Gregory Stock’s “The Book of Questions”

After hearing and responding to these questions in class, I have decided to explore and further develop my ideas on question number four. The original question is ” If you could spend one year in prefect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If not, Why not?” I decided to explore this question because I did not give not give it much thought in class, and wanted to think about it more.
My initial response was a definite no, because I thought that if I could not remember my year in total bliss, then what would be the point. Also, I thought that it would be a waste of time. Upon arriving at my computer this morning, or as it is now afternoon, I thought about this question again. After pondering for a few minutes, I decided that I would spend this year in happiness, even though I would never remember it.
I changed my tune about my decision to spend this year because nobody can put a price on happiness. To be happy for an entire year, without falters, would be amazing. I know from experience that being happy for five minutes feels great, so being happy for an entire year would probably be so many times as amazing. Regardless if I were to remember this amazing experience, I would still go through it because it will not affect my life negatively, and I have nothing to loose.

I would like to respond and explore question #3. The question is: If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? I would most regret not telling my loved ones that I love them more often. The question also asks why haven’t I told them that yet? The truth is I have told them this; I’ve told them that I love them many times. I believe that you can never tell your loved ones, especially your parents, how much you love them. The countless hours that parents spend taking the time to take care of their children go unnoticed and unappreciated in my mind. I would never want to leave this world on a bad note with anyone. But I believe that it would be the worst feeling in the world to die this evening and not feel that you told your loved ones that you loved them enough.

I want to further explore question four, which was “If you could spend one year in prefect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If not, Why not?” I wanted to further explore this question because I also had many mixed feelings about the question and I wanted to search for different answers from different perspectives. First, right off hand I felt that if I could spend an entire year in perfect happiness but would not remember the experience I would not proceed on agreeing to it since I would not be able to remember the experience as I myself would not considerate it an experience at all. However, after discussing it in class, Austin made a very good point where he would agree to the year in perfect delight, and after not remembering the experience, the experience itself would never antagonize him once he began his original life again. Following Austin’s proposal I immediately changed my decision to spend a year in perfect happiness without any recollections of the experience.

The question I would liike to explore more is “would you rather be part of a sports team or be a star in an individual sport?” After I thought about it, I would rather be part of a sport team, rather then an individual sports star. When you are an individual star, you may get, money, and many trophies, but I think you miss out on one of the greatest part about being on a team, the parade. When you watch a parade after a team wins a title, everyone in the state comes out to praise them, and cheer for them. Everytime Tiger Woods wins, there is no parade, the only thing they say is that it is no surpraise. I would love to be admired by millions of people after I win a title for them, for their city.

Do you think the world will be a better or worse place one hundred years from now? I think that in one hundred years from now the world will be a worse place. I think that very soon technology and mankind will reach its peak. Once we develop everything we need then all the creativity in the world will be gone. In ten years computers will be smarter than humans. So if computers can do everything for humans then the point of living will no longer exist. Computers will do everything for us, from fighting wars to curing cancer. Wars will be common everyday things. If no people fight in the wars then we can fight and just keep building new machines to fight. Also, when computers are smarter than humans then humans will all lose their jobs to superior machines. In one hundred years from now war will be part of everyday life in order to stimulate the economy, that only depends on computers and machines.

I am responding to question 7: Do you think the world will be a better or worse place a hundred years from now?Personally, I believe in a hundred years from now, the world will be a better place. December 21, 2012 at 11:11 p.m. is the time at which the ancient Mayans have predicted the end of our age. The most supported theory is that only the believers will survive, and the earth will be reborn into a new age. I think that this group of people could lead the human race into an age of peace and learning. Even though the world might become a very simplistic place, I think that it would be better than what is happening in the world right now. The “end of the world” would be like starting from scratch. Humans would get another chance, to try to make things right; ending war, poverty, hunger, crime, murder, political issues. . . Even though history would be erased, and technology and people would be forgotten, a fresh start might be the only thing that can save us from destroying each other and ourselves.

I want to explore the fourth question more, which is “If you could spend one year in prefect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If not, Why not?”. A whole year of happiness is absolutly alluring — expecially in nowdays, more and more complain arose on stress of work and family life. But it brings about another quesiton, does unhappy experience worthless? I’d say definite not. The goal of our life is not simply just be happy, if it is , untalented people can have a much more meaningful life than talented people since they are easier to be satisfied and delight. Our goal are varied and complex, it can be persuing for the very truth of the universe, meliorate the utility of the society, etc. Undoubtly, most of those goals above are not comfortable, and probably need to go through some tribulation, but they are definitely not worthless if one accomplish them, and those experience, though with toughness and misery, are delight experience only when you look back at them.

