How would the world change if everyone was like you?
 

Today is an odd day for me.

I have a four hour lunch break, with one hour to go.

I have a bag with not one, not two, but three jumbo chili dogs with cheese and we are talking Chicago hot dogs here, on my desk.

I have nothing I need to do at this very moment.

So while I was out to get my jumbo chili cheese dogs, I had a thought while passing the jewelry store I got my wifes wedding ring at. How would the world change if everyone thought/felt the way I do.

I'm not talking political, governmental, wars and education, I'm talking music, food, tv, sports, that sort of thing. The fluff (yes I called music fluff) that makes up the majority of what we do in life, and yes food is important but only as a nutrient paste, chili dogs vrs say Chinese cooking is not 'important'.

So for me....

1. Jewelry stores would cease to exist. The price of all gem stones would plummet.

2. Soccer would no longer exist.

3. Hollywood would be a less than 100 million a year industry.

4. Music would tend to be local bands only.

5. The carrot would no longer be cultivated.

6. Science documentary production would increase drastically. The 'fall line up' would all be such.

7. Fine dining would still exist but the number of sushi places would quadruple.

8. Unused home exercise equipment sales would remain the same.

9. All wristwatch companies, would go out of business.

10. Robert Heinlein would be required reading in schools.

These are just off the top of my head, obviously not a complete list. What would change if everyone was like you?

If everyone was like me, there would be world peace because we would be too lazy to fight.

If everyone was like me..

people would know how to drive.

loving the red sox would be a way of life

everyone would be blunt

soccer would be called football in America

Simply put, it would be much more boring.

-Will

1) TFP would have billions of members on thousands of servers across the world and everyone would have high speed connections.
2) The population of the planet would go from 6 billion to about 100 million.
3) Desalinization via solar power in areas relatively devoid of aquatic life would be the source of all fresh water for human or domesticated animal consumption and use. No streams or reservoirs or even wells will be used. And there will be more than enough plants to ensure that everyone has more than enough.
4) Nothing would pollute. Everything would be required to be biodegradable and/or recyclable.
5) Governmental systems will be made up of community states that report to city states etc. all the way up to a world parliament. Each representative will be a member of his or her community that he or she is representing.
6) If you want meat, go into the woods and get it, but make sure that you do not over-hunt. If you want to eat vegetables, you've got a nice back yard and so do your neighbors. Trade, and enjoy being a part of local markets.
7) Houses would be simply trees grown to have rooms in them. It's not difficult, really. Power would be from solar and wind, and we'd be hard at work on alternative and more powerful energy like fusion.
8) There would be no prisons because of preemptive measures taken in schools to head off destructive behavior. No one would be zombies, of course, but people with mental illnesses would be diagnosed and helped early and people wouldn't really want for food or shelter.
9) The civil defense (police) force would be the entire community. Everyone would be properly trained, and no one in the world would have guns at all. Because everyone would be like me, no one would invent guns.
10) There would be no corporations and a pretty small federal government. Most government would be done locally and all members of society would be heavily involved in policy because they aren't distracted by crap.
11) Every person would wear a bracelet (that cannot be removed) that records all actions. This information would be stored publicly and would assist in anything from remembering a conversation to law enforcement. No one, be they government or otherwise, would be allowed to classify or erase anything from the record.
12) Anyone found to be committing a serious crime (rape, murder, grand larceny, etc.) would be castrated and everyone having a direct blood tie to them (brother, sister, mother, father, son, daughter) would also not be able to reproduce.
13) Civil rights would be outlined in a world BOR, and communities could decide on further rights in their own constitution.

It'd be a golden age. Ustwo might feel a bit out of place there, though. So you can have Australia.

1. Every state would be required to have a NASCAR track and kids would go as a required field trip in the 6th grade.
2. Marriage licenses would expire after 5 years. The first application for one would cost $5,000; every 5 years, renewal is required.
3. Would-be parents would have to take a full semester of "Parenting101" or be implanted with birth control-this after applying for a parent's license.
4. Chocolate would be on the food pyramid.
5. Infidelity would be encouraged. :D Declaring 'loyalty' to someone would be cause for a severe teasing and ostracizing. sorta like being a smoker is now.
5. Celebrityism would be illegal. Anyone caught printing blurbs about the likes of Britney or Paris would face stiff fines and jail time.
6. Weed would be legal and available in convenience stores and bars.
7. Neckties would be illegal.
Teachers unions would be a thing of the past because they'd be earning more than sports dudes. The NEA would be an 'illegal' cult.
8. The Russians would be forced to open their diamond vaults, making the gems about the same price as turquoise and there'd be no more slave labor financed by the likes of DeBeers due to the new worthlessness of them.
9. ALL cars and trucks would be equipped with breathalyzer(sp) starters.

