No, I wouldn't do it for any amount of money. Maybe it would be different if I were bankrupt and had no hope for the future or something. There's no telling what effect an experience like that would have on my psyche.
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VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
edited February 2007
I'm sure I'd go for it. I believe I could do it... I like seclusion, up to a point (normally the point is where I feel like I'm missing somethign) but for a million dollars I'd deal.
Lack of windows is the deal breaker. Without natural sunlight I think a person becomes more emotionally drained. I believe depression in some cases has been directly linked to lack of sunlight in a persons mental health.
For that reason, I think I would avoid this challenge.
I believe you are thinking of SAD. It's fairly common in Canada and northern USA, but almost unheard of in the tropics with more sunlight and less seasonal variation.
I'd totally do it, but I'd like the facilities to improve myself over the year: a computer to finally finish programming my game, a TV to catch up on game playing and movie watching, books to teach myself practical skills like carpentry, plumbing, car repair, musical instruments, etc.
You'd come out a real renaissance man, but probably also a total weird fucker.
SmasherStarting to get dizzyRegistered Userregular
edited February 2007
I could deal with not seeing people for a year. There's been times in my life where I pretty much haven't seen anyone anyway for a month or so, trips to the grocery store and so forth being the exception.
Not having internet access would take getting used to, though I could deal with that. The first few weeks to a month would suck in that regard, but the internet isn't an essential thing.
Not having a computer would be a big deal, not so much because of the internet but because programming would undoubtedly be one of my preferred activities during the year. I don't see the harm in having one, so long as the clock was inaccurate in some way or simply inaccessable.
Not seeing the sun would also be an issue, I think. Would we be allowed a sun lamp, or is the aim being deprived of sun-like light altogether instead of just not being able to tell days?
I'd also probably bring something I could secure the door with; not something that couldn't be undone, but something that would take a few minutes or hours to remove any impulse temptations to leave.
Lack of windows is the deal breaker. Without natural sunlight I think a person becomes more emotionally drained. I believe depression in some cases has been directly linked to lack of sunlight in a persons mental health.
For that reason, I think I would avoid this challenge.
I believe you are thinking of SAD. It's fairly common in Canada and northern USA, but almost unheard of in the tropics with more sunlight and less seasonal variation.
I'd totally do it, but I'd like the facilities to improve myself over the year: a computer to finally finish programming my game, a TV to catch up on game playing and movie watching, books to teach myself practical skills like carpentry, plumbing, car repair, musical instruments, etc.
You'd come out a real renaissance man, but probably also a total weird fucker.
You can't learn things like carpentry or car repair just out of a book, though. You need to be able to practice -- so you'd need a fully stocked woodshop, etc.
Of course, my preferred skill set to learn would be languages, which I could do with sufficient books and audio files. I wonder how many (and to what degree of proficiency) I could learn in a year with nothing else to occupy my time...
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
edited February 2007
Given that I seem to be one of those goddamn SAD pussies, I'm not sure I could actually do this without hanging myself. Which is a shame as with daylight I'd totally be up for it.
Also, even in people who stay happy through the endless winters, I'm sure that they'd end up with major health problems from the lack of daylight.
Incidently, this kind of experiment is what the Big Brother program really should be.
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Assuming nothing breaks, this doesn't seem too difficult for me, but I am someone who actually loves and values isolation, so I am not a good cross-section of the population. If I stocked it with books, music, and about seven tons of writing paper, and I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHERE MY NEXT MEAL WAS COMING FROM, and knowing I'd be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE WHEN I GOT OUT, I'd probably have the time of my freaking LIFE.
But that's just me. When they were training NASA people in the 60's, a lot of them had mental breaks before a month was up.
EDIT: 1300 sq.ft. is a lot... apart from my current domicile, I've never lived in a place that big. When I first moved out, I was in a 325 sq.ft. ground-floor apartment with an uneven floor and cracked wall panels, and I was in there once for 8 days just to see if anyone would notice. No-one did. I think I am much more suited to the life of a hermit / prison inmate / Unabomber than most people.
My inclination is to say yes, but it is a tough call.
The room size is pretty critical. A really small one like you describe and I might be clawing the walls with my fingernails.
Also, I'm pretending I don't have a wife and kids. There's no way I'd voluntarily leave them for a whole year.
