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Random body shuffle every night—can we still function?
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$begingroup$
Imagine a world where every time you wake up you wake up in a randomly selected body from among the bodies that were asleep at that time. There are some limits—the body should be in at most a roughly 5 mile radius of the body you went to sleep in. People maintain their memories, personalities etc when swapping bodies—only the bodies change.
Could such a society function? It seems that cities on our current scale could not—since so much (jobs, rental agreements, etc) depends on relationships that would be hard to maintain with people swapping bodies so much. Perhaps a small society of maybe 30 people on an island could—since they all know each other and could maintain relationships, despite people hopping about.
The question: what is the maximum size society that could function under such an arrangement? What challenges could be overcome (and how) to reach such a size and what challenge would be the fundamental limiter preventing any further growth?
society cities sleep identity
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
$endgroup$
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Imagine a world where every time you wake up you wake up in a randomly selected body from among the bodies that were asleep at that time. There are some limits—the body should be in at most a roughly 5 mile radius of the body you went to sleep in. People maintain their memories, personalities etc when swapping bodies—only the bodies change.
Could such a society function? It seems that cities on our current scale could not—since so much (jobs, rental agreements, etc) depends on relationships that would be hard to maintain with people swapping bodies so much. Perhaps a small society of maybe 30 people on an island could—since they all know each other and could maintain relationships, despite people hopping about.
The question: what is the maximum size society that could function under such an arrangement? What challenges could be overcome (and how) to reach such a size and what challenge would be the fundamental limiter preventing any further growth?
society cities sleep identity
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
$begingroup$
Imagine a world where every time you wake up you wake up in a randomly selected body from among the bodies that were asleep at that time. There are some limits—the body should be in at most a roughly 5 mile radius of the body you went to sleep in. People maintain their memories, personalities etc when swapping bodies—only the bodies change.
Could such a society function? It seems that cities on our current scale could not—since so much (jobs, rental agreements, etc) depends on relationships that would be hard to maintain with people swapping bodies so much. Perhaps a small society of maybe 30 people on an island could—since they all know each other and could maintain relationships, despite people hopping about.
The question: what is the maximum size society that could function under such an arrangement? What challenges could be overcome (and how) to reach such a size and what challenge would be the fundamental limiter preventing any further growth?
society cities sleep identity
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
$endgroup$
Imagine a world where every time you wake up you wake up in a randomly selected body from among the bodies that were asleep at that time. There are some limits—the body should be in at most a roughly 5 mile radius of the body you went to sleep in. People maintain their memories, personalities etc when swapping bodies—only the bodies change.
Could such a society function? It seems that cities on our current scale could not—since so much (jobs, rental agreements, etc) depends on relationships that would be hard to maintain with people swapping bodies so much. Perhaps a small society of maybe 30 people on an island could—since they all know each other and could maintain relationships, despite people hopping about.
The question: what is the maximum size society that could function under such an arrangement? What challenges could be overcome (and how) to reach such a size and what challenge would be the fundamental limiter preventing any further growth?
society cities sleep identity
society cities sleep identity
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
edited 50 mins ago
Cyn
11.9k12758
11.9k12758
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
asked 3 hours ago
danxinnobledanxinnoble
41719
41719
1
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
1
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago
|
show 1 more comment
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Society as we know it certainly could NOT function if this were the case. A couple of issues that immediately occurred to me, even more fundamental than retention of property (and retention of property is huge!):
Children would be extremely dangerous to be around!
Adults are significantly stronger than children. Imagine if a mother and her one-year-old son happened to swap bodies. Suddenly you might have a one-year-old's personality and (lack of) wisdom in the body of a grown woman, and the mother in a helpless and weak body. The woman-bodied child might accidentally crush the child-bodied mother, or fall into a fire, etc. The mother would be physically unable to prevent these problems. Or imagine an angry four-year-old, still smarting from being told it was naughty to hit people, and suddenly in his father's body and capable of actually hurting people!