I wanted to respond to question 7, which was if the world would be a better or worst place in the next one hundred years. I thought this question was interesting because there are many possibilities and ideas when trying to answer it. You could say that the world will be a better place because of development of science and technology. It could be so advanced that it could solve many problems to make the world better. I also thought of the world being a better place in a different way. If the world did end as some predicted, the earth could be reborn without human flaws, making it a better and more peaceful place. I believe that the world will be worst because of the environmental issues. Technology could be advanced, but can not stop the rise of sea levels and tropical storms. Another issue throughout the world is overpopulation that can not be prevented. Technology could also lead to the downfall of the world with all the new and dangerous nuclear weapons. In one hundred years I just don’t think the world will be a better place to live.

Folks,

This is an excellent start. If you take a minute to read through the posts, you will find that these questions lead us to ponder and reflect on topics such as; life, death, implications of technology on society, nuclear weapons, the state of human existence, ancient civilizations and the nature of happiness. Consider what it might mean if you were to take one of these and begin exploring it even deeper.

Reactions?

I am responding to question 6: If I found out my one year old child was not mine and I could fix the mistake, I would most definitely switch the kids and get my real child back. Even if I had the kid for a year, the other child is still my blood. I would feel weird knowing the child is not a true Hilbert. After the switch I would never speak about the incident again.

You discover your wonderful one-year old child is, because of a mix up at the hospital, is not yours. Would you want to exchange the child to try to correct the mistake? My answer is yes I would definitely correct the mistake. I wouldn’t care if the child was amazing as a one year old, I would want to have my own child that I could raise. And even if the child that you got mixed up with was amazing and wonderful as a one-year old, they could grow up to be a brat and be disrespectful towards you and others. I’m not saying that when I switched children back that my original child is going to be amazing and different then the other when it grows up but at least I can say that it’s related to me and it’s one of my own. Also when the baby grows up and gets married and has children of there own, my grandsons or granddaughters, I would want them to be blood related to me. So i would definitely make the switch.

Do you think the world will be a better or worse place one hundred years from now? I believe that the world will be the same in one hundred years. I feel that no matter what happens positively an event will even it out negatively. It’s a very depressing idea. Diseases have and will keep mutating and becoming stronger and advances in medicine will only keep this trend going. Not many people like the idea of communism, so there will always be a division between social classes. In addition, people will always disagree on things. The world will always have its problems and they will always be difficult to solve. I feel that out of the innumerable amount of problems in the world, that human kind has the possibility to resolve one. I hope mankind can at least find peaceful ways to disagree and come together as the one species we are. Imagine a world where everyone worked together to solve things for all mankind. I hope that global warming is a kick start to this process. The possibility for the end of humankind should be a powerful enough threat to bring people together. As pessimistic, as this post sounds I hope humankind can make the world a better place. I truly do hope so. However I do not think that the world can do some which to me is why I believe the world will be the same as it is today.

5: If a new medicine were developed that would cure arthritis but cause a fatal reaction in one percent of those who took it, would you want it to be released to the public?
Yes, I would want it to be released to the public, but that does not mean I’m willing to kill 1% of the arthritic population. My ethical reaction to this question is clear: I would not want the medicine to be released because arthritis doesn’t kill anyone and this medication would, and I don’t think it’s worth it. However, my logic says otherwise, and my logic always has more say in these situations. If you really think about the implications of a medication like this, you realize that it would actually be quite beneficial. As long as the company clearly explained the risks involved, then I believe the decision should be left up to those suffering from arthritis. A person with minor arthritis might decide that a 99% chance of curing their mediocre pain is not be worth it, and therefore would just decide not to take the medication. On the other hand, a person with severe, life altering, debilitating arthritis would be faced with this decision: a 99% chance of success, continuing life pain free, vs. a 1% chance of dying, which ultimately would free them of their pain. I believe these people should be able to make there own choice given the risks involved. They are the only ones that know the severity of their pain, so only they can assess whether or not that 1% chance is worth it. My morals say otherwise, but my logic says release it.

