The "What if..." Question [Archive]

Doom_Dragoon

03-01-2004, 2:01 PM

Say you have a mirror. In this mirror, you can access past events and view them. The twist is that you can also alter the events occuring so you may view the outcome of alternate descisions. My question to you is, would you look. Why or why not?

TheDarkCaller

03-01-2004, 3:33 PM

No, not particularly. I drive myself crazy many times considering how I could have fixed many problems in life by doing things differently, and truly, nothing depresses me quite as much as that - looking at my past mistakes. Being able to actually see just how different life would have been would be more painful than fulfilling for me.

DaDaimon

03-01-2004, 3:36 PM

Surely I would look. You can learn so much from it. There is bound to be some way to make money out of it.

Valjean

03-01-2004, 3:37 PM

Yes, I would look. Just to see what potential I had.

OboeGuru

03-01-2004, 6:33 PM

Surely I would look. You can learn so much from it. There is bound to be some way to make money out of it.
Yeah Capitalism!!!!!

Yeah, I'd look. To see if changing things really would've made a difference.

Lucifer_Hawk

03-01-2004, 7:00 PM

I agree with darkcaller on this one. Seeing what I could have been would just make me depressed and sad that I am what I am now. I would definetly not look.

Battlecruiser

03-01-2004, 7:05 PM

I would probably change a few things and try to make outcomes favorable for me but then after sometime I would forget to live my life and instead I would be addicted on this mirror. Life would be a horror mivie. I think it is sort of like the butterfly effect movie. I didn't see the movie but I saw the comercials and they showed a crazy world of what happens when you play with time.

Fenguin

03-01-2004, 8:06 PM

I thought you could only see stuff, not change stuff, in this mirror.
I would sure as hell look. I mean... there's some pretty *interesting* things that you might be able to see on there [coughinvolvingvirginscough] :D

Duddits

03-01-2004, 8:14 PM

Sombody's mind is in the gutter...

Absolutly not. IMO, the past is the past. Some say you can learn from it (or reflect on it to use a pun here), I agree to a point, but thinking about the way I could have done things different is going to far. Identifing what you did wrong and making a note of what to do is the way to go, but not ceaselessly wondering "What if"... which, fyi, is the most despicable word in the English language (not counting racial/sexist slurs). I hate that word.

To stop rambling, mostly because I'm freakin missing Stargate, no. I would not look.

Doom_Dragoon

03-01-2004, 9:18 PM

I would look. This is because of my "well that sucks, oh well." attitude I have adopted over the years. I think it would be really cool to see who's lives I could have affected with my descision(s).

BTW, you can only change events to view them in the mirror they dont affect your life as of now. It's just a tool for knowledge, nothing more.

MacG

03-02-2004, 5:27 AM

I'm a curious person, so I would probably look. Either way, I wouldn't be able to change what happen. It would probably make me doubt decisions I make in the future, if the alternative mirror decision is conflicting with my emotions or something like that. But yeah, the "Oh well" attitude will probably happen when I see it.

frogger

03-03-2004, 10:19 PM

i would probably look into it. I am a weak willed person. I would look into the mirror, see how my life could be better then it is, and kill myself. Im always depressed (expect when on happy pills, go western medicine!!!) and seeing that my life could be alot better, it would drive me to kill myself.

Scorch

03-09-2004, 12:29 AM

I'd look, if just so I could see how all the bad things in my life have been justified, and why they happened.

ShadowGonissa

03-09-2004, 6:56 PM

Mordecai2k

03-10-2004, 11:37 PM

Mhm, i would. I'm selfish so i probably won't try to fix anything that went wrong with the world but probably just my family and friends which would make things less complicated.

wraith_captain

03-11-2004, 6:47 AM

I wouldn't look. I would be tempted to change things, and I would probably screw up the world, or kill myself, or something dumb like that.

SSA_Ultimasheep

03-11-2004, 4:03 PM

DaDaimon

03-11-2004, 4:21 PM

i would smash the mirror and destroy the peices befor i was tempted. the past is the past and it is not ment to be changed. also the universe is based on chaos and it would not be right to change the future. besides i would probably kill myself when i saw how much better my life could have turned out.

You wouldn't be you if your life would have been so much better as you claim. You are the sum of your experiences during your life, change the experiences and you will no longer be you. Be glad you are you and for how the things turned out, else you simply would not exist.

Mordecai2k

03-11-2004, 7:54 PM

I wouldn't look. I would be tempted to change things, and I would probably screw up the world, or kill myself, or something dumb like that.

but what if you found out that your death would have been so much better for everyone around you?

peace_machine

03-16-2004, 2:26 AM

I would look at the mirror, figure out how it works and sell miniture versions of it. Now wouldn't that screw the world up!

ShawnManX

03-18-2004, 11:43 AM

BlackHawk

03-18-2004, 12:37 PM

I would not look, because if I did I would spend years going through every action I ever did just to see how that would have changed my life if I had done the opposite. So I would most likely break the thing incase I did happen to want to.

Netrunner

03-27-2004, 10:35 AM

I would look, I would want to see my life as it was before I became a nerd
.

Grom_Icecream

03-28-2004, 11:35 PM

This would be the greatest. I could see what kinda stupid stuff i did on all those nights i got hammered and lost my memory. I get told a lot of storys but would like to see for myself. Particularly the MILF incident, but i wont go into that.

*sigh* On second thoughts maybe this would be a bad thing.

