What Mundane Superpowers Would You Choose?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the selection of mundane superpowers, with participants sharing their preferences and reasoning for choosing specific abilities. The scope includes personal applications, survival strategies, and the implications of these powers in everyday life.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express a preference for powers that enhance survival capabilities, such as Super thermostasis, Mind camera, and Slave-for-a-day, citing practical applications in daily life.
  • Others propose powers like Super Finding, Never Lost, and Instant Cooking, suggesting these would be beneficial for managing everyday tasks and challenges.
  • Concerns are raised about the potential downsides of the Asomniac power, with some questioning if it would truly eliminate the need for rest.
  • Some participants highlight the appeal of powers that simplify daily routines, such as Super bilingualism and Smooth traveller, emphasizing the desire for a more efficient lifestyle.
  • There are suggestions for combinations of powers that could enhance their effectiveness, such as Mind camera with Printer hand, and Smooth traveller with Rapid readiness and Bank of wakefulness.
  • Discussions also touch on the limitations of certain powers, like the range of Super thermostasis, with some participants expressing a desire for broader capabilities.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express differing views on the utility and implications of various powers, with no consensus on which powers are definitively superior or more useful. The discussion remains open-ended with multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention specific applications and scenarios for the powers, indicating that their effectiveness may depend on individual circumstances and preferences. There is also uncertainty regarding the implications of certain powers, such as the need for rest despite being an Asomniac.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may interest individuals exploring creative thought experiments, those interested in the implications of hypothetical abilities on daily life, and fans of speculative fiction or fantasy themes.

Ryan_m_b
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Inspired by Micro's thread a couple of weeks ago, you get to pick three of the following mundane super powers! Post your preferences, extra points to those who find good combinations:

  • Super bilingualism. Pick any language in the world, learning that language is now extremely easy for you (fluent in <1 month with light effort, <1 week with heavy). If you change your mind you can learn another, but you will forget the first as you pick up the second.
  • Printer hand. Anything you can think of you can draw, your hand rapidly moves across the page making the image
  • Musical type prodigy. Chose a class of musical instrument (brass, woodwind, percussion etc). You are now an expert, but you will never be anything more than terrible at any other form of music.
  • Super Finding. Anything you've touched within 24 hours you know the location of.
  • Calorie Counter. Anything you eat you know the exact calorie content.
  • Smooth traveller. Whenever you go anywhere the journey is always smooth. Buses, trains and taxis all pull up the exact moment you need them.
  • Wifi Aura. You project a field five metres in all directions. Any communications device in that field has perfect, maximum signal.
  • Asomniac. You never have to sleep.
  • Super thermostasis. Between -20°C and 30°C you are always perfect temperature.
  • Neverlost. Any time you think of a place you know the exact route to get there, regardless of if you have been there before.
  • Specifically empathetic. You can choose to sense the emotions of any individual/group in eye sight. But only one emotion, you have to pick now and it can never change
  • Never fit, nor fat. Your body will be permanently of average physical condition. You'll never get a 6 pack no matter how many hours you spend in the gym, but you'll also never get a beer belly no matter how many drinks you have in the pub
  • Bank of Wakefullness. You can consciously siphon off wakefullness (making you feel more tired) to draw upon at a later date.
  • Rapid Readiness. Anything that you can wear (clothes, makeup etc) you can put on just by touching and willing it.
  • Pest control. You can psychically control macroscale animals that weigh less than 100g.
  • Shapeshifting hair. Colour, style, length of your hair is under conscious control.
  • Sense toggle. Turn off any of your senses at any time.
  • Instant cooking. Once a day you can wave your hand over 800g of ingredients and turn them into a gourmet meal
  • Spoiless. If you're excited about a book, show, film or sports game it cannot be spoiled for you without consent. You can no longer hear, read or otherwise learn of things you would consider spoilers.
  • Mind camera. If you blink three times in rapid succession your brain perfectly remembers whatever you were looking at. These mental-pics begin to fade after 7 days and are completely gone by 14.
  • Slave-for-a-day. One day a week you can magically spawn an identical clone and have it do whatever you want to the best of it's/your ability. After 24 hours (or earlier if commanded) it disappears and its memories merge with yours.
 
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Super thermostasis.
Mind camera
Slave-for-a-day

I chose these simply based on their attributes and the way you could apply each to survival.
 
Super Finding
Never Lost
Instant Cooking

This is based on what you are probably doing :DD.
 
gjonesy said:
Super thermostasis.
Mind camera
Slave-for-a-day

I chose these simply based on their attributes and the way you could apply each to survival.

Survival is a day-to-day concern for you or do you just like being prepared? How would you use them to survive?

Pepper Mint said:
Super Finding
Never Lost
Instant Cooking

This is based on what you are probably doing :DD.

Is this your way of saying you lost something, got lost looking for it and are hungry :p?
 
Ryan_m_b said:
Survival is a day-to-day concern for you or do you just like being prepared? How would you use them to survive?
No but I like to be prepared, thermostasis. means the elements would never be a concern no mater where Id find myself.
Mind camera Id be able to remember anything for 14 days which would give me plenty of time to take notes, (how to manuals, first aid, chemistry survival guides ext ) I could clone myself for one day a week so Id be able to take a break or double my chances to hunt for food, build shelter many applications for that.
 
