The Immortal Snail

[Tegularius]

Being immortal with only a million bucks would cause me to be homeless long before the snail catches me which would probably be the better option just prior to having spent a million.

I would see the logic and understand the speedy futility, but all the marks you leave behind could end up being meaningful if you stuck around long enough.

Interesting! In what way would those marks be meaningful?

[LuckyR]

The Immortal Snail is a hypothetical thought meme that started gaining popularity in October 2021. The idea is you receive a million dollars and become immortal, unable to die or age. The catch is a mere snail also gets a million dollars and not only is it intelligent and immortal as you, but it will pursue you and it and it alone can end your immortal life by touching you. Should you choose to become immortal, how would to choose to live this life, unable to destroy the one force that can kill you? Would you want this cycle to end or try to outlast the universe itself? View the link below to get a better idea of what you may face?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comm ... oth_get_1/

What does the million dollars have to do with immortality?

That is how the experiment goes and the way I see it, a million dollars is more than enough to either live to decades off the grid or invest for more money eventually.

Your quality of life would depend on whether you were going to work or not. Working for eternity would be torture for a lot of people. If you retired with a million dollars, most would recommend only withdrawing 4% per year to protect the principle. That's $40,000 a year. Do you want to live for eternity on that? Not me.

[WanderingGaze22]

Being immortal with only a million bucks would cause me to be homeless long before the snail catches me which would probably be the better option just prior to having spent a million.

I would see the logic and understand the speedy futility, but all the marks you leave behind could end up being meaningful if you stuck around long enough.

Interesting! In what way would those marks be meaningful?

Well, I would imagine the effect you have on other people and the differences you make from holding a door open to saving their life. But, all that matters in the end is what you and you alone choose for yourself and what you learn from your experiences.

[WanderingGaze22]

The Immortal Snail is a hypothetical thought meme that started gaining popularity in October 2021. The idea is you receive a million dollars and become immortal, unable to die or age. The catch is a mere snail also gets a million dollars and not only is it intelligent and immortal as you, but it will pursue you and it and it alone can end your immortal life by touching you. Should you choose to become immortal, how would to choose to live this life, unable to destroy the one force that can kill you? Would you want this cycle to end or try to outlast the universe itself? View the link below to get a better idea of what you may face?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comm ... oth_get_1/

What does the million dollars have to do with immortality?

That is how the experiment goes and the way I see it, a million dollars is more than enough to either live to decades off the grid or invest for more money eventually.

Your quality of life would depend on whether you were going to work or not. Working for eternity would be torture for a lot of people. If you retired with a million dollars, most would recommend only withdrawing 4% per year to protect the principle. That's $40,000 a year. Do you want to live for eternity on that? Not me.

That is one of many choices and I respect that. Also, impressive calculations.

[Tegularius]

Being immortal with only a million bucks would cause me to be homeless long before the snail catches me which would probably be the better option just prior to having spent a million.

I would see the logic and understand the speedy futility, but all the marks you leave behind could end up being meaningful if you stuck around long enough.

Interesting! In what way would those marks be meaningful?

Well, I would imagine the effect you have on other people and the differences you make from holding a door open to saving their life. But, all that matters in the end is what you and you alone choose for yourself and what you learn from your experiences.

Yes, but that seems somewhat self-evident. Also what one learns or encounters from experience is not always the correct lesson...or as happens often, lessons learned too late when in proximity to the snail's long expected visit.

[Steve3007]

I was thinking of the snail with a cowled cloak and a scythe.

Yes, I suspected that you were thinking of the grim reaper. But I think the resulting image of the grim reaper as a slow but relentless pursuer of his victims was what made me think of the snail as a metaphor for time, and the way that (as a famous Steve once said) it keeps slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future.

[Steve3007]

I'd go and live on the other side of the world for a year. After that year, when the snail has reached me, I'd go back to this side of the world for a year. I'd keep doing that until I got bored of living. Then I'd let the snail catch me.

Sounds like soon enough, that cycle will prove to be less the fruitful within ten years.

Maybe. But actually, a quick back-of-a-fag-packet calculation suggests that at the average snail pace of around 0.05mph it would take the snail maybe 30 years to get to me on the other side of the world. Although, being intelligent, it might hitch a ride on various kinds of vehicles, Phileas Fogg style. In which case, I'll opt for Sculptor's snail-proof cage, relying on the fact that no amount of intelligence can compensate for a lack of opposable thumbs.

[Sy Borg]

I was thinking of the snail with a cowled cloak and a scythe.

Yes, I suspected that you were thinking of the grim reaper. But I think the resulting image of the grim reaper as a slow but relentless pursuer of his victims was what made me think of the snail as a metaphor for time, and the way that (as a famous Steve once said) it keeps slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future.

Death hunts us down like a predator. Once death has its quarry, the job is done and the feasting (decomposition) behins. Time hunts us like a runaway steamroller that eventually catches up to us and then continues on its merry way as if nothing happened.

[WanderingGaze22]

I would see the logic and understand the speedy futility, but all the marks you leave behind could end up being meaningful if you stuck around long enough.

Interesting! In what way would those marks be meaningful?

Well, I would imagine the effect you have on other people and the differences you make from holding a door open to saving their life. But, all that matters in the end is what you and you alone choose for yourself and what you learn from your experiences.

Yes, but that seems somewhat self-evident. Also what one learns or encounters from experience is not always the correct lesson...or as happens often, lessons learned too late when in proximity to the snail's long expected visit.

Fair point, it is still your life and much of this is self-explanatory. However long you live, self-care always is number one in priorities.

[WanderingGaze22]

I'd go and live on the other side of the world for a year. After that year, when the snail has reached me, I'd go back to this side of the world for a year. I'd keep doing that until I got bored of living. Then I'd let the snail catch me.

Sounds like soon enough, that cycle will prove to be less the fruitful within ten years.

Maybe. But actually, a quick back-of-a-fag-packet calculation suggests that at the average snail pace of around 0.05mph it would take the snail maybe 30 years to get to me on the other side of the world. Although, being intelligent, it might hitch a ride on various kinds of vehicles, Phileas Fogg style. In which case, I'll opt for Sculptor's snail-proof cage, relying on the fact that no amount of intelligence can compensate for a lack of opposable thumbs.

Clever, clever indeed.

[Steve3007]

Death hunts us down like a predator. Once death has its quarry, the job is done and the feasting (decomposition) behins. Time hunts us like a runaway steamroller that eventually catches up to us and then continues on its merry way as if nothing happened.

Interesting contrasting images! I suppose the steamroller is a bit like a very heavy, non-sentient immortal snail!