Would You??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pompey Bum

I'm not sure a self-aware machine is possible, but I don't know that much about AI.

I was troubled by your question yesterday (after I left) about simulated (non-human) partners for pedophiles. If we adhere to Mill's harm principle, then is anyone actually being hurt? I'm not sure what the answer is. It's creepy.

Would you legalize prostitution if everyone worked for themselves (ie no victimizing pimps)?

---

Well Calidore suggested that it would make the pedophile more likely to rape/abuse young human girls, but I'm not so sure it isn't actually the opposite. Currently cartoon (as in drawings of girls) pornography featuring underage or very young girls is illegal, which I also find hard to understand.

I would definitely legalize prostitution even if they didn't necessarily work for themselves, though with the social media options we have these days it wouldn't be hard to self start/work for yourself.

Same question.

We ARE self-aware robots.

Yes, but it would never happen that way.

Would you legalize heroin?

No. Between human trafficking/debt slavery and pimp brutality there are enough reasons against it.

Would you give a starving family a month's worth of food if you knew that was all you would ever give?

EDIT: I would not legalize heroine either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lykren

We ARE self-aware robots.

Yes, but it would never happen that way.

Would you legalize heroin?

---

Yes I would.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pompey Bum

No. Between human trafficking/debt slavery and pimp brutality there are enough reasons against it.

Would you give a starving family a month's worth of food if you knew that was all you would ever give?

EDIT: I would not legalize heroine either.

---

Yes, but are those issues going to be greatly increased through legalizing prostitution? All of that already happens while prostitution is illegal.

And do you mean if I knew for a fact they would starve after the month was out? Yes I would probably still give it to them but I would feel pretty horrible about the entire situation.

Would you volunteer to help out if a massive Hurricane struck your home city?

I'd run away.

Would you call the police regarding the homeless man shouting swear words at people outside the bookstore right now?

Of course, about the hurricane. And if the inhumane aspects of prostitution could actually be eliminated, then I would support its legalization. I wouldn't participate, but that's another issue.

Would you report to the police Muslim neighbors who seem to have an excessive number of people (dozens) constantly coming and going? (You have no other indication of wrongdoing).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pompey Bum

Would you report to the police Muslim neighbors who seem to have an excessive number of people (dozens) constantly coming and going? (You have no other indication of wrongdoing).

---

Yeah, but keep your cell phone ready. Inside Edition pays top dollar for good video. :)

My previous question (whatever it was).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pompey Bum

Of course, about the hurricane. And if the inhumane aspects of prostitution could actually be eliminated, then I would support its legalization. I wouldn't participate, but that's another issue.

Would you report to the police Muslim neighbors who seem to have an excessive number of people (dozens) constantly coming and going? (You have no other indication of wrongdoing).

---

Haha, no I would not.

Would you take possibly murderous revenge on someone who had framed you for a crime which saw you serving fifteen years?

Nay nerp.

Prison sounds like a blast, nothing to do but read :)

Would you eat Dali's butterfly sandwiches?

yes, without knowing much what it is.

Would you go on vacation by yourself for two weeks?

Absolutely!

Would you be excited to live on a pre-colonized Mars?

Pre-colonized Mars doesn't look tempting.

Where would you like to go spend that fortnight alone, away from any human contact?

No idea, really. I just like the idea of a vacation.

Also I meant to type post-colonized Mars.

Would you argue with your coworkers over what music to play at a store, if you worked at one?

Only if it was a music store, and then I'd suggest we take turns in choosing the music.

Post-colonized Mars sounds better :D I still don't think there'd be any compelling reason for me to go there. The flight itself, and seeing Earth from space, would be nice. But there isn't really anything that interesting on Mars.

If Béla Tarr's Sátántangó was on at the local cinema, would you go see it?

Yes, but I would take a few deep breaths first.

And bring caffeine.

Problem with that strategy at my store is that everyone else has agreed to play the Buddy Holly Pandora station all the time, and get mad at me when I choose anything else.

Would you feel sad if you accidentally beat up a signed copy of your Lydia Davis's Collected Stories while it was in your backpack?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by North Star

Post-colonized Mars sounds better :D I still don't think there'd be any compelling reason for me to go there. The flight itself, and seeing Earth from space, would be nice. But there isn't really anything that interesting on Mars.

---

I bet the long flight there would be even less interesting. Plus the radiation you'd be exposed to would probably kill you. No thanks. We've got lots of rocks right here.

And yes, beating up books is never a good idea.

Would you tell your intellectual friends if you really enjoyed reading Stephen King?

I tell you I like K-pop don't I?

Would you feel differently about an intellectual (literary) friend if they enjoyed Stephen King?

I'd probably think that they're a more well-rounded and confident person for that.


Would you like to see Shoah?

Nooooooo.

Over a week maybe. But not all at once.

Would you be impressed if your friend turned out to be world-class at curling?

No, but I would probably think it was cute.

Would you contact the FBI if a friend told you he kept thinking about shooting up a McDonalds?

I'd contact the cops not the FBI directly.

Would you be angry if your mother married a man you hated (and who was mean to you) while you were a child?

You go to a supermarket where you notice an item you like at a substantial markdown, but only for the day. The normal cost is three dollars, but they are being sold for one dollar each. There are perhaps five dozen (60) of these items on the shelf. You ask a clerk and learn that there are no more such items in the store. Although it might be a tight fit at first, you do have room for all 60 in your refrigerator/freezer, and they are a sort of item that stores well. The item is healthy to eat and not particularly caloric. You buy it regularly, and like it so well that you can't imagine growing sick of it. There is no limit connected to how many of these items a customer can buy. Would you buy them all or leave some for others?