A stocked bar would help immensely. I'd probably turn into an alcoholic, but it would really help ease the stress to be able to mix up a drink every few days.
Video games I think would be the big tie-breaker. I often fantasize about having a year to myself to do nothing but play through all the games I never had time to play. Hell, I'd almost pay for that privilege. I could blow months in a flash just playing through all the old Ultimas or something.
I might be able to replace video games with a lot of books, but that would be harder.
So, wake up, exercise, eat, read, eat, meditate, exercise again, play games, eat, drink, play games, read, go to bed. I could do that for a year, though I probably be depressed and a little strange for it.
I'd also have to have some sort of ironclad undoubtable guarantee that the door would open in a year. If I had already gone through about 400 sleep cycles and the door still wasn't opening, I'd start panicking in stress about whether or not I'm really just like a day or two from finishing, or its actually a big test and they are never going to open it.
What he said, pretty much word-for-word.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Assuming nothing breaks, this doesn't seem too difficult for me, but I am someone who actually loves and values isolation, so I am not a good cross-section of the population. If I stocked it with books, music, and about seven tons of writing paper, and I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHERE MY NEXT MEAL WAS COMING FROM, and knowing I'd be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE WHEN I GOT OUT, I'd probably have the time of my freaking LIFE.
But that's just me. When they were training NASA people in the 60's, a lot of them had mental breaks before a month was up.
A millino dollars isn't "set for life" unless you plan o moving to a third world country
I'd do it. 1 year would probably drive me insane, but I'd be a rich insane man.
After that you'd probably live in seclusion by choice. :P
There'd be no reason not to try it, really. Your bills are being taken care of while you're away, so at worst, you're having a relaxing vacation for a month or so. If you can't take it, you walk out the door.
A millino dollars isn't "set for life" unless you plan o moving to a third world country
$50,000 a year for 20 years, $40,000 for 25 years, $30,000 for 33 years, assuming you don't touch it. Invest in a high yield securities fund, and it would carry me comfortably for the rest of my life without having to lift a finger, and I live in the often-voted #1 country in the world, Canada. If a million dollars doesn't set you up for life, you have some serious spending issues.
If I had the internet, a computer and games, I would do it for significantly less. 100k would be plenty. Take out the internet and I might want 250k or so.
No computer or games at all though? I'd go through a book a day, I don't think there's any other way I could keep myself entertained for a year. No matter the money involved I don't know if I could do it.
Sounds a bit like becoming a Buddhist monk or something.
Except you get paid.
I was thinking the same thing. I would likely not be able to handle it (the potential is there, though)- Were I better trained in meditation, I'd almost certainly do it.
Here half of that would end up going to buying somewhere to live
Fine then. Half a million dollars, without you having to pay rent or mortgage for the rest of your life. Takes an easy $1000 - $2000 out of your monthly expenditures, or $12,000 - $25,000 a year out of your annual living expenses. You can now comfortably live on $25,000 a year. Math is fun!
Seriously, if someone offered this up, I'd love to try it. I'd sign all the forms and everything. If they paid my family's bills while I was in, I would so very, very do it.
Or move someplace like where I am, where $300,000 will buy you a big house on an acreage, with a stream running through your property.
In the Northeast thats damn near impossible ot live on.
Anyway I'd like to try something like this. I hate never having any free time becasue of all the little crap you have to do everyday
Yeah, but it's great to help you live comfortably. You're forgetting that your finances are taken care of for you while you're away.
For me, that's $400 a month in student loans for a year on top of the cool million.
Yeah, it might not be enough to live on if you don't invest it or if you just sit on your ass all the time after, but if I did this and got the monies I'd get some dumb job that I didn't care about as supplemental income.
The point is, it can help you live comforably at the expense of a year of your life.
Yeah I missed that in the OP. 1300 is more than a loft, it's a very large apartment or a small house. That helps a ton. Hell I could spend months just doing little projects around the house or something. Where did we get the 10x10 room or whatever? I could even close one room off and promise myself never to enter it until I really really need to reward myself with a new surprise one day. That's a very different story.
$50,000 a year for 20 years, $40,000 for 25 years, $30,000 for 33 years, assuming you don't touch it.
