# You just died. You're a ghost. How long before you get bored and step into the light? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182 "2013-09-18T22:15:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/41 "2013-09-19T17:29:46Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I would hang out long enough to see places that always interested me - I might try to see a few people I haven’t seen for a while [a couple people I grew up with that I lost track of in the intervening 30 years] then I would go into the light. Call it maybe a year or so? So much of the Universe to explore, so little time before everything expands beyond our ability to observe… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/42 "2013-09-19T18:17:51Z")
So basically, it’s like watching real-life TV, any channel you want, for as long as you want, and you never need to use the can? I’d be good for about 10 minutes. If I can go anywhere I want just by thinking about it and witness stuff, well that’s all nifty but nobody to share it with and no way to apply it to effect change in the real world makes any knowledge gained essentially meaningless. I suppose I could hope for wisdom but to what end if, again, nobody to share it with? It sounds about as fulfilling as playing a video game in God-mode. No challenges = no meaningful accomplishments. I’d be checking out the light. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/43 "2013-09-19T18:29:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > So much of the Universe to explore, so little time before everything expands beyond our ability to observe… ☹ Use the power to screw with The Power. Teleport outside the Universe and wait for it to get to you. See what happens when you try **that**! ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/44 "2013-09-19T18:50:05Z")
I’d hang around until next Sunday so I could watch the end of **Breaking Bad**. After that, what would be the point? Oh, right, **Game of Thrones**. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/45 "2013-09-19T21:58:37Z")
I voted for the light immediately. I’m going to hope that most of the friends or loved ones who have passed on will be there to see, and I’m more anxious to see, say, my grandmother again than simply observe someone still living. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/46 "2013-09-19T22:17:22Z")
ohhhhh, it is gonna be quite a while. i’ve got places to go and people to see! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/47 "2013-09-20T00:17:50Z")
So much to see, and hear, and _learn_. I learn things for the joy of learning, not to share them–that’s just a bonus. No way am I going into the “light” anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/48 "2013-09-20T03:39:31Z")
My first thought was, like many, all the people I wanted to see naked I can! But my next thought was: can ghosts masturbate, or am I going to have ethereal blue balls for the rest of eternity? Nonetheless, I’m sticking around for a few million years. There’s plenty to see on earth, and once that’s done, a tour of the galaxy it is. Especially since I’ve got teleportation - tons to see and nothing to interrupt me. I’d probably talk to myself a lot, but who cares? not like any else can hear me to call me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/49 "2013-09-20T14:37:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Add me to the chorus of hangers-on. But really…hundreds of people die every second. Where are their ghosts? They’re all in your bedroom. Watching you naked. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/50 "2013-09-20T15:26:18Z")
I’m such a nerd - my first thought wasn’t naked celebrities, but being able to watch movies for free. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/51 "2013-09-20T15:36:56Z")
The idea of hanging around to “visit” places I’ve always wanted to go is kind of appealing, but would I be able to feel the wind, smell the flowers, or put my toe in a river? If not, I’ll go for enlightenment. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/52 "2013-09-20T20:44:24Z")
I’d develop the ability to move stuff around. When I am ready, I’d visit all the skeptics and smash their furniture and break the windows. Hopefully that’ll teach those pesky skeptics there’s more to life than science and math. Unfortunately, ghosts seem to be recycled efficiently, considering so few of them have been reported; so one may not have a choice in the matter… but I digress. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/53 "2013-09-20T21:16:13Z")
I’d rather be all dead than mostly dead. Hanging around has no appeal whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/54 "2013-09-20T21:27:09Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Unlike the Hollywood movies, there are no Whoopi Goldbergs in this hypothetical. No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER be able to react with the living. And they in return, will be completely unaware of your existence. The only special power you have is the ability to 'teleport" to any location by simply thinking about it. > > So how long before you get bored of being a silent observer of this secular world and step into the light? Forget interacting with people! If I can work a remote, laptop, and Kindle, I’m never going into the light. If I can’t, I’m on the next bulb out of here. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/55 "2013-09-20T21:52:11Z")
I’d like to hang around long enough to see humans evolve into salamanders\*. I’d find someone who likes the tv shows I do and call that home base while I explore the world and various nakednesses. But if I eventually got bored I’d go into the light. \*[Tom Paris and Kathryn Janeway are Salamanders - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz8wXCNyqbM) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/56 "2013-09-20T23:49:39Z")
This one of the philosophical problems with ghosts. There are (supposedly) the ghosts of Roman soldiers in Britain-they just keep marching…after over 1600 years…doesn’t it get boring?:o ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/57 "2013-09-20T23:58:23Z")
I’d like to settle, once and for all, whether or not someone I know who has been claiming to be able to communicate with spirits is totally full of shit. Granted, according to the OP, I know how it’s going to turn out, but it’d be interesting to go stare at her for a while just to see if she ever notices. That, and, naked celebrities. Mt. Everest. Marianas Trench, but just for about 20 minutes. Go to the bottom of a quarry and see what people threw in there. Olympics, standing out in the middle of the gymnastics floor. Stand by the conductor of the symphony for the best seat in the house. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/58 "2013-09-21T04:25:12Z")
I’d hang out a bit. Do the travelling I wanted to do, maybe climb Everest (I’m dead, so it’s not like I’d asphyxiate or die of exposure). Might even go to the Moon, Mars, Venus, or walk on the sun. Could I check out Alpha Centauri? Instant teleportation would make Einstein all nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182/59 "2013-09-22T13:00:01Z")
The light, in a heartbeat. The fact that I’m able to think without a few pounds of soggy wetware, and perceive without sensory organs, gives me more than enough grounds for supposing that something wonderful awaits me on the other side which will include all of the plus points of lingering as a ghost with none of the downsides and a great many other plusses besides. C. S. Lewis once wrote of a slum child preferring to stay in their dirty alley making mud pies because they could not conceive of how much fun a day trip to the seaside would be. The idea’s a little dated, though I for one can remember a day at the seaside as a really special treat, but the analogy still holds as far as I’m concerned, and it’s off to the beach for me even if my conception of what’s waiting is bound to be woefully short of the truth. Staying to watch my children, or other people I care about, would mean an awful lot of hanging around while not much happened, and for every moment of pure joy worth watching there would be at least an equal amount of fucking up or being screwed over while I could do nothing but look on helplessly. Nuh-uh, I’ve had my life, it’s their life now, I’ll get on and turn the page. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-just-died-youre-a-ghost-how-long-before-you-get-bored-and-step-into-the-light/669182.md?page=2)