# Would you use a superpower that gives you the ability to stop time? Limitations apply. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167 "2018-04-26T15:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/41 "2018-04-26T22:03:57Z")
So every time you stop that clock you are causing yourself to die sooner than you normally would have. Thanks but no thanks. mmm ---
**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:** [April 26, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/42 "2018-04-26T22:12:12Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > So every time you stop that clock you are causing yourself to die sooner than you normally would have. > > Thanks but no thanks. > mmm You’d only be dying sooner relative to the people around you. From YOUR perspective, you’d still live the same amount of time you normally would have. Still a good reason to opt out if you have a lot of loved ones that would hate to see you go sooner than later though. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/43 "2018-04-26T22:13:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I would use it to do my grocery shopping without morons getting in my way with their carts and kids and absent minded wandering in front of me. Hey, free groceries! ---
**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 27, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/44 "2018-04-27T01:06:27Z")
With slight differences, the hypohthetical is reminiscent of a 1960 sci-fi short story by R.A. Lafferty, [The Six Fingers of Time.](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31663/31663-h/31663-h.htm) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/45 "2018-04-27T02:27:09Z")
If I was really granted a superpower, I know in my heart it would be this lame. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/46 "2018-04-27T08:52:15Z")
I’d use this power for occasionally catching up on sleep, but not very often. I think using the power to cheat at poker and other “imperfect information” games would run afoul of the “no snooping” rule. If whatever deity gave you the power cared more about the spirit of the rules than the strict letter of them, that would be a definite no-no. Your power could give you a major advantage in speed chess and other timed games. Since the power allows you to read and also use a device to access information you downloaded before you activated your power, you could download a copy of Wikipedia into your smartphone and then cheat at Jeopardy and other quiz show games. It would be using public information you gathered before the game started so it wouldn’t count as snooping. You could avoid being spotted ‘glitching’ by being practiced at moving into some regular relaxed pose whenever you used your power and always going back to it before returning to normal time. I think I’d have fun beating Ken Jennings’ winning streak record by several million dollars… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/47 "2018-04-27T09:42:37Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > …I think I’d have fun beating Ken Jennings’ winning streak record by several million dollars… 🙂 Except that I suspect Jennings has the power as well. He does seem to be aging quickly. mmm ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/48 "2018-04-27T10:10:10Z")
I don’t know it might be nice to be able to sneak in a nap once in a while. Other than that, the restrictions make it a pretty lame superpower. About as lame as Aquaman. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/49 "2018-04-27T14:21:02Z")
I would use it every day, freezing time for several days each time, so that I could spend extra days doing exciting things like reading, sleeping, listening to music, watching recordings on TV, doing laundry and cleaning. As an added bonus I would appear to age much more quickly than if I spent my ordinary time doing things like reading, sleeping, listening to music, watching recordings on TV, doing laundry and cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/50 "2018-04-27T14:36:42Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’d use it the same way as the OP. To steal minutes from people on a message board?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/51 "2018-04-27T16:08:06Z")
I would have way wittier conversations. You know that feeling when you think of the perfect comeback after the conversation is done? Not happening to me anymore. I don’t know about a subject? Let me stop time and learn all about it on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/52 "2018-04-27T19:27:08Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > You wake up one day and realize that whatever deity grants superpowers has given you the ability to stop time, but has placed limits on the ability. Here’s how it works and the limitations that come with this superpower. > > 1. You can stop time for however long you like. You have a special watch that appears when you do so to keep track of how long you have stopped time for the rest of the world since all other clocks are frozen. > > 2. You are not allowed to interact with other people or objects\* while time is frozen, or do anything that would affect the course of events that are already in progress. > > 