1. Porn would be allowed on TV
2. Every man and woman would be hot like me (lol)
3. Electronic music would be treated like a real genre, not like some awkwardly developing baby.
4. Sports would be outlawed, since I have this odd belief that it causes segregation. (you're either for one team or the other, which leads to competition, which leads to a "my x is better than your y" attitude, which is why the U.S. Citizens are so full of themselves with this "best nation in the world" nonsense.
5. there would be a regulation in place to make sure no resturaunt could serve a meal that includes more than 30% of your RDA of any measured content. (fuck you mcdonalds) and overall, food and portions would get back under control
6. communities would work more like communes.
7. schools would educate people properly for real life, things like your rights, the law, how to manage your money and the options you have with your money, and sex ed would be mandatory.
8. cars and trucks would be required to stay within a certain size to stay road legal, I think the nissan titan and the hummer are too god damned big.
10. filesharing would be legal.

I second this motion!

1. Marijuana would be legalized, and available at your local 7-11.
2. Beer would be available at every restaurant, as well as good coffee.
3. The drinking age would be lowered to 18.
4. More places would serve salads made from local greens, and local food movements would be encouraged.
5. Farmers markets would be held on a daily basis, instead of a biweekly basis.
6. Radio would consist of NPR and classic rock stations.
7. Television would be made up of educational documentaries and programs, in addition to science fiction programs, travel/food programs, and quality cartoons.
8. Yoga would be mandatory in public schools, to start the day.
9. Everyone would ride bicycles.
10. Birth control would be widely available and cheap. Sex ed would no longer be limited to abstinence-only, and parents would be encouraged to be part of the system of sexual education instead of made to feel uncomfortable about it.
11. Spirituality would be seen as an integral part of life, yet no specific kind of spirituality would be espoused by public institutions. Rather, people would choose to pursue spiritual education on their own time, and Eastern philosophy would be given equal weight alongside Christianity. People would encourage their children to explore their spirituality, and to embrace paths that suit them. The Golden Rule would rule the day.
12) Japanese food would also be more widely available.

Would you care to explain the logic behind this one, particularly the second half of it?
The rest of your points I can see the logic behind, even if I don't agree with them, but that seems to be way beyond any rational chain of cause and effect and imputes blame where there is none.

We would all dress like movie stars from the '30's & '40s.

Women would wear stockings (not pantyhose).

Everyone would be art snobs and the average quality of film, television and music would be greatly elevated.

Knowing a lot of stuff would be extremely cool.

Sex wouldn't carry so much stigma and therefore such powers of influence and persuasion.

Advertising would have been outlawed in the interest of consumer protection in the 1950's.

There would be more roller coasters and theme parks would be affordable.

Cell phones wouldn't have been invented.

All cars would be modest and fuel efficient because no one would see them as anything other than a device to get you from here to there.


...just a few off the top of my head.

I don't believe reproduction is a right. I think the notion that it is a right isn't just silly, but it suggests that people are innately capable of taking care of children. That's obviously not the case.

The reasoning is two fold: one, there is often an association between anti-social behavior and genes (I'm not suggesting environmental factors don't contribute more to anti-social behavior, but genes have been shown to have provided a predisposition), and two, it's a really serious punishment.
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/con...act/62/11/1275
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0310053751.htm
http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/c...ull/40/21/30-a
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4575551.stm

Behavioral genetics is something I'm interested in.

for one thing, there'd be no lifetime channel

I really dislike the notion of a world where people can be punished for things over which they have no control, but I guess that's why it's your world and not mine.

Well look at it this way: what if Marilyn Manson's behavior is due to genetics? Should he be free?

I see it as birth control and crime prevention.

1. There would be a CSI: Scotland and all csi's would be hot guys in kilts

2. Men would be deprogrammed from thinking ALL women love and expect diamonds

3. Rap music would be outlawed

4. All radio stations would be commercial free

5. Anyone making fun of Barry Manilow would be prosecuted

6. Any and all papparazzi (sp?) would be shot on sight

7. Any one talking about Britney Spears (and others) would be exiled to an island never to return

8. Alan Rickman would be president of the world

9. All people would be required to work on their family tree

I'm going to assume you meant Charles Manson as opposed to Marilyn Manson, since, as far as I know, other than being a weird dude, the singer hasn't done anything illegal under your criteria that would lead to him being snipped.

