Friday Five!

[giza]

From thefridayfive:

1. You're holding a dinner party and can invite three famous people from the past or present; who would they be?

Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, and William Shatner.

I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm pretty sure they video rights for the ensuing footage will be worth millions.

2. You have the opportunity to question someone about something you've always wanted to know and receive a truthful answer; what would your question be?

What is the square root of negative 1?

3. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?

My body type. This exercise and eating healthy thing is starting to get old.

4. If you could save other people's lives by completing an act that would lead to your own death, would you do it?

I guess it would depend on who the people are, and how many there are. Would I do it for a thrice-convicted child molester? Probably not. Would I do it for a group of 3 homeless guys? Most likely.

5. Would you commit murder if you knew that you could get away with it?

No, I would feel way too guilty about it, and the resulting stress would probably set me up with a heart attack. I'd rather live well which, as I've heard stated before, is the best revenge.

Comments

[zenmouse.livejournal.com]

2.) i

[zorinlynx.livejournal.com]

Drat! You beat me! Tsk tsk.

[zorinlynx.livejournal.com]

>2. You have the opportunity to question someone about something you've always wanted to know and receive a truthful answer; what would your question be?

You don't need to waste such a chance on such a mundane question.. The answer is: i

[rasslor.livejournal.com]

Such a mathematician-esque answer. Yes, the square root of -1 is equal to i. A better question is why is the square root of -1 equal to i.

[furahi.livejournal.com]

Because e was already taken and x made it too confusing?

[furahi.livejournal.com]

Homeless people is such an external quality to a person.
I know it's just an example, but... I mean...
A guy could be homeless because he didn't have a home after being in jail for years because of being a a tri-convicted child molester; or because of having commited fraud against a bunch of poor widows, who eventually sued and got all he's got in court, even his house. Homeless is an accident to the person, it says nothing about their moral values, it merely hints something about their economic skills and perhaps luck.
Now I'm not saying homeless people are mean, I just say being homeless doesn't make them good either (and then you'd have to question, if they had a home would that make them bad automatically?)

I guess the number is important too. You didn't mention it explicitly, but you did compare one guy in jail vs 3 homeless people.

And then a counter example would be... would you give your life to save the lives of everybody in a prison? ... OK, everybody is a tad broad; your life for the life of all the inmates in a prison? There's gotta be good people there, innocent people do go to jail, as do people who commit less severe crimes sometimes, and who may truly regret it.

f course it's all hypothetical, and even if you gave detailed answers to all the scenarios I could come up with, it'd mean nothing if it came down to it, because these discussions are nice food for thought, but nothing like actually being in a situation like that (and especially because there are usually alternatives. Chances of it coming down to YOUR (and yours specifically) life vs a bunch of other people's are slim.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was my point, since homeless people get such a bad rap. And I know that for every jerk on the street trying to get money from you, there's probably 50 more living in shelters trying to find stable employment, a home, etc.

The number of homeless guys (3), was just an arbitrary number I came up with, don't consider that to have any sort of scientific (or political) meaning. :-)

A prison full of people? Hmm, that's an interesting scenario too. I never thought of that one.