You and the box
 

There is a box with one of two things in it; $100 billion dollars. or a bomb.

You can either open it then and there or not. There is no way getting around the bomb, if there is one. Just you and the box. Wealth or death.

Do you open the box?

I attatched a 'box' and you need a password to open it to tell you what is inside. After enough people have voted I'll give you the password.

Cunt.

I make a deal with someone: they open the box for me and I give them a billion dollars. I don't mention the bomb. If it's the cash, I get 99 billion dollars, and if it's the bomb, at least I get to live.

You need to include that as an option.

This would be better if there were two boxes.

i like the other thread better

The point isn't to get around the fact that you might die.

Just, would you risk your life for $100 billion on a 50/50 chance...

I'm with everyneurotic.

Ha ha.

But I don't want that 50/50 chance: I prefer a 50% chance of being rich, coupled with a 100% chance of being alive.

I open it fuck it if there's a bomb in it.

We all have our preferences, but you don't get your preference as an option.

you'd fuck the box if there's a bomb in it?

i'm no one to judge here, to each their own fetishes...

Perhaps he's hoping he'd dampen and negate the explosive. Clever ploy.

i'd open it.

this is like that deal no deal show, it genuinely surprises me just how many people are far too greedy... there was the othe other day, 2 boxes left £20,000 in one £250,000 in the other and the guy on the phone offered £101,000 as the deal and the guy didnt take it. I couldnt believe it

Atleast Hip Priest knew what I was really up to.

where's the contest? come on, what would you do with $100e9 anyway? even if you said something to the effect of "your wildest dreams would come true," etc., etc., isn't the whole joy of life knowing that you have to earn it?

my mom is always prattling on about winning the lottery . . . i, for one, would hate to win the lottery, because i would know it was just opportune fortune that i did precisely nothing to deserve. i suppose the intrigue of winning the lottery is enticing for those who believe they have no way out of their lot in life, who think they can't be doing anything that would both be more helpful to mankind and be more fulfilling (and result in more monetary reward). but that's not the way life works. case in point: this semester i set two goals for grades on which i was more or less straddling the fence prior to exams. i met both goals, which elated me at first, but now i'm just looking for more challenges, more ways to occupy my time, to be productive, to EARN the rewards i so fervently seek.

aristotle hit it right on the head when he defined eudaimonia: happiness is an activity of the soul in accord with virtue. nothing is free, nor should it be. so no, no box filled with riches and dreams would be worth risking your life. in fact, no such box could ever be worth anything.

Pfffft.

That's real noble and all, but there's something to be said for immediate, self-indulgent gratification. A guilty and delicious pleasure.

Three cheers for hedonism!

Plus, the money isn't "your dream" really; it's a means to achieve your dream.
My dream is not having to work a day job. I would easily be as busy if I were independently wealthy and able to devote all my time to music. There is still a sense of achievement to be had outside of $$.

Winning the lottery is no better or worse than being born into old money.

Have you ever seen Futurama?