with plant-life. - Poison Generation: The power to create/generate a variety of poisons. Don’t really seem particularly useful for generating wealth. The next one “Time Manipulation” definitely would be usefuil. Ice Manipulation and Goo Generation, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/34 "2024-04-21T04:14:13Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Don’t really seem particularly useful for generating wealth. Or much of anything else, really. I guess the first might be good for a politician, and the last for an assassin. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/35 "2024-04-21T04:24:27Z")
- Telekinetic Vision (The power to enhance one’s vision with psionic energy/focus.) - Dimensional Storage (The power to store anything in a fold of dimension/space and re-materialize at will.) - Water Manipulation (The power to manipulate water.) The first one as I understand it is essentially Superman vision? The second one I can be an amazing mover, or thief, or the greatest Magician to ever live. I could _actually_ make the Statue of Liberty disappear! Third one, I’m a goddamn Wonder Twin. LOL I’m certain I could find a way to monetize those things to more than a million dollars profit, and it’s probably extremely fun to have superpowers, I’d imagine. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/36 "2024-04-21T04:50:29Z")
Yeah well I got “power negation”, so…your’e toast. Microscopic Vision (The power to perceive items that are normally too small to be seen with the naked eye.) Power Negation (The power to nullify powers/abilities.) Light Manipulation (The power to manipulate light.) ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/37 "2024-04-21T05:46:45Z")
Web generation turned out to be like SpiderMan, which might be useful, but coupled with ‘prehensile tail’, I wouldn’t need it for swinging through the forest. Both together, I can see that I’ll be immediately labelled a freak and won’t get a moment’s peace. That’s partly because my third power was precognition. So playing the stock market should get me the millions too. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/38 "2024-04-21T05:55:58Z")
I’ll take the cash. The three superpowers I got were either largely useless or geared toward manipulating others, and I didn’t retire in order to get a different job, even if that job was superpower-fueled self-employment. We’ve already done all the things for retirement, and we have a comfortable income. But an extra million would be a really nice cushion! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/39 "2024-04-21T08:24:36Z")
Choosing the money is incredibly mundane and unambitious. In fact, I think a better question might be what amount of money would you take over 3 random superpowers? I think it would have to start at around at least 50 million to even consider it. Sure, maybe you’ll roll low and get some useless stuff. But there’s probably more than a 50% chance you get something that would be monetizable far beyond the $1 million. And there’s a good chance you can become incredibly powerful and change the world drastically. Think of what good you could affect if you were able to mind control powerful people or hear people’s thoughts or even any sort of offensive ability that would let you assassinate the world’s most awful people. It’s kind of hard to believe to me that anyone would choose what was essentially a guaranteed modestly comfortable life over the potential to be the most unique and powerful person ever to live. Mine are pretty tame: Poison Generation (The power to create/generate a variety of poisons.) Blood Flow Vision (The ability to see the flow of blood of any living being.) Heat Vision (The power to generate beams of heat from one’s eyes.) Would the poison generation one including creating it wherever I wanted? I suppose you could spontaneously generate poison in some war criminals food or what have you. Blood flow vision - I suppose you might be useful for tough medical cases. Not exactly world changing, but it’s a unique ability you could monetize well beyond $1m and help people in the process. Heat vision depends on how powerful it is. Do you fry people alive? Could you shoot your eyes into a giant boiler and power a series of gigantic steam generators with incredible power generation? At the very least, worth far more than $1m, and can do some good for the environment too. I would have to imagine that someone would find novel uses for physics-defying heat generation. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2024, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564/40 "2024-04-21T08:39:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > @Procrustus : ISTM you’ve had a failure of imagination there. > > Those last two of yours sound like the Force. With that I could rule the entire world. If you don’t want 'em, I’ll take 'em. I’m hard-pressed to think of anything I’d want _less_ than to rule the world. It’d be up to _me_ to keep everything running. Fuck ME! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-get-1-million-or-three-random-superpowers/1000564.md?page=3)