if you had Aladdin's Lamp...

[RidonKs]

would you destroy it?

besides which if you didn't, what would you do with it?

what if you asked it to tell you the future of the world that will happen if you keep the lamp, and it showed you a world of nazi militarization and constant conquest for your lamp, the one you decided to keep?

would you destroy it then?

or are you the type to worship your own virtue and judgment so much that you wouldn't waver in believing your own magic is what the world needs, even if in the wrong hands that same magic could mean apocalyptic catastrophe?

would you even ask it any questions at all? why so many questions anyway? maybe just play with genie on an island somewhere and eat barbeque for the rest of your life? might get lonely but you can always conjure automaton campanions or get drunk..

what if it showed your own future as cold and hostile and lonely? deranged even due to always looking over your shoulder at every comer trying to take your lamp. the naked emperor looks a lot happier from the outside but deep down he's squeamish and impatient and always making sure his back is to the wall with his guards in front of him. that's the cost of the crown.

if the only way to destroy it was to take your own life, would you be a martyr? could you ever be a martyr for anything?

it's hard to believe a white middle class cis male american into sports would ever be willing to sacrifice their life for anything beyond their family/community/country.... then again isn't that the same thing?

for the record, it would take a lot more than the end of human civilization as we know it to make me sacrifice my life. too much to live.

tho i am self-righteous enough to believe i would selflessly destroy the lamp...

[UK2K]

Are you high?

Let's match.

[ZeN]

I see you are back on that crack..

[outbreak]

I'd be a good guy and wish for OP to check in to rehab

[DeuceWallaces]

I would not destroy it. I would wield it to make the world a better place. With my three wishes:

1. I wish Starface has a job.
2. I wish AllNet was a Pistons fan again.
3. I wish Insidehoops more Instagram followers.

Sorry Genie, I have no wishes to spare. This is my burden.

[RidonKs]

y'all dun wanna have a convo about one of the history's great legends that happened to be re-enacted w/ ROBIN WILLIAMS to critical acclaim? pphht



i think this is a good question. IAMRAMBO posted an alan watts speech that i have since watched dozens of times and shared with many others.. he is talking about what would happen if instead of a telephone on our desk we had a more complicated machine, with many different buttons but very simple to operate, that allowed us to have anything we wanted.

he suggested in the end that each and every one of us would inevitably reach a point where the only name we wanted on that button was 'surprise'... aka stop giving me everything i want! aka destroy the machine!

because i just wanna LIVE maaaaaaaaaaaan



this thread was prompted by this lecture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk9UHcEeTw0#t=253)

a texan prof named Rick Roderick. i really think you'd get a kick out of that series Zen. he's got a really casual way of speaking, he's succinct and gets to his points quickly, he uses a lot of pop culture references (he uses total recall in teh same lecture to postulate brain in a vat stuff), and best of all his philosophy actually has a purpose. he is trying to diagnose modern culture and paint a picture so we know where to move forward. his reference to aladdin's lamp is a gesture towards the technological imperative.

hmm

[RidonKs]

I'd be a good guy and wish for OP to check in to rehab
WAIT A MINUTE

how could this not be one of the banned things in the disney film?

"i want to rape jasmine"
"i want the sultan to each falafel til he explodes"
"i want to rape jafar"

etc

aladdin had way more at his disposal than he thought.... but that's not fair. you can't check me into rehab just like i can't make you the starting quarterback for the bengels. that's restricted jurisdiction there buddy and don't forget it.

besides which even if you did, every addict knows that the only way you check OUT of rehab in any better condition is if YOU made the decision to rehabilitate in the first place. otherwise you're just breeding resentment and contempt that will generate more substance abuse, and perhaps worse, violence.

point being: if you do that outbreak, i will find you and i will kill you

[RidonKs]

I would not destroy it. I would wield it to make the world a better place. With my three wishes:

1. I wish Starface has a job.
2. I wish AllNet was a Pistons fan again.
3. I wish Insidehoops more Instagram followers.

Sorry Genie, I have no wishes to spare. This is my burden.
yeah but if you wished starface had a job he would resent you for it and if allnet tried to like the pistons because of the lamp but didn't really like them it'd never be the same between you two and if insidehoops had more instagram followers jeff would still sit at his computer night after night desperately trying to get the number just high enough to justify his existence.....

it'd be a little better but i feel like if you don't start with wishing godzuki into the bottom of a well, it could all be for naught.......