Oh man, that's a slip! Yes, *Charles* Manson. I have no beef with Marilyn Manson.

If everyone was like me, I'd have to kill them all.

There can be only one Hydra1978! ;-)

In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.

also, naked tuesdays.

*cue intro to highlander*

oh, and American cheese never would have been invented, either...

Malkovich! Malkovich malkovich!! that's what this reminds me of!

if everyone was like me, we'd be getting no commercials, no reality tv, no junk food,...
but so much less bitching in the world!

1) Although all types of music would be accepted, nobody would be interested in making or listening to anything but real metal.

2) All women would be hot; plastic surgery would be strongly encouraged

3) Blowjobs would be a common greeting from women.

4) Pot would be strongly encouraged.

Excellent suggestion! Imagine the discussion groups after reading "The moon is a harsh mistress"......

Ahem....Uh, if everyone was like me there'd be a whole bunch more money in the cattle market and EVERYONE would own a BBQ grill and/or smoker.

Also have to agree with Shani, rap music would be history, and country as well.

Stupidity would not only be criminal, but electrical implants would make it painful.

I dont have a problem with rap music, just rap culture. They "formula" that makes up rap is benign imo. I just hate the fact that they plug in violence, disrespect to races and genders, and vulgarity as thier ingredient of choice. It really is a lowbrow genre.

Not sayng that all rap is like that, but have you walked into a nightclub recently?

it's dick music because it's pushed by dicks.

1. Streets would be immaculate, so that footwear would be optional and not mandatory, wearing socks and only socks would be strongly encouraged, except red sox, and they'd be strongly encouraged to go... away...

2. Reality tv would be gone...

3. (c)rap music would be gone.

4. 99.98 percent of all movies would be gone.

5. Fast food restuarants, for the smell alone, would be gone.

6. People who marinate in fragrance would be punished by drowning them in a vat of said fragrance.

7. The person who lives above me who very enthusiastically, but very badly and very loudly, is learning to play the guitar, would be drop kicked into lake michigan, with his electric guitar and watch him fry.

8. Hi, How are you, when you don't really give a rats ass about how that person is would set off a bullshit detector that would cause you to be transported into Lake Michigan (I realize Lake Michigan will get pretty full, pretty quick, but I figure if BP is alllowed to dump there, there's gotta be room)

9. Children shall be not seen and not heard and not discussed unless specifically asked about, and there shall be a time limit on said discussion.

10. Unmarried women of a certain age, shall not be looked down upon.

11. Women who are not hot, and wil lnever be hot, but have a sometimes decent personality, will not be looked down upon.

12. Mothers will not be allowed to ask their unmarried daughters when they plan on settling down.

13. Marriage will be outlawed.

Psst... Mal... most of us look up to you!

Quoted for truth.

In my world, rap would have escalated from the time of PE and all rappers in the underground would now be rich and famous and rappers that are rich and famous now would be tripping over themselves trying to emulate them...badly.

It'd be boring. Creativity would be squelched because everyone would like the same thing. Also, all conversations would go nowhere.

"Did you see Family Guy last night?"
"You know I did!"
"Remember that one part, when-"
"Yea, of course."
"Good times."
"Good times."

"Did you hear about the thing with the stuff?"
"Yeah, I hate the stuff."
"Me too."
...
...

yeah you're right -i'm a pain in the ass i wouldn't want too many of me around - however the world under my rules... :) that'd be ok :D

That was the book I was mostly thinking of, and its perfect on so many levels for highschool.

Also quoted for truth. A world populated by "me" would be boring; I bore myself. But everyone being alike goes way beyond "Stepford."

if everyone were like me, people would be considerate of each other so there would be little to no conflict, no domestic violence, none of that. there would be no fast food, all the fast food places would go out of business cause no one would eat at them. there would be more bookstores and more chess clubs and more live music and punk clubs. no one would be denied a job because they have tattoos or piercings, as everyone would have them already. the only sports on tv would be fencing, cycling, mma fighting, and chess. there would be no news channels, no one would watch them, but there would be three comdey channels, three sci fi channels, and two cartoon channels, and there would be a silent film channel. the downside is, everything would be broken and no one would know how to fix the stuff.

there would be no women, a terrible thought.

Well I was aiming more for how your tastes in things from furniture to personal hygiene would change things if they were universally shared.

Apparently I wasn't quite clear on that, as we got willravel's horrific socialist dystopia, and others writing as if they ruled the world, slightly different direction there. I was aiming more for a fun post not 'how I would change the world' or 'how I'd get rid of 5 billion people'.