The $50K came from a conservative estimate of 5% ROI, which means you get $50K/year indefinitely and still have $1MM in the bank the whole time.
Of course, $50K will be a pitiful income 20 or 30 years from now, so you'll need to either buffer your earning power by reinvesting some of the interest (which may be possible while still drawing $50k/yr), or start drawing out capital along with interest after a certain amount of time, or both. Bottom line is that $1MM free and clear can set you for life, but not necessarily as a very wealthy person. Once you've got a wife and two kids and you want to move into that neighborhood with the really good public schools... $50K isn't a lot even now.
Bottom line is that $1MM free and clear can set you for life, but not necessarily as a very wealthy person. Once you've got a wife and two kids and you want to move into that neighborhood with the really good public schools... $50K isn't a lot even now.
With a bit of wise investing and a medium-paying job that you enjoy, it's certainly better than a kick in the teeth with a frozen boot... or, it gives you 20 years to come up with a method to make your own money. For me, I'd have 20 years to become a successful author, without having to worry about a day job or anything. Or maybe get into the UFC, and get a good sponsorship deal. It's wide open!
Me and my wife often talk about winning the lottery, like a TINY lottery, and how we'd handle it. $1,000,000 would set us for life with our current plan. If we won "Set For Life" and took it up front, thats $2.62 mill, and we wouldn't even have to TRY to live in (what we consider) luxury until the end of our days. I would totally spend a year on a box to get that.
Actually, now that you mention sponsorship, THAT could be your job.
If you got press for doing this after you came out you could write a book about your experiences and do interviews and other shit for money on top of your million.
You could do a pepsi commercial where you're stuck in your room and it's ok with you for years because, hey, you've got something crisp and refreshing to quench your thirst.
I think there definitly could be a celebrity factor here.
having a mil in the bank would certainly qaulify you as comfortable though.
I'd probably go nuts, write a bunch of books, and form a cult around them. Then I could live fat and happy until I get bored with it and feed them Kool Aid.
"Set for life" generally implies that you never work for income ever again.
Unless it was something I enjoyed, like writing, or designing custom houses. Then it would be fun! Personal challenges keep life interesting... I'd kill myself if there was literally nothing to do...
having a mil in the bank would certainly qaulify you as comfortable though.
It certaintly wouldn't hurt. I'd probably end up plowing it all into real estate and continue working. In 5 years I'd be able ot sell off the stuff for probaby double my investment.
Unless it was something I enjoyed, like writing, or designing custom houses. Then it would be fun! Personal challenges keep life interesting... I'd kill myself if there was literally nothing to do...
"For income" meant "for the purpose of earning income."
Unless it was something I enjoyed, like writing, or designing custom houses. Then it would be fun! Personal challenges keep life interesting... I'd kill myself if there was literally nothing to do...
"For income" meant "for the purpose of earning income."
He beat me, he robbed me, he defeated me.
Hatred cannot end in the mind that holds these thoughts.
He beat me, he robbed me, he defeated me.
Hatred ceases in the mind that does not hold these thoughts.
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ElJeffeNot actually a mod.Roaming the streets, waving his gun around.Moderator, ClubPAmod
Assuming nothing breaks, this doesn't seem too difficult for me, but I am someone who actually loves and values isolation, so I am not a good cross-section of the population. If I stocked it with books, music, and about seven tons of writing paper, and I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHERE MY NEXT MEAL WAS COMING FROM, and knowing I'd be COMPLETELY SET FOR LIFE WHEN I GOT OUT, I'd probably have the time of my freaking LIFE.
But that's just me. When they were training NASA people in the 60's, a lot of them had mental breaks before a month was up.
A millino dollars isn't "set for life" unless you plan o moving to a third world country
You could buy a nice house free and clear, stick the rest in a high-interest checking account earning 4% per year, and have $20k per year forever. You'd need to work if you wanted to live cushily, but you'd pretty much never have to worry about money again, if you were smart.
Fabulously wealthy? No. Set for life? More or less.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
He beat me, he robbed me, he defeated me.
Hatred cannot end in the mind that holds these thoughts.
He beat me, he robbed me, he defeated me.
Hatred ceases in the mind that does not hold these thoughts.
the kicker is that the door to the outside world is unlocked. You can walk out at any time.
For me that is where it goes from "No problem" to "impossible".