Power could be abused forever
Assuming the human race could survive at all... If proximity and simultaneous sleep could potentially be used to swap bodies, relative immortality would be possible for some. Enclaves could be established where only those of a moderate age and reasonable health were allowed to sleep, so the only body you would "risk" waking up in would be of acceptable quality. As someone "aged out", they could kidnap a young body, and lock the young body and the aging individual in an even more isolated cell for sleep-periods. When the locked-up kidnapped body can deliver the right password-type proofs that it's got the right person in it, you know the transfer is successful, and the old body may be eliminated.
Nothing like the world we currently live in would be possible.
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I actually think large cities could function but they would be very different to ours.
Your house would be near a cluster of sleeping rooms and would have a password entry since keys are not going to work. Clusters of sleeping rooms are at least 5 miles apart and probably need some excellent public transit options. That is probably the hardest part of making a city and is probably going to have assigned sleep times to help allow reuse. People would be assigned to these facilities based on age, gender, physical condition and so forth so you keep a similar body at least.
There would be numerous government centers that would give you a daily ID after you give a password so you can have an identity and legal agreements based on that. You have to show it to get into your job and you have to put its info into your phone to receive calls.
There will be huge penalties for sleeping in random places or at random times, as that threatens the system.
Children will be communal. Since no one really has DNA that is theirs and letting children swap with adults would be a disaster children will be raised in group facilities that are at least 5 miles away from any other places people might sleep. Being a parent will be a job like any other since little kids keep swapping around getting attached to any single one is harder.
Prison could simply be being stuck in disabled bodies, no matter how evil you are if you are paralyzed you aren't going to do much damage.
Coffee and other stimulants are practically mandatory if you are feeling tired while out and about so they will possibly be government dispensed. Health care is also going to be communal since one person's illness is now literally everyone's problem.
Immortality is possible and that changes things a lot. An old person just needs to set it up so they sleep with young people and boom they are young again. This could be the worst crime possible or a totally legal thing that's expensive but either way it would allow all kinds of radical changes to the world. Either way these cities could possibly have the same people in charge forever and that could help with stabilizing things against the chaos this causes.
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Jack Chalker seems to think that it might be possible - he postulates a similar society in the second book of his Four Lords of the Diamond series, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold.
His society is somewhat more controlled than most modern societies, and has a method of identifying a person mentally - that is, the mind that's in the body. In general, there are two classes of person - those that keep the same job regardless of the body they're in (i.e., the job stays with the mind), and those that keep the same job regardless of the mind that's in the body (i.e., the job stays with the body). Most white-collar jobs are in the first class; undesirable jobs, and (in his society) host-motherhood, are in the second, and it's rare for people in the first class to associate with people in the second (because what happens if a first-class swaps with a second-class?).
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Society as we know it certainly could NOT function if this were the case. A couple of issues that immediately occurred to me, even more fundamental than retention of property (and retention of property is huge!):
Children would be extremely dangerous to be around!
Adults are significantly stronger than children. Imagine if a mother and her one-year-old son happened to swap bodies. Suddenly you might have a one-year-old's personality and (lack of) wisdom in the body of a grown woman, and the mother in a helpless and weak body. The woman-bodied child might accidentally crush the child-bodied mother, or fall into a fire, etc. The mother would be physically unable to prevent these problems. Or imagine an angry four-year-old, still smarting from being told it was naughty to hit people, and suddenly in his father's body and capable of actually hurting people!
Power could be abused forever
Assuming the human race could survive at all... If proximity and simultaneous sleep could potentially be used to swap bodies, relative immortality would be possible for some. Enclaves could be established where only those of a moderate age and reasonable health were allowed to sleep, so the only body you would "risk" waking up in would be of acceptable quality. As someone "aged out", they could kidnap a young body, and lock the young body and the aging individual in an even more isolated cell for sleep-periods. When the locked-up kidnapped body can deliver the right password-type proofs that it's got the right person in it, you know the transfer is successful, and the old body may be eliminated.
Nothing like the world we currently live in would be possible.
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Society as we know it certainly could NOT function if this were the case. A couple of issues that immediately occurred to me, even more fundamental than retention of property (and retention of property is huge!):
Children would be extremely dangerous to be around!