[NumberSix]

3 wishes...

1. Trump for president.
2. Trump for 2nd term.
3. Cruz for president.

[Levity]

you wouldnt free hat?!?

[Vaniiiia]

I wish I could watch my life unfold on a monitor while I accomplish all my dreams

Basically on that boyhood shit only with a lil' west coast flair, and a lot more poignant moments. My first kiss, My first car, My first million, My first billion, etc.

Would you guys be interested?

[ISHGoat]

#1 wish for more wishes
#2 wish that I wouldn't need the lamp to make more wishes
#3 wish that the lamp is permanently destroyed

Easy

[DeuceWallaces]

yeah but if you wished starface had a job he would resent you for it and if allnet tried to like the pistons because of the lamp but didn't really like them it'd never be the same between you two and if insidehoops had more instagram followers jeff would still sit at his computer night after night desperately trying to get the number just high enough to justify his existence.....

it'd be a little better but i feel like if you don't start with wishing godzuki into the bottom of a well, it could all be for naught.......

You are wise sir.

[RidonKs]

you wouldnt free hat?!?
no but i would wish for free hats to anybody willing to volunteer at a Free Hat Mccullough rally....

[DeuceWallaces]

Free fitted hats. That's an awesome wish.

[Levity]

no but i would wish for free hats to anybody willing to volunteer at a Free Hat Mccullough rally....

:applause:

id wish for a heart as golden as yours

[RidonKs]

Free fitted hats. That's an awesome wish.
"seven and five eights?"
"SEVEN AND FIVE EIGHTHS"
"why are u shouting?"
"I DONT KNOW, ITS THIS PLACE... I FEEL VERY UNCOMFORTABLE IN HERE!"

[RidonKs]

:applause:

id wish for a heart as golden as yours

http://coronacomingattractions.com/sites/default/files/news/wizard_of_oz_wizard_head.jpg

WHY LEVITY YOUR HEART HAS BEEN GOLDEN ALL ALONG
FOR ITS STRENGTH IS WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE
YOUR WILL TO LOVE; YOUR TRUE LOVE; IS LOVE ITSELF

[iamgine]

Only when you know the future you can change it.

[RidonKs]

Only when you know the future you can change it.
doesn't the grandfather paradox suggest the very opposite?

[zoom17]

How many times a day do you get high OP?

[RidonKs]

How many times a day do you get high OP?
depends what time it is

:coleman:

[DeuceWallaces]

I actually wear a 7 & 5/8 - 3/4

[RidonKs]

u got a big head. im like 7 and a 1/4 probably

mines a candlepin bowling ball to your ten pin

[iamgine]

doesn't the grandfather paradox suggest the very opposite?
How so? I don't find much similarity between that and this.

[RidonKs]

How so? I don't find much similarity between that and this.
if you have seen the future then nothing you do can change that future because your knowledge has already factored into the future you saw.

[iamgine]

if you have seen the future then nothing you do can change that future because your knowledge has already factored into the future you saw.
That's actually untrue because the future is fluid. It's not fixed. There are only possibilities of futures. For example, "the future had I not gotten the lamp" "The future if I chose to do A instead of B" etc. Therefore the lamp cannot show me a future I cannot change because it's ultimately my choice, just like you can't make a rock God cannot lift.

[KnittingRyu]

All I know is that though Genie can't kill people, he can make it super easy for you to: "I wish for ______ to be tied up in front of me in a place that will never be found by police."

[Jasi]

I have another question.

If you had the superpower of incorporeity (as in: your body is not subject to impenetrability), how would you use it to make money?

[RidonKs]

I have another question.

If you had the superpower of incorporeity (as in: your body is not subject to impenetrability), how would you use it to make money?
http://i.imgur.com/R3iMkIV.gif

fk if i know but i'll definitely be trying to think of ways throughout the day :lol

robbery remains tough cuz ur still visible.....

although getaways would be easy, just enter a building go to the bottom corner and walk through the wall

[Jasi]

:cheers:

Remember: it's your body, not the clothes you wear or the things you hold.
And you're not invisible.