Masters - A Challenge For You

Discussion in 'Science & Society' started by c20H25N3o, Oct 19, 2004.

  1. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    2,017
    You are a being with limitless powers - here is your task.

    Take every human being alive and put them on a new planet which is made entirely of mud . Give each family a tent big enough for that families size and mark out a piece of land for each family by their respective tents. You supply them with air and a water supply but distribute each of these 'consumables' fairly. Every one has access to breathable air and you provide a river which flows by each and every piece of land.
    You supply each family with enough seeds to grow their own food indefinately.

    You set two rules.

    1) The humans must never turn on you their master.
    2) The humans must treat eachother with the same respect that they treat you with.

    Where are the power struggles? How could this system fail? What are the pitfalls? How would you deal with the problems that arose?

    Discuss!

    Thanks

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    c20

    Mods : Please move to Ethics, Morality, & Justice - sorry for being a dolt

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  3. Revolution Registered Senior Member

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    Is crack cocaine on this planet? What about weed? Ok I'd use the infinite supply of marijuana seeds and such to keep em all docile, fed, and happily stoned.
     
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  5. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    It would be their decision whether they grew any of the seeds you had given them.
     
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  7. weed_eater_guy It ain't broke, don't fix it! Registered Senior Member

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    Well, If I were on a quarter-square mile of mud, had a little tent, and grew some corn or something... i'd have to get used to having a permanent muddy skin treatment, we'd be filthy. Actually, if my family was just my beautiful wife and it was a warm day in the tent, and there was soft, smooth mud all over... but that doesn't matter, other than the constant sexcapades i'd be winning, I'd get bored OUT OF MY SKULL. I'd at LEAST need enough industrialization to give me an x-box and TV, or at least a bunch of books or a deck of cards or something. Okay, this still sounds really sad... that's it, I'm mad, i'm gonna run around pelting things with mud-balls, since there's no movie theater, no mall, no beach, no entertainment WHAT SO EVER. Then a band of me and other rebel residents of the muddied-up tents will invent fire, and start having fun with that, untill either we start clan wars against each other or the all-mighty being that put us on planet Mud smotes us in our violation of constant, boring, wasteful peace.

    With that I say that world peace is impossible, and even if we could achieve it, we'd all be bored stupid and life would be pointless. Now, with our current development, we don't need planet Mudball, we just need to find the problems case-by-case and apply boot to sadistic human-right-violator ass. God bless america! lol!

    p.s. please disregard that last line so we don't end up on ANOTHER america-is-the-source-of-pure-eternal-evil tangent...
     
  8. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    2,017
    It is interesting that you immediately adopt the role of one of the peoples of the mud planet rather than the all powerful being. It is even more interesting that you disregarded the grass seed that was given to you and became instantly annoyed with your lot in life. Then you started wars!
    As one of the peoples of the mud planet did you never consider asking the all powerful being for any help or guidance given that he set you two rules?
     
  9. weed_eater_guy It ain't broke, don't fix it! Registered Senior Member

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    obviously I'd try to control myself a little more than that, I was just having some fun, but if I were a citizen of that world, I would not regard weed and divine intervention as being the everything and all of my life. That'd be a gross delusion. God wants us to make something of ourselves, and while I probably would become a mud-flinging terrorist (as hilarious as that image is...), I would definetly try to fight the simple, boring system, because if we humans didn't, something else would upset the system. Like a plague, or a crop famine, or we develop tolerance to the weed, or any number of phenomena.

    "It is interesting that you immediately adopt the role of one of the peoples of the mud planet rather than the all powerful being." Oh, yeah, like I'm as shallow and power hungry as your egotistic self. Dude, get over it, you don't have the answer, nobody has, in the entire span of human history, devised an ingenious plan as to how we can solve civilization's problems once and for all. It's impossible, the only way to cure it is to employ mental and physical enslavement, which if you havnt noticed is a key element in your plan and also an obstacle that mankind has constantly overturned, smashed, and set affire as a source of evil (which it is). Humans can't be enslaved, but freedom lets us employ our knowledge of good and evil. Grin and bear it, that's the way it is.
     
  10. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    So you still wouldnt ask the all powerful being in this scenario for help?
     
  11. weed_eater_guy It ain't broke, don't fix it! Registered Senior Member

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    why ask the powerful being put me on mud world in the first place! Sure I'd ask for help in desperation, but I doubt the powerful being wanting peace and perfection in society would bother going out of his way to make my life more interesting and meaningful. Now in today's reality, God does things like that, so that'd make sence to ask him for divine intervention, which I completely believe in.
     
  12. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    Over valuable resources, of course...
    For various reasons, pieces of land will gain or lose value over time, leading to power struggles over valuable land.
    Human relationships inevitably include their own "resources", such as sex, companionship, and family development. These resources are limited, and will lead to power struggles.

    The biggest potential pitfall is laissez-faire management.

    Without active government:
    The humans have no clear purpose - why are they placed there? Are they just playthings in some kind of cosmic thought experiment?
    What motivates the people obey the rules?
    How are power struggles resolved?

    Active government.
    Visible consequences for keeping and breaking rules.
    Well defined objectives.
     
  13. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    Actually if the humans obeyed the two rules they were set there would be no power struggles at all

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  14. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    That's a big IF
     
  15. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    I'm not sure if it's true, either...

    1) The humans must never turn on you their master.
    2) The humans must treat each other with the same respect that they treat you with.

    Rule 2 relies on something so far unstated.

    How much respect do the humans treat me with?
    They are apparently not required to treat me with respect? It's not a rule...

    Now, even when treating people with the utmost respect, it is possible to have power struggles. If two people want the same thing, but respect each other, how do they handle that situation? It sounds like a power struggle to me... just a polite one.
     
  16. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    Well if there was no if there would be no freewill. But the statement is true nonetheless. It would make much more sense as one of the humans to make friends with the super powerful being. You know He is trustworthy because he is asking you to show eachother respect. You also know he is all powerful so I would say that he himself is probably the best resourse there is.

    cheers

    c20
     
  17. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    2,017
    But why wouldn't something so puny as a human, not treat something so powerful with respect given that he has commanded you?

    thanks

    c20
     
  18. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    10,167
    Like I said, active government.
    If there's no visible consequences for following or not following the rules, then the rules are meaningless.
     
  19. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    How do they know my power if it isn't visibly exercised?
     
  20. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    You forget that the first thing you did was 'give' them stuff that they would otherwise would never have had! Also you are who you are - you are visibly very very powerful. You can produce stuff outta nothing just by commanding it so. The humans cannot do this on there own strength but given that all things are poosible for you, you could impart some of your power to them! You could even say that if they kept your commandments all the days of their lives, that they too may become like you because you will command it so.

    peace

    c20
     
  21. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    10,167
    We agree then.

    Active government.
    Visible consequences for keeping and breaking rules.
    Well defined objectives.
     
  22. c20H25N3o Shiny Heart of a Shiny Child Registered Senior Member

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    2,017
    Yes, government of the lawless is absolutely necessary and since the law comes from only one authority i.e. you, it makes absolute sense to install one. Of course you would only put people in charge who did obey your commandments wouldn't you?
    If everyone obeyed your commandments it could be argued however that there was no need for government since you had provided the humans with all that they needed and are willing to give more to those that ask of you.

    thanks

    c20
     
  23. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    By "government", I mean that I would expect to actively govern the people in some way.
    I don't mean installing a human government.
     

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