Adults are significantly stronger than children. Imagine if a mother and her one-year-old son happened to swap bodies. Suddenly you might have a one-year-old's personality and (lack of) wisdom in the body of a grown woman, and the mother in a helpless and weak body. The woman-bodied child might accidentally crush the child-bodied mother, or fall into a fire, etc. The mother would be physically unable to prevent these problems. Or imagine an angry four-year-old, still smarting from being told it was naughty to hit people, and suddenly in his father's body and capable of actually hurting people!
Power could be abused forever
Assuming the human race could survive at all... If proximity and simultaneous sleep could potentially be used to swap bodies, relative immortality would be possible for some. Enclaves could be established where only those of a moderate age and reasonable health were allowed to sleep, so the only body you would "risk" waking up in would be of acceptable quality. As someone "aged out", they could kidnap a young body, and lock the young body and the aging individual in an even more isolated cell for sleep-periods. When the locked-up kidnapped body can deliver the right password-type proofs that it's got the right person in it, you know the transfer is successful, and the old body may be eliminated.
Nothing like the world we currently live in would be possible.
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Society as we know it certainly could NOT function if this were the case. A couple of issues that immediately occurred to me, even more fundamental than retention of property (and retention of property is huge!):
Children would be extremely dangerous to be around!
Adults are significantly stronger than children. Imagine if a mother and her one-year-old son happened to swap bodies. Suddenly you might have a one-year-old's personality and (lack of) wisdom in the body of a grown woman, and the mother in a helpless and weak body. The woman-bodied child might accidentally crush the child-bodied mother, or fall into a fire, etc. The mother would be physically unable to prevent these problems. Or imagine an angry four-year-old, still smarting from being told it was naughty to hit people, and suddenly in his father's body and capable of actually hurting people!
Power could be abused forever
Assuming the human race could survive at all... If proximity and simultaneous sleep could potentially be used to swap bodies, relative immortality would be possible for some. Enclaves could be established where only those of a moderate age and reasonable health were allowed to sleep, so the only body you would "risk" waking up in would be of acceptable quality. As someone "aged out", they could kidnap a young body, and lock the young body and the aging individual in an even more isolated cell for sleep-periods. When the locked-up kidnapped body can deliver the right password-type proofs that it's got the right person in it, you know the transfer is successful, and the old body may be eliminated.
Nothing like the world we currently live in would be possible.
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
$endgroup$
Society as we know it certainly could NOT function if this were the case. A couple of issues that immediately occurred to me, even more fundamental than retention of property (and retention of property is huge!):
Children would be extremely dangerous to be around!
Adults are significantly stronger than children. Imagine if a mother and her one-year-old son happened to swap bodies. Suddenly you might have a one-year-old's personality and (lack of) wisdom in the body of a grown woman, and the mother in a helpless and weak body. The woman-bodied child might accidentally crush the child-bodied mother, or fall into a fire, etc. The mother would be physically unable to prevent these problems. Or imagine an angry four-year-old, still smarting from being told it was naughty to hit people, and suddenly in his father's body and capable of actually hurting people!
Power could be abused forever
Assuming the human race could survive at all... If proximity and simultaneous sleep could potentially be used to swap bodies, relative immortality would be possible for some. Enclaves could be established where only those of a moderate age and reasonable health were allowed to sleep, so the only body you would "risk" waking up in would be of acceptable quality. As someone "aged out", they could kidnap a young body, and lock the young body and the aging individual in an even more isolated cell for sleep-periods. When the locked-up kidnapped body can deliver the right password-type proofs that it's got the right person in it, you know the transfer is successful, and the old body may be eliminated.
Nothing like the world we currently live in would be possible.
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
edited 55 mins ago
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
answered 3 hours ago
JedediahJedediah
2,547314
2,547314
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I actually think large cities could function but they would be very different to ours.
Your house would be near a cluster of sleeping rooms and would have a password entry since keys are not going to work. Clusters of sleeping rooms are at least 5 miles apart and probably need some excellent public transit options. That is probably the hardest part of making a city and is probably going to have assigned sleep times to help allow reuse. People would be assigned to these facilities based on age, gender, physical condition and so forth so you keep a similar body at least.
