Like Reading Or Prefer Money?

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

1. No thank you. My intelligence defines myself to an extent. I'll be a poor intellectual rather than even a slightly less intelligent intlellectual any day.

2. Certainly. Several billion dollars is worth having to figure out a new innovative way to read the next paperback I find. Whether I just rip the pages out one by one, scan them into the computer, or just train my brain to understand the big colourful bindings stuffed with yellowed, inked paper as 'novels', 'paperbacks' or 'hardbacks', I'll be fly and I'll also having several billion dollars.

[Vicious]

As Wong and others said, it depends on how much I lose. If I can stay above 140, then hell yes. If it goes below that, no way.

I wouldn't give up reading for all the money in the world. I'm sorry, but books and such really mean that much to me. Plus, not being able to read would be a bitch just about anywhere.

[wolveraptor]

Read the question people: you only have to give up books, not reading in general. If you had to give up all reading, you couldn't even tell if the check for X billion dollars was actually real, or if it was really signed out for 20 cents.

I wonder if magazines are exempt from the offer.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Since defining intelligence is somewhat tricky at the best of times, and given the responses so far, I propose a third scenario.

You are offered the at least $1 bn. The catch this time, you forfeit all reading privileges (text is entirely verboten). You keep your intellect, but you are now a sufferer of some amazing mental block that stops you recognising textor symbology that can constitute language. I see others have voiced how they'd get people to read books and given the success of unabridged audiobooks (something else my dad seems interested in which must have influenced his answer here) and the fact that you have a shitload of cash, it may not be as big a pitfall as some think.

Losing intelligence means losing yourself, your personality; what makes you, in essence. Losing the ability to read is not the same, but would you really throw away such a basic skill in order to enjoy that money with other activities.

It would mean posting on here would get a little bit harder without an interpreter who is willing to read out "fucktard" and "cockmonkey" repeatedly in the more interesting posts. Think about that...

[Ubiquitous]

If you offered me a billion dollars for my intelligence, I'd bite your arm off. My 'intelligence' is in fields that aren't very useful [History, English Lit., Sport] and to be honest people who don't read tend to be happier with the world around them: ignorance [and money] is bliss.

[Lord Sabre Ace]

I wouldn't take the money. Money can be lost or stolen but nobody can take your education away.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Hit you on the head with a cricket bat enough and I can certainly try. But that's not the scenario I'm interested in now. If you could lose the ability to read as you could a limb, and gain compensation for it as it were, would you be happy?

[Lord Sabre Ace]

No. I would rather keep my education and knowledge.

[Rye]

1. I don't think so, my mind is an interesting place, and it would lose a lot if all of that had to slow down.

2. Fuck books, I barely read them as it is.

3. I want to say yes, but no, it would just be too limiting. It might be fun for a week or so, but then it would suck horrifically.

[Pick]

1. Depends on how much, and what capabilities it would damage. I'm tempted to say "no," but if I said "yes" I could be a very wealthy artist without a qualm. For the most part though, I see intelligence as being such a defining characteristic of mine that I would be very reluctant to let it go.

2. Probably, but only if I could still access the contents of books easily (have someone read it to me, etc.) If not, no, if nothing else because I would never be able to get through college/life hoping to get a decent job. And fuck it, I wouldn't be rich for the shame of never having attended college.

Though with all that money, I could graduate GWBush style...

[Darth Servo]

2. In a similar scenario, if someone offered you a billion dollars with the catch of not ever reading another book again, ever, would you accept this deal?

Look for loopholes. Do "books" on the internet still count as "books"?

[Admiral Valdemar]

By "books", I meant any real literary masterpiece. So magazines are okay, as are papers and so on. But e-books and printed books of any kind are banned. I think the revised "no reading, period" scenario is clearer though.

[Darth Servo]

By "books", I meant any real literary masterpiece. So magazines are okay, as are papers and so on. But e-books and printed books of any kind are banned. I think the revised "no reading, period" scenario is clearer though.

Well, considering that would mean we wouldn't be required to read Shakespeare anymore in High School...

Hmmmmm. Tough call.

[Anomie]

1. If you were offered a choice between gaining several billion dollars, but at the cost of some of the intelligence you currently have, would you take the deal? I'm sure this was asked in the past, though I don't think it matters now.

A lot of people say that they think of me as one of the most intelligent people they've met, and my reaction to that is that if I'm one of the most intelligent, then they know alot of morons as I don't see myself as very intelligent. So no, I would not give up any of the little intelligence that I do posses.

2. In a similar scenario, if someone offered you a billion dollars with the catch of not ever reading another book again, ever, would you accept this deal?

They can have my books when they pry them from my cold, dead bank accounts.

And not even then.

[The Nomad]

1) I would be tempted to say yes ( a life of opulent, blissful stupidity might seem appealing at first ), but the thought of losing intellectual skills ( as limited as they might be ) would just take the fun out of things. Besides, as an orthodontist ( or failing that, as a qualified dentist ), I'll earn enough money to live comfortably anyway.

2) I might be tempted for a second, but now. Hell, one of the reasons why I want to earn money is being able to afford whatever books I want. And the next Culture novel isn't even written, dammit !
And I couldn't even read my own works, for fuck's sake !

3) Fucking no. How could I fucking even play RPGs or use the Internet, or read the subtitles in original version movies/series ? That's a whole life of boredom that awaits me, a living hell.


So far option 1) is the most best for me, which doesn't say much... Depends on how large the lobotomy is.
But probably no anyway.

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

Since defining intelligence is somewhat tricky at the best of times, and given the responses so far, I propose a third scenario.

You are offered the at least $1 bn. The catch this time, you forfeit all reading privileges (text is entirely verboten). You keep your intellect, but you are now a sufferer of some amazing mental block that stops you recognising textor symbology that can constitute language. I see others have voiced how they'd get people to read books and given the success of unabridged audiobooks (something else my dad seems interested in which must have influenced his answer here) and the fact that you have a shitload of cash, it may not be as big a pitfall as some think.

Losing intelligence means losing yourself, your personality; what makes you, in essence. Losing the ability to read is not the same, but would you really throw away such a basic skill in order to enjoy that money with other activities.

It would mean posting on here would get a little bit harder without an interpreter who is willing to read out "fucktard" and "cockmonkey" repeatedly in the more interesting posts. Think about that...

No dice, amigos. If I can't even read a damned word anymore, that money doesn't matter. I'd blow my brains all over the wall if I couldn't read at all anymore.

[wolveraptor]

No reading at all is setting yourself up for failure, unless you can use the money to invent a robot that scans text and reads it to you. A portable one that can fit over your forehead.

In light of the total reading ban, I might choose a slight intelligence drop instead. As long as I'm not a retard...on the other hand, I can't answer this question honestly, as I have no idea how it is to be dumber. It'd be even more torturous if I could remember that I used to be smarter. Perhaps total memory wipe would make it all better.

[General Zod]

Not being able to read anything at all . . .still abso-fucking lutely not. As I said earlier, I can handle being poor. I can't handle boredom for the rest of my life.