this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2024
70 points (93.8% liked)

Asklemmy

44067 readers
1106 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy ๐Ÿ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[โ€“] [email protected] 54 points 4 days ago (1 children)

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...

[โ€“] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Non-existence isn't scary, scary thing is losing your existence.

[โ€“] baldingpudenda 14 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I didn't exist for billions of years and I'm fine...ish. idk what happens after though

[โ€“] NegativeInf 12 points 4 days ago

Same thing that happened before. You were fine with not existing before hand.

[โ€“] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 31 points 4 days ago (7 children)
load more comments (7 replies)
[โ€“] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[โ€“] Mr_Fish 20 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Damn right I would.

[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago

I'm echoing a lot of the replies here by saying โ€œNo.โ€ 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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Like, now? No way. I would choose to continue my unborn existence. However, if I could choose a time period, that would be a different story.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Maybe if I had the choice of where and when to be born. Much too risky to leave it up to chance though

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago

Fuuuuuck no.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Even if my life currently is not bad, there are and have been bad times. Not existing is never bad. So no.

[โ€“] Electric_Druid 4 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 4 days ago

Certainly yes.

[โ€“] Etterra 8 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 4 days ago

No. Not even remotely. Not even if I was assured it was a simulation. No.

[โ€“] Godthrilla 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

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

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago

Others have already answered this well, but I'll repeat it anyway: No.

[โ€“] Tattorack 5 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] Feathercrown 6 points 4 days ago

Yeah, it's worth it. Plus maybe I can help.

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] Mannimarco 8 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

God no. And I won't have kids either. Spare them having to think about it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Seeing as how shit everything is, no.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

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.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Question, can I change my sex at birth?

load more comments (3 replies)
[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

Yes! I'd rather there be something than nothing. It's a wonder that anything exists at all

[โ€“] AdamEatsAss 5 points 4 days ago
[โ€“] davidagain 3 points 4 days ago

Absolutely.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

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( ; ยด ๏น `;)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."

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

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...

load more comments
view more: next โ€บ