If a loved one pleaded with me to relocate to a foreign country without being able to guarantee me seeing my friends or family again I would have to contemplate the question carefully. A lot of “if…then” statements come to mind. For example, if my mother asked me to leave the country for survival, then I would undoubtedly move with her. However, if a person I was in a serious relationship with asked me, it would most definitely depend on the situation. I would like to think if a person loved me enough they wouldn’t ask me to leave my friends and family. They would be able to recognize, despite the numerous fights with my family, how much my friends and family mean to me. Another aspect to consider however is the developments in technology. It has become so simplistic to virtually communicate with people despite distance. My brother recently backpacked across the European continent, and stayed in hostels. Just by a click of a button his curly hair and goofy smile was transported into the comfort of my own home as if he had never left. Although he was not physically with me, being able to interact with my brother via internet made it much easier to cope with him being gone for over a year. This being said, it would truly depend on who asked me and the given situation.

I am responding to question #3: If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?
The first time Mr.Viva asked our class this question, this particular question caught my eye. My orginial thought was regretting how I did not tell the people who are close to me how much love I have for them. And how I did not really appreciate what those people did for me. But as soon as I got home and was thinking more about this particular question, it got me to thinking. I regret not talking to certain people because I was afarid. I was afarid of judgement and loss of friends. I regret not telling people what I really thought and how I actually feel. But, I would not regret communication though, I would regret actions. Actions speak louder than words. I would regret what I did not do with the people I love. I would regret risks that I did not take even though I was offered them. I would regret what I did not do for people in order to make their life easier when they were in trouble. I would regret holding back on spoiling my little brothers. Its what I didnt do is what would be important to me in that type of situation.

If I were to win a world championship I would definitely want it to be a team sport. Considering my favorite sport is soccer I can only imagine holding up the legendary World Cup in my hands at the top of the podium, or putting down my head to have the gold medal draped around my neck. Personally I truly do not mind being apart of a team. Winning as a team you get to share all the special memories and stories with each other, whereas winning as an individual, who are you going to share those memories with? Of course your wife of husband, kids and grandkids but who else? Being apart of a team there are so many more stories to be told and fun to be had. I am not a very conceited person and I would much rather share a prize than keep it to myself. Obviously winning as an individual you get so much more fame and glory. For example look at Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods is world known for what he has been able to do with a golf club in hand. However how many Tiger Woods’ are there in the world? As far as I’m concerned there is only one, but how many great soccer teams are out there? How many great football or basketball teams? In my opinion winning a team championship would be just as nice if not better than winning an individual championship.

For number 7: Do you think the world will be a better or worse place one hundred years from now? As for me, I think that for technology it will definitely be much more better, but I think that the distance between families or friends would be much more greater. For example, back in the days, a fireplace might be the center place for a family where they can communicate to each other and do things together. But as the technology improved, things such as television, computer and internet invented. People starts chatting with each other online instead of face to face, also isolated ourself from the family. So for this question, I think one hundred years from now the world would be worse.

I am responding to question number seven. “Do you think the world will be a better or worse place one hundred years from now?” I think that technology and medicine would be more advanced making the world a better place. Yet I think that the cost of living will go up. Already in D.C. the average person must be making around twenty-five dollars to have a decent living space. I think the number of homeless and hungry people will go up, making the world a worse place to live in. Also with new technology for military there will be a chance that there will be more wars and people fighting. Who knows what will happen with the climate, the world could become degrees hotter then it is now, affecting the plants and animals, not to mention the people still alive. The government might be corrupted and that would affect many things one hundred years from now. The world could be a better place, but it might also be a worse place one hundred years from now.

The question that caught my attention, also being the question I chose to answer, is: “If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?” Although I often tell my loved ones that I love them, there is one person that I haven’t told. Her name is Lily. I’ve known her for about for years now, and until recently, we’ve just been really good friends. I guess you could say that things have changed, and now we’re closer than we anticipated we would have been. After hearing this question, I decided to tell her the other day while we were talking. This question is actually more realistic than it seems. Accidents happen every day, and there’s no telling if tomorrow will come. With that in mind, I spoke to her and told her what I’ve been holding back for a while now. Call me crazy, but I told her I loved her. I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true, but I know it is, because you can’t say that you love someone unless you know both their good qualities and bad ones. That’s what counts.

I’d also like to briefly address the “million dollar question”. The question reads, “Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again?” My answer is absolutely not. This would be pretty selfish to do because one might think, “I could just have my family and friends move”, but that’s causing everyone to uproot their lifestyle, and leave their loved ones, to accommodate you. I think that’s a selfish and inconsiderate thing to ask, so in that manner, I wouldn’t.