What If?: We Could See Into the Future

Hello, (might as well be friendly)

This, being my first blog post, feels a little weird. Writing this way (informally, and with more "voice" than usual) will probably take some getting used to. But, nonetheless, here goes nothin'

Today in class we discussed the links between time, memory and consciousness. One idea, brought up toward the end of our discussion, about the passing of time and how everything we do may (and probably will) end in obscurity, really provoked my thoughts.

We were talking about the second chapter of Orlando, specifically the point where Orlando is contemplating his life so far, and what of it will be remembered by others after he's dead and gone. I believe it was Rohan who brought up a Peanut's comic he'd seen that had a similar theme, something to do with what will really matter five hundred years from now and who will remember it. That segue into someone saying "What if we could see ten, twenty, or a hundred years into the future... How would that affect our actions now? How would it influence our thoughts?" Unfortunately, we ran out of time, or had to move on to something new, so we couldn't really discuss this very much, but that question did stick with me and kept me thinking. (and believe me, I don't think about English after class is over very often)

As with all unnatural abilities and "super powers", if we could see into the future there'd obviously be some people who use this ability and some who abuse it. If people could know exactly what others would remember about them one hundred years in the future, they could spend much more of their lives honing this skill or attribute, or perfecting a deed that may be their only lasting impact. Theoretically, people could become much more specialized and serve a small, but important duty that they know would affect the future in some way. On the other side of that, there'd without a doubt be people who realize that they really only have to do one thing their entire life, and use it to justify laziness and lack of motivation to do anything else. Some people could even say that they don't want to be remembered by people far in the future, and think that they never have to do anything their whole lives, finding it meaningless and wasteful to try to do anything that they know will eventually come to no good.

I don't think this knowledge or ability would be fit for everybody; I don't think everybody could handle it. Knowing that everything you do, every action, interaction, and thought, may one day be remembered by very few or have no lasting impression at all would be hard for some people to live with; especially because it seems like everybody wants to "change the world" these days (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ni_c0IMP-c  ---  I couldn't help myself), or be remembered for something great and not be, as I say "just another tombstone" one day. I've noticed, and become kind of annoyed with the idea that everybody seems to aspire to nowadays; that they're going to leave a massive lasting impression, or rid the world of some terrible affliction and be remembered as a hero. I mean sure this would be great, and a happy ending to anyone's life, but unfortunately it's just not possible for everybody. Personally I think it's much easier, and more rewarding, to be remembered very well by a few people that cherish your memory, than for a lot of people to have a lukewarm memory of how you once were. I think just being a good person and inspiring a few people to fulfill their lives in a great big chain reaction sort of thing is better (or at least more achievable) than being a hero of every history textbooks, but that's a blog for another day.

We touched on a similar topic like this last year when we watched the movie Big Fish in class, and one of the characters said that when he was young he saw exactly how he was going to die, and because of that was never afraid to do anything foreign or dangerous because he knew it wouldn't kill him. So again this emphasizes my point that for some people the ability to se the future would be a great way for them to better themselves and those around them, striving to make their lasting impact as strong and meaningful as possible. But then, there would be those who see this knowledge as a ticket to an easy life; fulfilling their duty and then coasting their way to their grave (yeah I know it sounds harsh). Unfortunately I think if this ability did exist, there'd be more people who would use it for the second scenario than the first, so I'm not sure how good this would be for the human race as a whole. I also think I believe in the spontaneity of life too much to want this ability, I think there are aspects of randomness and fate that interweave in our lives that help define our character and actions, so this hypothetical ability would mess with that too much. It remains a very interesting topic for me to go back to though, and it is something I'll actually remember from English class, even after that's long gone.        
September 12, 2011