Ryan_m_b said:
Is this your way of saying you lost something, got lost looking for it and are hungry :p?
Counter-proposals are always welcome.
No, I am always full and feel thankful for everything I have been through. :smile:
 
gjonesy said:
No but I like to be prepared, thermostasis. means the elements would never be a concern no mater where Id find myself.
Mind camera Id be able to remember anything for 14 days which would give me plenty of time to take notes, (how to manuals, first aid, chemistry survival guides ext ) I could clone myself for one day a week so Id be able to take a break or double my chances to hunt for food, build shelter many applications for that.

Fair enough. My three choices would be to just make everyday life a bit smoother:

1) Bilingualism. I'd love to be able to rapidly learn another language, even if I can only have one secondary at a time.

2) Smoother travel. I spend a lot of my time on trains and busses. It would be so much nicer to have it all easy.

3) Asomniac. Sleep is wasted time :)
 
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I was wondering if the asomniac power had any downsides. If not, it would be the most useful power on the list and make bank of wakefullness redundant.

For myself:
1. Asomniac; Up to a couple extra decades of useful lifespan.
2. 24-Hour Clone; Additional useful lifespan and a way to defeat procrastination. Coupled with Asomniac for 24 solid hours of usefulness.
3. Super thermostasis; A lot of time, effort, and energy goes into keeping humans comfortable, thermally.

Other:
Mind camera + Printer hand is a natural combination.
Musical type prodigy: Stridulation + Pest control has potential.
Shapeshifting hair could be used as a form of weak telekinesis.
Never fit, nor fat: how permanently are we talking? (Immortality?)
 
Definitely, I’d choose . . .

Asomniac -- I, too, think that sleep is wasted time :mad:

Sense toggle -- Particularly the sense of touch. This way, cooking wouldn’t be so painful :rolleyes:

Mind camera -- If I had this power, I would no longer have to worry about writing notes anymore (I hate writing notes) :biggrin:

My greatest hobby is drawing. I was going to choose Printer hand, but the ability to draw anything perfect within a couple of seconds would ruin all the fun.
 
  • #10
Ryan_m_b said:
Super thermostasis. Between -20°C and 30°C you are always perfect temperature.
This is a possibility, but I think the range is too confined. I'd choose it for sure if the range covered all possible temperatures encountered on earth. I'd like to be able to cavort equally comfortably in the hottest desert and the coldest pole.
 
  • #11
jackwhirl said:
I was wondering if the asomniac power had any downsides. If not, it would be the most useful power on the list and make bank of wakefullness redundant.

Not having to sleep doesn't necessarily mean not having to rest. In those extra eight hours you gain you'll be conscious but not necessarily capable of intense work (at least without having to take a rest at some other point). Being able to store wakefullness however means that you can better manage your time.

jackwhirl said:
Mind camera + Printer hand is a natural combination.
Musical type prodigy: Stridulation + Pest control has potential.
Shapeshifting hair could be used as a form of weak telekinesis.

Stridulation plus pest control? Cool idea, you could create an instrument out of a choir of insects. Another good combo:

Smooth traveller, rapid readiness, bank of wakefullness.

The three together would turn you into an instant morning person. Wake up and tape some energy you stored last night. Jump in the shower then get ready in seconds by tapping towel, clothes, makeup etc. Effortlessly make it to work or wherever by stepping onto and off of perfectly aligned transport.

jackwhirl said:
Never fit, nor fat: how permanently are we talking? (Immortality?)

Until you die of accident, disease, age or malice. But at no point will your BMI be anything but optimal.
 
  • #12
zoobyshoe said:
This is a possibility, but I think the range is too confined. I'd choose it for sure if the range covered all possible temperatures encountered on earth. I'd like to be able to cavort equally comfortably in the hottest desert and the coldest pole.

I think that would push it out of the mundane territory slightly ;)
 
  • #13
Ryan_m_b said:
Musical type prodigy. Chose a class of musical instrument (brass, woodwind, percussion etc). You are now an expert, but you will never be anything more than terrible at any other form of music.
That's not a superpower; that's a backwards step for me. :wink:
 
  • #14
Ryan_m_b said:
Never fit, nor fat. Your body will be permanently of average physical condition. You'll never get a 6 pack no matter how many
Ryan_m_b said:
Until you die of accident, disease, age or malice. But at no point will your BMI be anything but optimal.
But the whole point of being healthy or to be of "average condition" is to not die of disease or to minimize aging, right? So I guess I already have this mundane power :approve:

BTW, has anybody known anyone who had binge eating problems?
 
  • #15
ProfuselyQuarky said:
But the whole point of being healthy or to be of "average condition" is to not die of disease or to minimize aging, right? So I guess I already have this mundane power :approve:

Think of it in terms of body fat content and muscle mass, rather than general health. I used to have this "power" from about the age of 16 to 23. During that time I could eat and drink whatever I wanted and never change size. Now I'm ballooning despite going to the gym and counting calories -.-

ProfuselyQuarky said:
BTW, has anybody known anyone who had binge eating problems?

Yup.
 
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  • #16
Oh this is easy! Slave-for-a-day! :smile:
 
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  • #17
Never fit or fat
Slave for a day
Smooth travel
ProfuselyQuarky said:
BTW, has anybody known anyone who had binge eating problems?

That's me
 
  • #18
Super bilingualism - Excellent job opportunities in and out of the US with this one.
Musical type prodigy - Stringed instruments. Cello in particular.
Neverlost - I like to travel.
 
  • #19
I just want to know what my dog is thinking so I can talk to him easier haha.
 
  • #20
OrangeDog said:
I just want to know what my dog is thinking so I can talk to him easier haha.
Is your dog orange? :)
 
  • #21
He is black actually, and has a facebook. You could add him if you want too.
 

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