I would probably just buy one or two.

If you had a friend who was learning English, and asked you to correct him or her as often as possible, would you constantly interrupt the flow of conversation in order to help them learn?

for pompeys grocery store question---I lean towards leaving some, but id lean even more that way if the item were popular. if the item wasn't so popular, id be inclined towards buying more (presuming they'd go to waste otherwise and no one else is going to want them).

im not sure of the best method for esl instruction, but I would do that. at the same time though, I think id sometimes let whole thoughts/sentences/paragraphs come out and then have a "debriefing" afterwards.

im reading a book right now where one of the main characters was recruited to win a national lottery (of 100 million dollars) that was rigged. if someone approached you with that same "opportunity", would you take it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bounty

im reading a book right now where one of the main characters was recruited to win a national lottery (of 100 million dollars) that was rigged. if someone approached you with that same "opportunity", would you take it?

---

Absolutely not. Even if I didn't get caught, I would be forever under the power of the ones who recruited me. Besides, you don't need 100 million dollars. You just need more money than you can spend. And if you start taking care of your money when you're young (including buying all the discount items in the example above), it isn't all that hard to achieve.

Would you be embarrassed to buy day old bakery items at half price from a supermarket bin frequented by down-on-their-luck looking people?

heck no...im a good "thrift" shopper and day olds/reduced items are frequent finds for me.

you are with a friend who is about to throw out food thats canned/boxed and is past its "best by" date. would you take it instead and eat it?

(test running a new signature in an effort to get on someone's ignore list)

If it was past its expiration date, I probably wouldn't take it. And if it wasn't I would encourage my friend to donate it to a homeless shelter, or even take it down myself. Habits of thrift (especially in shopping) can help you become independent over time (along with smart planning), but a one time deal like that won't matter--and someone else could probably use the food.

Would you date a coworker?

Yes, and I have.

By the way, I would massively stock up on any sale item in the examples you're putting forward AND I don't only frequently buy day old bread, but also take bread donations from churches and food banks (though I haven't in awhile, I was in serious need), and it is embarrassing, and since I don't actually look like a hobo, and have all my teeth, people have been reluctant to even serve me at those places.

Would you argue with someone on the Internet about politics or religion knowing that neither of you are going to change your mind?

If it was in good fun (with politics), or if there was mutual respect (with religion), then sure. Hearing opinions you don't agree with is a great way to consider things in a new light--even if it just means confirming your own opinions. But If not, what's the point? Converts aren't important to me.

By the way, I can't believe how few people use those day old bakery bins. By the time anyone actually eats bakery food, it's already at least a day old, and a few seconds in a microwave makes it good as new. But I get stares from the "respectable"-looking people all the time; and from the scruffy ones, too, who seem to think I'm taking their hand-outs.

This is why I love Fielding. He knew the classes were equally stupid, but forgave (almost) everyone.

Would you break off a friendship with someone you grew up with, and had known for 40 to 50 years (if you're not that old, imagine), just because you felt you no longer liked him or her?

No, I tend to feel bad for people who I don't like or respect, and I don't want to hurt someone's feelings.

Would you take one million dollars in cash right now (if Pompey answers, then Pomp, pretend it's something you really want that isn't money) if it meant you had to be treated with pre Renaissance era medical technology for any illness/surgery you might pick up or require?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clopin

No, I tend to feel bad for people who I don't like or respect, and I don't want to hurt someone's feelings.

---

Well in this case, she just got pissed. I've never regretted it (quite the contrary), except for some very nostalgic memories about being young and beautiful together in the 1970s. But that's not real life anymore.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clopin

Would you take one million dollars in cash right now (if Pompey answers, then Pomp, pretend it's something you really want that isn't money) if it meant you had to be treated with pre Renaissance era medical technology for any illness/surgery you might pick up or require?

---

I'd let myself be leeched for that kind of dough. And I'd allow my leg to be sawed off without anesthesia if it meant my wife didn't have to suffer like that. But otherwise, not for all the tea in China.

Do the millions of years of human prehistory (in comparison to about five or six thousand years of recorded history) have any (non-evolutionary) significance to the human condition--considering that we can't "remember" them in a historical sense?

Mhm, I don't know, but they do have obvious evolutionary significance and I think our societies and behaviour patterns probably don't look too different from what was exhibited hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Would you disown your hypothetical child if he or she became a pornstar?

Never. I'd try to get him or her out, though, unless I was convinced that it was a deliberate and mature decision.

Would you approve of the elimination of the movie rating system (G, PG, etc.)?

Yes, it's harmful to the industry and makes movies worse.

Would you disown a hypothetical child for any reason at all?

I don't think so. My conception of family love is that it is unconditional. On the other hand, I have no children, so it's an easy thing to say. I can think of some circumstances where it would be very trying.

Would you give your life for your country?

For Canada in 2015? No. But it's something I would consider if I felt there was something really worth defending. I don't think patriotism is always stupid/misplaced.

Would you?

If I had to, yes, but to be honest, I'd probably prioritize staying alive for my wife. But if something happened to her, I'd be willing. Not the most patriotic view, I suppose, but I'm being honest.

Should convicted enemy spies in times of war be executed?

Mhm, probably, I'm not crazy about execution except as a deterrent (deter serious white collar crime and instances of politicians lying by executing them is my view), and you're not going to deter enemy combatants through fear of execution. Still, it's a war, and yes, probably.

Would you want to act in a movie if a director insisted that you were perfect for the (quite sizable) role?

If anyone was dumb enough to pay me for it, sure. If it was a disaster, I'd just write a funny book about it and star in the movie version.

Would you apologize if you broke into brief but uncontrolled laughter at someone, or just pretend it didn't happen?