3. You can’t use this opportunity to go snooping or exploring places you’ve never been. > > 4. While in general you can’t interact with other objects there is an exception for some things in your immediate surroundings. This same diety has somehow kept services like electricity and water on in whatever location you happen to be in. You can do things like showering, using the bathroom, preparing and eating food, etc. the same way you do normally. You can do things like read, sleep, listen to music, watch recordings on TV (off a DVD, tape, or downloaded movie, the internet is also frozen). You are even allowed to do things like laundry or cleaning if you want to do those, but not major renovations or building things. If you chose, you could even stop time for a longer period, months or even years, to go on diet or exercise, and then reap the benefits immediately (as perceived by the rest of the world when time starts back up). > > 5. You continue to age normally during this time, so if you decide to stop time for 10 years and then restart things your body will be 10 years older. > > If you were to wake up one day with this power, would you use it? How often would you do so and what would you use it for? > > I think I would use it on days that I felt I needed extra sleep. I would stop time just after waking up in the morning to get a few more hours of sleep while still having a full day to do all the things that need doing. I’d probably use it once in a while to read a book I just hadn’t gotten around to reading. My two questions would be, if time stopped for the world but not me, how much movement am I allowed? The OP says I can ’ You can do things like read, sleep, listen to music, watch recordings on TV (off a DVD, tape, or downloaded movie, the internet is also frozen). You are even allowed to do things like laundry or cleaning if you want to do those, but not major renovations or building things.'. That seems to imply I can move around normally while time is frozen for everyone else. So, I’m unsure why I wouldn’t be able to ‘You can’t use this opportunity to go snooping or exploring places you’ve never been.’. If I can move around, why couldn’t I, say, go over to the next house over and look in…or take a trip to Washington DC to walk into the Pentagon? What are the limitations on my movements? Also, how does the use of technology interact with my powers? Does only the toilet I’m touching work? What about the washing machine? Does my touch or my attention cause it to work? How could I, say, watch TV? Does my car work if I’m in it? Does the gas in the car go down while I’m using it…and what happens when I stop? Is the gas tank back to full or is it empty as much as I’ve used it? If the former, that should mean if I use, say, a camera or recorder that whatever I’ve recorded would still be there. If the later then how does my laundry get clean? Finally, if I freeze time and move to somewhere else, will I be wherever I moved to when I start time up again or will I be back where I started in the same position I started in? I guess as a finally finally, this thing does have the space/time adaption, right? I mean, when I freeze time then I’m freezing motion as well, correct? I don’t want to suddenly hit the wall at over 30 km/hour when the earth stops but I continue to move…or vice versa. Depending on the answers, I might use this power sometimes, but not for anything as mundane as washing clothes or sleeping in. It’s a superpower, after all, so I’d use it for superhero type stuff. Even if you can’t interact with others (why though when I can watch TV, use the bathroom and wash clothes?), I could record wrong doings or do investigative researching. If I can change my position wrt spacial differences I could freeze time and perhaps stop a crime before it’s committed. I could almost certainly guarantee that Trump would be impeached within a fairly short time period. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/53 "2018-04-28T10:53:39Z")
Isn’t there a saying like “Work expands to fill the amount of time available”? I think most of my time problems are really time management problems, and this power would just make them worse. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167/54 "2018-04-29T16:55:56Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Why use it for sleep? > > Lack of sleep is unhealthy, sure. But every hour you’re sleeping is taking aproximately an hour off your longevity, relative to the other people in your life. It’s like reverse vampirism. How much of a difference it would make depends on how much you used it. And you’d have to use it a lot for it to be a problem. If you used it two mornings a week, say, to get an extra two hours’ sleep each time, that’s 2_2_52/24 = 208 hours/24 = 8 2/3 days per year. You could do that for 42 years at the cost of 1 year of your life. But yeah, it’s not a very super power. I’d use it pretty sparingly if I had it, because I want to be around for as much of the Firebug’s life as I can manage. Like **Clothy** , I would prefer the watch from John D. MacDonald’s _The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-use-a-superpower-that-gives-you-the-ability-to-stop-time-limitations-apply/813167.md?page=2)