If I was required to serve the full time with no choice after i agreed to do it it would not be that bad, hell it may even be nice.
But because i have the option to walk out at any time, i know i would never be able to do it. The isolation, boredom and whatever else would be easy to handle compared to the option of ending this crap when ever i wanted.
I know the lure to step out would eventually win me over.
I would be willing to try but to be honest I am not sure I could do it. I spend a lot of time alone as it is but after particularly long stretches of time I do start to freak out a little even though I have books, video games, internet access and an entire house all to myself.
A lot of people have mentioned that they would like to spend the time meditating. This reminds me of what the old professor at my department did when he retired. He was always a truly mean person and a bad boss, always yelling at his subordinates and being a general dick to eveyone. This was before my time, so I never got to experience it. Anyway, when he retired, he picked up zen-meditation... guess he was afraid his blood pressure would kill him soon otherwise. For some reason, he decided he should spend the next year meditating.... in his garage. Now, I do not think he spent all the time during that year in the garage (but who knows, the man was crazy...) but still.... if I was to spend a year meditating I sure as hell would not choose to do it in my garage. When he got back he was a lot more calm, and I could not fit the stories I had heard about him with the person I met. I think I would rent a small cottage somewhere far from everything for a year of meditation. Spending time alone in nature is really nice and good for you, but spending time alone in a small room...
I think I could do it. I'd stock up on books (i.e. my bookstore's entire sci-fi section), paper and pens (I do have a vivid imagination but a lousy memory, so writing things down would be good), MP3s of every song published in the 80s, and a lot of porn (hey it'll get lonely), and I should be set.
I see it like $1M for 1 year of work, which is a pretty sweet deal.
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wake up, eat, change sheets, shower, read until I fall asleep.
particularly without gameage.
mabey occasionally exercising so my muscles don't atrophy to the point where they shrink and cause pain. Yeah, I guess I'd have to do that.
If yar can have shit to drink, then I want some really nice sensi or hash.
I'd totally do it, but I'd like the facilities to improve myself over the year: a computer to finally finish programming my game, a TV to catch up on game playing and movie watching, books to teach myself practical skills like carpentry, plumbing, car repair, musical instruments, etc.
You'd come out a real renaissance man, but probably also a total weird fucker.
Not having internet access would take getting used to, though I could deal with that. The first few weeks to a month would suck in that regard, but the internet isn't an essential thing.
Not having a computer would be a big deal, not so much because of the internet but because programming would undoubtedly be one of my preferred activities during the year. I don't see the harm in having one, so long as the clock was inaccurate in some way or simply inaccessable.
Not seeing the sun would also be an issue, I think. Would we be allowed a sun lamp, or is the aim being deprived of sun-like light altogether instead of just not being able to tell days?
I'd also probably bring something I could secure the door with; not something that couldn't be undone, but something that would take a few minutes or hours to remove any impulse temptations to leave.
Of course, my preferred skill set to learn would be languages, which I could do with sufficient books and audio files. I wonder how many (and to what degree of proficiency) I could learn in a year with nothing else to occupy my time...
Also, even in people who stay happy through the endless winters, I'm sure that they'd end up with major health problems from the lack of daylight.
Incidently, this kind of experiment is what the Big Brother program really should be.
But that's just me. When they were training NASA people in the 60's, a lot of them had mental breaks before a month was up.
EDIT: 1300 sq.ft. is a lot... apart from my current domicile, I've never lived in a place that big. When I first moved out, I was in a 325 sq.ft. ground-floor apartment with an uneven floor and cracked wall panels, and I was in there once for 8 days just to see if anyone would notice. No-one did. I think I am much more suited to the life of a hermit / prison inmate / Unabomber than most people.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
What he said, pretty much word-for-word.
A millino dollars isn't "set for life" unless you plan o moving to a third world country
$50,000 a year would do me nicely thankyou.
After that you'd probably live in seclusion by choice. :P
There'd be no reason not to try it, really. Your bills are being taken care of while you're away, so at worst, you're having a relaxing vacation for a month or so. If you can't take it, you walk out the door.
