You wake up having been gifted the ability to take time off of your life as a whole in exchange having more time in-the-moment--whether it’s time to think, time to spend doing something or with people, time to hold onto something or someone, whatever. Others will be unaffected, this is personal.
The conversion ratio is ~6 hours of in-the-moment time --> ~1 year of life (or 1:1,460), and it only works one-way.
- Do you use the ability at all?
- If yes, how do you use it--large chunks sparingly or small moments regularly?
- Do you ‘spend’ a significant amount or prioritize retaining lifespan?
- What would you use it for?
- If yes/no, what ratio would make it not worth it/worth it?
- Would it be better to track usage rigorously or to remain unaware?
- What psychological problems/trauma could usage cause you?
- How would you feel if you found out someone you loved had been trading their time?
- If no, what circumstances would convince you to?
Edit: I’m so glad to see diversity in the responses!
Thank you to all who are taking the time to give answers. I intend to respond more when i have time later. :)
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No. It would be like the rat with the button that dispenses cocaine. I’d get so addicted to extending the moments I feel good that I’d be unable to weigh the actually cost of the trade.
I’d get near the end of my life and regret that j can’t watch my children and grandchildren grow up because i selfishly spent my time earlier im my life.
Yes, I’d take a bigass dose of DMT and trade the rest of my life (let’s call it 60yrs) for 360hrs of fighting god or whatever people do on DMT, and then die at the end
I don’t even like drugs but somebody had to suggest this lmao
absolutely yes I didn’t even read past the conversion rate, I would immediately trade every last year I have available for the happiest moment I’ve ever had that is now gone and raw and sore
I am intimately familiar with this feeling, but there will be more.
thanks ❤️
Both types of time are exactly the same.
I don’t really get what you mean by “having more time-in-the-moment”?
Your entire lifetime is time-in-the-moment.
You can spend any amount of it talking to people, thinking, or whatever.If you have no control over what you can do with your time, this isn’t a time issue. It’s a freedom issue.
You burst through the doors of the emergency room and only seconds after grabbing his hand, your father dies. “Fuck you, old man. #FreedomIssue” you say instead of wishing the moment had lasted a little longer. lmao
A 1460 to 1 ratio is really big so no, Mb if it was like a month for an hour then maybe, but thats still trading a year for half a day, inst really worth it i think
Yes, the ratio is deliberately aggressive. What would make it worth it? Maybe even for just a few seconds.
I’d trade lifespan in order to be able to be in-the-moment just a bit longer during my son’s accomplishments, milestones, life events. It could be just another 5 minutes, or more. But also to be able to have more time in-the-moment for when he needs me to be his protector. Time to analyze and get my head around something that is unfolding realtime. The ability to find the right words, and a way to say something heavy in the right tone and with grace.
Typing this all out made me cry. So much is going wrong for me right now, but the thought of “work will be over soon, I’ll get to be with my boy soon” helps me get through these days. And now I might be losing my dad earlier than I thought. I am worried that I might get sick too. I’d take all of the time I can if it could get me more time for right now.
My heart goes out to you. The bleeding from your heart is the love that it’s full of. Cherish every moment with them.
As i’m sure you know, one way we can extend our moments IRL is to document them to be revisited later. Pictures, video, and importantly: journaling about how we feel during events.
How do you think your son would feel about that when you’re on your death bed, if he knew? Knowing that he could have had you around for another year or more, if only you hadn’t used this power? Do you think those fleeting moments would be worth more to him than those extra years?
How would you feel if he, in turn, decided to spend decades of his own life to extend those last few moments with you?
I’m not the one you’re asking, but if I were the son and got to know my dad did this to be with me more in the important bit’s of my life, I’d be moved and I’d feel loved.
If I were the dad and my son would consider doing this to extend his moments with the old me, I’d be moved too, but I’d tell him to save it for someone else - his future child or partner perhaps.
I guess I had assumed that this ability was unique to me in this scenario. If everyone had the ability, reality would become quite a mess.
They’re saying that spending more of your limited time in the moments with your child earlier in their life reduces the amount of time they’ll have with you later. With this in mind, if your child found out you gave up length for depth and you’ll be leaving the world early because of it, how would they feel?
How does a life-threatening situation work? If in about to get hit by a car, does the moment expansion allow me to avoid death or does it instantly use to the second I have left and just kills me faster?
And to answer the main question, I would rather chase new moments than prolong existing ones.
The intent is really just about introspection, not necessarily making changes. But feel free to interpret how you want!
Your answer is quite good, though. If you spend your life’s length by staying in small moments you limit your ability to have new experiences. I hadn’t thought of it that way.
Do you use the ability at all?
nope. I’m getting old enough, and my health is not that great, to not be keenly aware of how short life is. No matter the ratio of the exchange. I’m definitely not an Achilles ;)
Living longer in my 20s or 30s sounds more efficient – sure.
You’d only get to live about 10 days longer in your 20s. Trading the whole rest of your life for 10 days in your 20s seems a wee much.
Spending time in “the moment” is a decision. Pass the blunt, fucker, you’ve had enough.
Let’s say I will live to age 90. Morbidity stats would suggest that the last 10 or so years would be utterly unenjoyable, perhaps even torturous. As well as chronic illnesses causing pain, I might be suffering from dementia and/or have lost my eyesight, hearing or ability to walk.
However, I might be destined to die suddenly at age 65, in reasonable health and with all my faculties in working order. So, to answer your question, one would need to know one’s expected lifespan and likely state of health. To a certain degree, this is possible given the science around heredity and genetic testing (UK insurance companies are not allowed to take genetic testing into account when underwriting policies).
Another factor is how much one is enjoying one’s current existence: if you’re hating life, you wouldn’t want to spend more time in the present especially if you believe the future will be better, and vice-versa. Of course, there’s no way to know how things will pan out until someone invents a time machine.
Personally, I wouldn’t be willing to make any decisions without a lot more data!
Yes, i agree. Without knowing how much time you have left it would be hard to spend it on anything.
I will say, though, if you’re hating life right now you might feel more inclined to spend a little longer in a good moment.
I think in reality many people would also be plagued with decision paralysis. I know i would.
No because time is just time. Time in the moment is a perception of enjoyment and pleasure. That is a choice to be present and take enjoyment in what you’re doing. You don’t need to trade time for time you already have, you just need to use the time you have in the way that makes you enjoy it.
No, I would wish for my son to not grow old so quickly, but a mere 6 hours isn’t gonna make much difference there. Maybe if I could get a year for a year. A year of my life for him reamining another year at this age(6). Maybe I would do that.