But back to the idea that such a world would be boring, something echoed by many. Would it really be boring to you because really everything you think of as fun would be far more common and what you think of as boring would go away.

If suddenly everyone stopped playing say soccer, something I don't care about, there would be absolutely no change in the excitement quality of the world.

they can still play soccer, but the uniform has to change.. soccer players have awesome legs - they shouldn't be covered up under long loose baggy shorts - they can play in short shorts :) and shirtless too :)

I agree. My world would be very exciting, what with the abundance of roller coasters and no such thing as processed cheese food.

Oh, and don't forget the stockings. Every female leg encased in glorious suspended nylon. :suave:

Wow and WOW!

When I started reading this, all I had was "We'd all get along better."

Now all I've got is "There'd be less rules."

(Pertaining to the need for them; the only one of the 10 commandments that's necessary is "Thou shalt not steal".)

((Shop at IKEA!))

:lol: I didn't say you were going to like it. Be glad I gave you Australia.

Dude for your sake I was hoping it was just you making a clever troll.

If that is in fact how you think, brother, you have issues.

I'm glad there's diversity in the world. Not that everyone isn't great in their own ways, but that's what makes a person great...the differences. :)

If everyone were like me...I don't even want to think about that. Worry would rule and decision making would falter.

Now, positively, everyone would have a dirty mind and be easily amused by misspoken words or double meaning sentences/words, funny reflections, and just the oddness that is all around us. Oh yea, and everyone would always have a good fashion sense with the appropriate, matching shoes. ;)

I'll admit the castration thing is harsh, but how can you disagree with homes and fresh water for everyone? How can you disagree with preempting anti-social behavior to prevent crime instead of just waiting and punishing it? How can you disagree with no more respiratory disease because there aren't pollutants in the air? How can you disagree with no more fighting over resources because the planet isn't overpopulated?

I mean really, if you disagree with those things then you don't have your priorities straight.

BTW, local government is the opposite of a dystopia. It's libertarian, not totalitarian.

Will, no offense but your world sucks. I can't think of a place that would be more big-brother totalitarian than there.

I'm amazed that I have to do this:
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=totalitarian

I outline a governmental system where communities mostly run themselves and people call it totalitarian. That's scary. No coercion. No terrorism. No authoritarianism. No dictatorship. And yet it's totalitarian.

Comon, people. The castration thing is a criminal justice issue and the government I laid out is more libertarian than the one we have in the US.

so let's see...if i restrict myself to stuff that i happen to like and wonder what it'd be like if my preferences were mainstream preferences---i dont know about this---and i have had this conversation quite a few times with folk who do stuff that is "underground" or "experimental" about the extent to which what they do and how they do it presupposes a dull mainstream culture and so understands itself as oppositional.

what i would definitely change is: there would be extensive state funding for the arts and that money would come out of the grotesquely bloated levels of military technology expenditures that presently grease the wheels of republican military keynesianism. i'd like to imagine this as a fairly ecumenical affair in terms of who'd get it--but it should be easier for people to make a living in the arts and not have to rely on the lameness of pop or--worse--country distribution systems or the lameness of the gallery system or any other form of activity that presupposes that markets are in any way rational.
they arent.

i would abolish clear channel and make it much easier for local broadcast radio. that's a good idea and doesnt require that the world be as i might like it to still be a good idea.

i dont like television, but figure it gives people direction in terms of telling them what they want, and that without it there'd be Ambiguity at the level of desire and i am not sure americans are ready for that. so i have no recommendations. i just dont like television.

beyond that, folk should do as they like.
it doesnt matter whether they find what interests me to be interesting or if i find what interests them to be interesting.

i'm just glad that the folk who imagine themselves banning forms of music they dont like have no power.

Consternation would prevail, since I have no set ideals or personality that defines me.

Alot of double-talk, back-tracking, and grandiose enlightenments that seek to revolutionize the world, though no immediate plans are even being processed.

In essence, all thoughts would cease, silence would decrease, and comfort would be equatable to breathing.

"Bliss is now, stress is then and later when pondered."

I think if everyone was like me, the world would be a boring place and things would quickly atrophy.

Nothing like a lack of diversity of thought, opinion and action to bring about stagnation.

But they'd sure be good looking...

I just realized that my list was not 'if everyone was like me', more like what I'd do...
If everyone were like me, we'd all be childlike, obstinate in many ways, easy to laugh and talk to ourselves a lot.
And lazy unless there's a goal to reach.