$50,000 a year for 20 years, $40,000 for 25 years, $30,000 for 33 years, assuming you don't touch it. Invest in a high yield securities fund, and it would carry me comfortably for the rest of my life without having to lift a finger, and I live in the often-voted #1 country in the world, Canada. If a million dollars doesn't set you up for life, you have some serious spending issues.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
No computer or games at all though? I'd go through a book a day, I don't think there's any other way I could keep myself entertained for a year. No matter the money involved I don't know if I could do it.
Here half of that would end up going to buying somewhere to live
I was thinking the same thing. I would likely not be able to handle it (the potential is there, though)- Were I better trained in meditation, I'd almost certainly do it.
Fine then. Half a million dollars, without you having to pay rent or mortgage for the rest of your life. Takes an easy $1000 - $2000 out of your monthly expenditures, or $12,000 - $25,000 a year out of your annual living expenses. You can now comfortably live on $25,000 a year. Math is fun!
Seriously, if someone offered this up, I'd love to try it. I'd sign all the forms and everything. If they paid my family's bills while I was in, I would so very, very do it.
Or move someplace like where I am, where $300,000 will buy you a big house on an acreage, with a stream running through your property.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
so don't live in New York, and work for a while till whatever you were making and compound intrest got that number a little higher.
Anyway I'd like to try something like this. I hate never having any free time becasue of all the little crap you have to do everyday
Finally some free time to work on my mediation.
Yeah, but it's great to help you live comfortably. You're forgetting that your finances are taken care of for you while you're away.
For me, that's $400 a month in student loans for a year on top of the cool million.
Yeah, it might not be enough to live on if you don't invest it or if you just sit on your ass all the time after, but if I did this and got the monies I'd get some dumb job that I didn't care about as supplemental income.
The point is, it can help you live comforably at the expense of a year of your life.
Let's make out.
The $50K came from a conservative estimate of 5% ROI, which means you get $50K/year indefinitely and still have $1MM in the bank the whole time.
Of course, $50K will be a pitiful income 20 or 30 years from now, so you'll need to either buffer your earning power by reinvesting some of the interest (which may be possible while still drawing $50k/yr), or start drawing out capital along with interest after a certain amount of time, or both. Bottom line is that $1MM free and clear can set you for life, but not necessarily as a very wealthy person. Once you've got a wife and two kids and you want to move into that neighborhood with the really good public schools... $50K isn't a lot even now.
Beat'd, bitch!
With a bit of wise investing and a medium-paying job that you enjoy, it's certainly better than a kick in the teeth with a frozen boot... or, it gives you 20 years to come up with a method to make your own money. For me, I'd have 20 years to become a successful author, without having to worry about a day job or anything. Or maybe get into the UFC, and get a good sponsorship deal. It's wide open!
Me and my wife often talk about winning the lottery, like a TINY lottery, and how we'd handle it. $1,000,000 would set us for life with our current plan. If we won "Set For Life" and took it up front, thats $2.62 mill, and we wouldn't even have to TRY to live in (what we consider) luxury until the end of our days. I would totally spend a year on a box to get that.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
If you got press for doing this after you came out you could write a book about your experiences and do interviews and other shit for money on top of your million.
You could do a pepsi commercial where you're stuck in your room and it's ok with you for years because, hey, you've got something crisp and refreshing to quench your thirst.
I think there definitly could be a celebrity factor here.
I'd probably go nuts, write a bunch of books, and form a cult around them. Then I could live fat and happy until I get bored with it and feed them Kool Aid.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
It certaintly wouldn't hurt. I'd probably end up plowing it all into real estate and continue working. In 5 years I'd be able ot sell off the stuff for probaby double my investment.
Dismayed By Humanity Since 1992.
You could buy a nice house free and clear, stick the rest in a high-interest checking account earning 4% per year, and have $20k per year forever. You'd need to work if you wanted to live cushily, but you'd pretty much never have to worry about money again, if you were smart.
Fabulously wealthy? No. Set for life? More or less.
For me that is where it goes from "No problem" to "impossible".
If I was required to serve the full time with no choice after i agreed to do it it would not be that bad, hell it may even be nice.
But because i have the option to walk out at any time, i know i would never be able to do it. The isolation, boredom and whatever else would be easy to handle compared to the option of ending this crap when ever i wanted.
I know the lure to step out would eventually win me over.
I see it like $1M for 1 year of work, which is a pretty sweet deal.