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To be able to make such choice implies that I already exist in some form.
And I'd probably be too afraid of non-existence to choose not being born.
Life sucks, but I also don't want to "not-exist". Its terrifying.
Can I just be a ghost floating around and just "chill" and observe? Perhaps in the company of other ghosts to talk to...
Non-existence isn't scary, scary thing is losing your existence.
Yeah, I didn't exist for billions of years and I'm fine...ish. idk what happens after though
Same thing that happened before. You were fine with not existing before hand.
Absolutely.
A. Even with how shit the world is there's enough good that exists for it to be worth it.
B. If I didn't exist, I would never have a chance to help improve the world in my small way.
Same view but I also have had it pretty good. Great family and support, passed that on to my kids, and Iβve had a lot of support with great teachers through my years so now I pass that on to those less fortunate and it just does it for me. Itβs a great feeling helping others.
Hereβs your Christmas advice kids: care about other people, nothing else will actually fulfill you.
no.
Same
No. And thats the reason i don't have kids.
Humanity is rotten, and personally i don't think we'll ever change. The best thing that can happen to earth is for humanity to collapse and become extinct.
Certainly yes.
Fuuuuuck no.
No. Not even remotely. Not even if I was assured it was a simulation. No.
I'm echoing a lot of the replies here by saying βNo.β Even if I'm given a choice as to what kind of life I'd live, still no.
Even if people say there's a lot of good things in life, or that there are people living their dreams in this world, still no. I don't play the lottery, even if I might end up with more money than I could ever hope to spend. The same logic applies here.
There would be no me to regret not existing if I don't exist.
Fuck no.
Others have already answered this well, but I'll repeat it anyway: No.
Even if my life currently is not bad, there are and have been bad times. Not existing is never bad. So no.
Not existing is neither bad nor good, existence is the experience of both good and bad things. Don't only focus on the bad ones.
Hell no
No
No
I reckon so, yeah. Better than nothing, right? Been plenty of good with the bad. That's about all a disembodied energy form could really hope for, after all.
Oh fuck no. For my entire life I've resented having to be alive. You try being a suicidally inclined 7 year old and see how you like it. The fact that it's impossible to ask someone if they want to be born is enough for me to never want to have kids, always had been. Forcing existence and cognizance on a human being is unspeakably fucking cruel.
I mean, the universe is just an experiment in experience. Even with the bullshit, it's better to have been than to never have been
Yes. If I'm actually some kind of cosmic being that can choose to be born yes, I am taking that pill. I'm taking all the experience pills.
I've been through some terrible things in life.
But yes, I'd still choose to be born. The universe is an amazing place, and despite everything that has happened and is going on, there truly isn't anything as wonderful as getting to experience a small, brief slice of the universe.
Yes! I'd rather there be something than nothing. It's a wonder that anything exists at all
Yeah, it's worth it. Plus maybe I can help.
Yes!
I think I would have preferred to just manifest as a being of energy that could take corporal form at will.
Would have been a lot easier on my mum.
Warning: ITT, lots of nonresponse bias.
Life dissatisfaction guides people to type no;
neutrally satisfied folks will skip;
the relatively contented might type a "yes" or be offline.
With today's historical context, there's a bit of a skew, especially for those hanging out online o( ; Β΄ οΉ `;)o
As for me, I'm excepted. I have decent dissatisfaction rather often, but arrogantly -- I'd be born a million times, every time (unless you ask me at a bad moment).
Even at my worst, why do I not roll over and die? "I want to see how my story ends."
No is not such a pleasant decision in this question, in order to answer this way you need to really feel or witness really bad things. Therefore, a large number of such answers says something...
Seeing as how shit everything is, no.
Fuck no!
I lean no, but it's close. On the one hand, life is meaningless and hurts. On the other I've gotten to see some cool things.
Yes. Everything is pointless and nothing is forever. Might as well enjoy the life we've got. Non-existence is better for some people, but I think on the whole life is worth living for most people.
So far, yes. I think being able to be physically embodied is so remarkable. And on top of that, to be able to hear and see (sort of) and think and feel? It's not gonna last forever, so I want to feel it while I can. Absolutely yes.
Just like how we don't know what it would feel like to be dead, and we dread dying, I suppose choosing to be born would feel like death of that self that is given this choice, so I guess the question can be rephrased as "if you could die in this moment, would you choose that?"
I guess not.
Absolutely. I'm not terribly privileged, but while the difficulties of life are non-trivial, overall I've experienced enough joy to justify the expense.
Damn right I would.
God no. And I won't have kids either. Spare them having to think about it.