1. 'Retro' and 'Vintage' would become 'Contemporary'
2. No more 'ism's' - racism, ageism, etc.
3. So-called celebrities, like Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham, would receive the media coverage I feel they deserve - none.
4. The focus of education would be on enriching people's lives, not acquiring qualifications.
5. Religion would be a personal, rather than public, thing.
6. Nice guys wouldn't finish last.
7. Intelligence would be encouraged, not stigmatised.
8. Marc Bolan would be revered as a god (obviously).
9. You wouldn't treat an animal any less respectfully than you'd like to be treated yourself - so no more eating meat.
10. No more offspring - we'd be the last generations of the human race...but we'd have one heck of a party! :thumbsup:

"...relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (as censorship and terrorism)."

This is what you have right here. In your world, individuals would live under an authoritarian system controlled by a hierarchy rooted on the community level and reaching up to city and worldwide regulatory bodies. Your bracelet is a forced panopticon technology that would effectively enforce self-censorship. Your "preemptive measures" in the schools to prevent crime is suspect. There are always deviations in a social system. Not everyone can be "cured" of criminal intent, which would place a burden on your unduly harsh system of crime and punishment that goes beyond the perpetrator and punishes the innocent.

Sorry, willravel, but your world would be fuelled by coercion and terrorism. If it's not authoritarianism or totalitarianism, then what would you call it? Seriously.... this is a utopia?



Now onto my world: :devious:

1. Television would be a failed technology, and it would be survived by radio and the Internet, and everyone would play video games.
2. Average meat consumption in North America would drop to levels seen in regions such as Okinawa.
3. For city dwellers, cars would be used on weekends only, and only sparingly at that.
4. The fashion industry would suffer a near collapse; surviving designers would become pragmatic tailors who make clothes that last for months, if not years.
5. Violence would become virtually non-existent; police and legal systems would be more symbolic or to help with misunderstandings.
6. With the lack of worldwide violence, military budgets would be diverted into arts, medical research, and education budgets.
7. Space programs would be abandoned and the funds would be diverted into social programs for the impoverished.
8. Everyone would quit drugs and smoking, and would drink alcohol only to savour the experience of a good beverage and fine company, rather than to get intoxicated.
9. Nationalism would all but collapse; people would look at each other as humans first, looking at their locally derived nuances next--all with a genuine interest in understanding it all.
10. Book production would explode.

...there is more here, I know it.

All doorframes would be a minimum of 7 feet tall.
Family Guy would never have made it to a second season.
When you pull up next to someone else with music cranked up at a stoplight, you each turn your music down instead of trying to drown out the other guy.
Public transportation would be a priority in order to get the idiots off the road.
No religion.
It would be accepted that professional men can have long hair as long as they keep themselves well-groomed.
Silly hat days would be frequent and encouraged.
Shoes would be optional.
Putting your feet up on a table where people are not eating would be acceptable as long as your feet are clean and odor-free.
And it would be legal to shoot to kill anyone who refers to all electronic music as "techno."

man if everyone was like me.. that is a deep idea to consider. first of all talking to myself all the time would get boring... nothing new to say right? and even if they were the hottest person ever I couldn't hook up with someone if they had the exact 100% same personality as me

I can't believe I ever liked you. lol

Ok you're redeemed. lol

hahaha I love you guys ;)

If everyone was like me the world would be a very interesting place actually - sometimes I swear I have multiple personalities.

I wouldn't mind living in Baraka_Guru's world. We think alike, brother... on pretty much every single point you made. :) (Except for everyone playing video games; in my world, playing video games more than X hours per week would be a punishable offense.) :D

If everybody was like me, cities would be left to decay and all the world would live in villages with no central government.
Everything will be produced locally, if there is need to do trade it would be traded a fixed rate forever, and there would be no money.
People would be happy just having plenty of food, shelter and freedom to travel everywhere - the surplus food would be shared, and nobody would own anything except his clothes.
People would travel with bicycles or electric trains, all the electricity would come from renewable sources
And there would be a giant world forum where everybody could talk to everybody.
Technology will be pursued but capitalism would never appear, people would help each other grow food and everything. And everybody would behave like a Zen master and care about nothing, and we will all live happily ever after :)

Every episode is a simple plotline, a few references to some classic movie, and ten or twenty random flashbacks with no relevance to the episode, solely for filler. Running gags go on way past when they stop being funny. The worst part is that I can't say anything without some jackass butting in with a random Family Guy quote vaguely related to what I'm saying (The Simpsons is also guilty of this; when I say, "You call that a knife? This is a knife" and whip out a butterfly or machete, I clearly do not want to hear the fucking knifey-spooney line.)