Duddits

04-13-2004, 5:58 PM

I would look, if I could kill the dude responsible for spreading aids in America. When he found out he had it, he went all mad and decided to take down as many others as he could. Stupid bastard. I would kill him. Not that I have aids, but still.
I've heard that it was a chick. The first reported case was a chick, however. Somewhere over in Europe.

It wouldn't matter, anyway. The disease would have boiled and raged over in Europe. Asia, and Africa as it is now. It would have got here anyway. We didn't even know about it till around 300 people had already died.

Whiteknight

04-13-2004, 11:20 PM

I would look, but I wouldn't look too far into the past. I would look into the recent past so that I could change things for the better. Take this for example. You know a person, and you like them somewhat, but not as a really good friend. You have a fight and no one will apologize. You look into the mirror and discover what would happen if you had said sorry. That ex-friend would grow up to be the owner in a succesful business and would have offered you a partnership. Therefore, you go and apologize before it is too late and it would be pretty much the same.

This can be worked out for other things like lovers, etc.

I also have a 'what if?' question. Should I post it here or post it in a new thread?

Jimbob

04-15-2004, 11:07 AM

wait wait if seeing your self in the past wouldnt that create a paridox

Whiteknight

04-16-2004, 1:31 AM

No, because you are not being able to alter your past. You can see what might have happened.

Here is another "What if" question:

If there was this crystal ball that would tell you the exact day and time you would die and how you would die, but there would be no way to change your future fate, then would you look into the ball?

RelinaIonna

04-19-2004, 2:22 PM

1: I wouldn't look, I'm a virgo, and I tend to be a perfectionist ect. in essence Stress Kills.

2.Also I wouldn't look because then I know I would go nuts tryinn to avoid my death and it would probably end up like a bad "Final Destination" rip off.

overdramatic

06-25-2004, 2:12 PM

i would look, just because i can

Spdstr

07-07-2004, 11:40 AM

No
"My past hunts me." - Vincent (FF7)

Member,
~ Spdstr

Black.Ice

07-07-2004, 11:49 AM

1. I would look, and just see what alterations I could make. Of course, given if given the choice to apply these alterations to real life, I would never do that. It's a great learning tool, and you can learn about a person's personality. For example, you can ask him/her a question that you would've never asked, and see their reaction.

2. To WK, I would look. I would be interested to see when or why and how I would die.

Spdstr

07-07-2004, 12:04 PM

Also, messing with the past is dangerous, look at Back to the Future.

It would have too many consequences.

Member,
~ Spdstr

Black.Ice

07-07-2004, 8:55 PM

Also, messing with the past is dangerous, look at Back to the Future.

It would have too many consequences.

Member,
~ Spdstr
But the mirror can't change the past. It can only see what would happen if you made those choices.

Spdstr

07-09-2004, 12:56 PM

But the mirror can't change the past. It can only see what would happen if you made those choices. Oh, I still wouldn't look then, it'd probably be depressing if it would turn out better than what your life is now then. (Darnit shoulda frenched that girl when I had the chance) jk, for you people who dont' know when I'm kidding (Mtank) ;), "jk".

Member,
~ Spdstr

GiaDragoness

07-13-2004, 10:49 AM

The past exists so we don't forget, but tell me this: How can we change the past and not change our futures or present days as consequence? There are so many things I wish I could change, but then, I would'nt be the same person I am here today. I would be so tempted to help someone in suffering, but the fact that I would spread more evil would be unbearible. The past is there as a reminder, and we mus'nt forget such things, lest the past repeat. I would look.

:smash: Smashy Smashy! :smash:

singo

07-13-2004, 3:04 PM

Also, messing with the past is dangerous, look at Back to the Future.

It would have too many consequences.

Member,
~ Spdstr
and we know this because?.......

you cannot base theories about changing the past on films.

Spdstr

07-13-2004, 3:36 PM

Lol, man, if you'd change one thing in the past, you'd change everyone else's life as well.

Member,
~ Spdstr

Uuugggg

07-13-2004, 6:55 PM

That's why we're looking at what WOULD happen if you changed the past. We're not talking about actually changing anything.

Yes. I don't care if I get depressed that I didn't do something better earlier on, I already know I haven't tried my hardest on anything. And hey, if I did try hard and things turned out sucky, I'd be pleasantly surprised.

Spdstr

07-13-2004, 9:03 PM

I say leave the past alone.. Period. Seeing what life would have been like would be wierd...

Member,
~ Spdstr

GiaDragoness

07-14-2004, 3:03 PM

and we know this because?.......

you cannot base theories about changing the past on films.

Exactly, I mean, does ANYTHING from the movies EVER work out in real life? LOL.

:smash: Smashy Smashy! :smash:

Dark_Viper

07-14-2004, 5:40 PM

id probably look at it for a second... back away about 50 ft. chuck a brick at it to smash the mirror and then run my ass off...

GiaDragoness

07-14-2004, 8:08 PM

id probably look at it for a second... back away about 50 ft. chuck a brick at it to smash the mirror and then run my ass off...
Uhm, Ok. Did you just feel like saying some totally random option just to be funny? If not, what the hell are you thinking?

:smash: Smashy loving angel!http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/contrib/ed/angel2.gif
I think Im going to weave this into my sig, at least till I get my own comp working again.

Dark_Viper

07-14-2004, 8:17 PM

Uhm, Ok. Did you just feel like saying some totally random option just to be funny? If not, what the hell are you thinking?

sry about that.. accidentally drank 2 energy drinks.. 120mg of caffene woohoo..

i dont think id want to look into the mirror or change anything from my past.. if i did. i wouldnt be where i am now.. I'd probably be worse of if i did..