Which Would You Choose?

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

Which of these would you find most useful?

(a. An army of hoplites consisting of 7.435964870 billion that could forage for themselves. They would also follow all you tell them.

(b. 70 cores of mongolian cataphracts in full suits of titanium armor and bazookas. They would also follow all you tell them.

(c. 15 camels that can fluently speak in Russian, Greek, and Aramaic with Ethiopian accents; can wash dishes, hang up hats, and cook any Sri Lankan food.

Edited March 6, 2011 by Thorfinn the Shallow Minded

[Mythos_Ruler]

Can the 7 billion hoplites consist of 50% women?

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

Can the 7 billion hoplites consist of 50% women?

I guess so

[Mythos_Ruler]

Then I would say A.

[Jeru]

A and B are similar premises - A certain amount of slaves mindlessly obeying your every order.

A is too many people for the earth to support. We would all run out of room, food, water etc.

B is tempting. They come with presumably better armor. But I'm not sure what "70 cores" are. I hope it's a typo for "70 scores", meaning 70*20 = 1400, which is many orders of magnitude less than A. But if it's just the core of their body or some other trick then I'll pass.

C sounds like a very lucrative business opportunity. So I will go with C.

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

But I'm not sure what "70 cores" are

a core consists of 36,000 to 72,000 men. (that is defined by the civil war organization)

Edited December 4, 2010 by Thorfinn the Shallow Minded

[Silver]

A and B are similar premises - A certain amount of slaves mindlessly obeying your every order.

A is too many people for the earth to support. We would all run out of room, food, water etc.

B is tempting. They come with presumably better armor. But I'm not sure what "70 cores" are. I hope it's a typo for "70 scores", meaning 70*20 = 1400, which is many orders of magnitude less than A. But if it's just the core of their body or some other trick then I'll pass.

C sounds like a very lucrative business opportunity. So I will go with C.

You could just tell a few billion to commit suicide...?

[Jeru]

So we're still talking up to >5 million people. And horses. I could never command them effectively. I have no guarantees they have an existing organization or that they even know each other. And it would call an awful lot of attention if they all popped out of nowhere in a single day.

I would rather get fewer units but each would have superpowers or something.

Edit: Suicide? What if I wanted them back again later?

Edited December 4, 2010 by Jeru

[ZeZar]

Well, I would go for A.

Then I would perform scientific experiments with half of them and if I'm really lucky (Ethic and morals won't matter muhaha) I will create a few supermen. And some Spidermen. And a guy who combines them. superspiderawesomeman!

Then I would take over the world.

So yeah, thats easy, I'd go with A!

[Shield Bearer]

I have to disagree with you Jeru, the world has a lot of space. in fact we could fit the whole world in India and still have space left so yeah, i choose A. with the 7 billion hoplites i would re-create the world that was lost, erect great a beautiful structures and fill the world with awesome art so that everyone would be able to get out of the @#$% life we're currently living...or i could just use them to finish 0 AD

[Jeru]

I have to disagree with you Jeru, the world has a lot of space. in fact we could fit the whole world in India and still have space left

Maybe there's enough standing room, but consider all the arable land and fresh water needed to support the world. Is there enough of that in total? How is that distributed? Food for thought.

[ZeZar]

Way to much thinking.

Wouldnt more people produce more?

Like, the earth could probably handle it if all parts where used right

And also, if you were the dictator of all this, you could ensure the saving of the environment

[Shield Bearer]

Exactly, a doc in the UN said that we could increase our food output as much as is demanded as long as they sell at reasonable prices. at the moment, only about 10%, i think, of agricultural land is used and we could improve the yield of that 10% quite considerably.

I think what the problem is, that the people aren't really educated in this area. Many people in India give less importance to farming and prefer other jobs, like CA's and stuff. Thats all good i guess, but if we lose farmers then our food prices will soar and the people of India will not be able to afford it. So i think instead wasting time educating people to have smaller families(in Europe less and less babies are born each year) we should teach them about this, about the importance of farming etc.

(i'm sorry if this sounds offensive, I in no way mean to e offensive)

@ZeZar: Nice thinking

Edited December 9, 2010 by Shield Bearer

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

All right. Saying that there has been a pretty good turnout with the first three options, here is another set of questions!

Where would you live?

a) In a two room log cabin located in an arctic climate with running water, electricity, and a fireplace for indoor heating. There would be no computer technology in this place or television, but you would have a radio that plays all kinds of Classical music. For companionship, you have a pet wolverine that lives almost indefinitely. It can pull a dogsled, enjoys hunting elk, moose, deer, bears, and shrews and excels at it. There is no computer within five miles of here and you have no wi-fi access. Your only source of transportation is by skiing, sledding, and using the dogsled.

b ) A small tropical island that has a coconut tree and a spam tree for providing food. You have no wi-fi access or electricity. Never the less, you have a pet dolphin that likes to sunbathe. Your fresh water comes from a geyser that filters out the salt and germs. Your abode is a small one room house that is constructed with bamboo and has a palm leaf roof. You sleep in a hammock.

c) A longship that has many of the modern day luxuries. You have a Mac Pro, a dish washer, a sink, running water, indoor heating, solar panels for an electric source, wi-fi access, a boom box that plays every Classical piece of music you can think of and more. You must run the ship manually though and do not have any crew excepting your trusty spider monkey first mate. You may not land on the shore unless you need food supplies or repairs. Every month or so, a you are attacked by Polish Kamakazes, forcing you to use your flak.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Thorfinn the Shallow Minded

[Jeru]

Wouldnt more people produce more?

Sorry, no. People are not the limiting factor. There are lots more people in developing countries than there used to be, and a lot of them have no access to modern medicine, fresh water and all the nutrients they need. A lot of newborns die of disease, children go blind because of vitamin A deficiency etc.

I would rather sort all of that out before adding a few more billion people into this earth in one go.

As for the last question, I would choose C, then B, then A. As long as I have access to the outside world, I can get some kind of help for my problems, like calling the coast guard or buying more weapons against the evil Polish people, or learning how to treat myself for any injuries or illnesses. Both scenarios A and B entail total isolation which is dangerous. A is particularly dangerous because my existence depends more on machines that could break or supplies that could run out, and then I could freeze to death very easily.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Jeru

[ZeZar]

Hahaha, why is the Polish people evil?

Probably B, since I hate cold weather (Yeah I'm the worst Norwegian ever). Or maybe C.

However I'd only go with C if I could trade the Mac with a laptop with Windows on it!

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

Hahaha, why is the Polish people evil?

Maybe they don't like longships.