There would be numerous government centers that would give you a daily ID after you give a password so you can have an identity and legal agreements based on that. You have to show it to get into your job and you have to put its info into your phone to receive calls.
There will be huge penalties for sleeping in random places or at random times, as that threatens the system.
Children will be communal. Since no one really has DNA that is theirs and letting children swap with adults would be a disaster children will be raised in group facilities that are at least 5 miles away from any other places people might sleep. Being a parent will be a job like any other since little kids keep swapping around getting attached to any single one is harder.
Prison could simply be being stuck in disabled bodies, no matter how evil you are if you are paralyzed you aren't going to do much damage.
Coffee and other stimulants are practically mandatory if you are feeling tired while out and about so they will possibly be government dispensed. Health care is also going to be communal since one person's illness is now literally everyone's problem.
Immortality is possible and that changes things a lot. An old person just needs to set it up so they sleep with young people and boom they are young again. This could be the worst crime possible or a totally legal thing that's expensive but either way it would allow all kinds of radical changes to the world. Either way these cities could possibly have the same people in charge forever and that could help with stabilizing things against the chaos this causes.
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I actually think large cities could function but they would be very different to ours.
Your house would be near a cluster of sleeping rooms and would have a password entry since keys are not going to work. Clusters of sleeping rooms are at least 5 miles apart and probably need some excellent public transit options. That is probably the hardest part of making a city and is probably going to have assigned sleep times to help allow reuse. People would be assigned to these facilities based on age, gender, physical condition and so forth so you keep a similar body at least.
There would be numerous government centers that would give you a daily ID after you give a password so you can have an identity and legal agreements based on that. You have to show it to get into your job and you have to put its info into your phone to receive calls.
There will be huge penalties for sleeping in random places or at random times, as that threatens the system.
Children will be communal. Since no one really has DNA that is theirs and letting children swap with adults would be a disaster children will be raised in group facilities that are at least 5 miles away from any other places people might sleep. Being a parent will be a job like any other since little kids keep swapping around getting attached to any single one is harder.
Prison could simply be being stuck in disabled bodies, no matter how evil you are if you are paralyzed you aren't going to do much damage.
Coffee and other stimulants are practically mandatory if you are feeling tired while out and about so they will possibly be government dispensed. Health care is also going to be communal since one person's illness is now literally everyone's problem.
Immortality is possible and that changes things a lot. An old person just needs to set it up so they sleep with young people and boom they are young again. This could be the worst crime possible or a totally legal thing that's expensive but either way it would allow all kinds of radical changes to the world. Either way these cities could possibly have the same people in charge forever and that could help with stabilizing things against the chaos this causes.
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I actually think large cities could function but they would be very different to ours.
Your house would be near a cluster of sleeping rooms and would have a password entry since keys are not going to work. Clusters of sleeping rooms are at least 5 miles apart and probably need some excellent public transit options. That is probably the hardest part of making a city and is probably going to have assigned sleep times to help allow reuse. People would be assigned to these facilities based on age, gender, physical condition and so forth so you keep a similar body at least.
There would be numerous government centers that would give you a daily ID after you give a password so you can have an identity and legal agreements based on that. You have to show it to get into your job and you have to put its info into your phone to receive calls.
There will be huge penalties for sleeping in random places or at random times, as that threatens the system.
Children will be communal. Since no one really has DNA that is theirs and letting children swap with adults would be a disaster children will be raised in group facilities that are at least 5 miles away from any other places people might sleep. Being a parent will be a job like any other since little kids keep swapping around getting attached to any single one is harder.
Prison could simply be being stuck in disabled bodies, no matter how evil you are if you are paralyzed you aren't going to do much damage.
Coffee and other stimulants are practically mandatory if you are feeling tired while out and about so they will possibly be government dispensed. Health care is also going to be communal since one person's illness is now literally everyone's problem.
Immortality is possible and that changes things a lot. An old person just needs to set it up so they sleep with young people and boom they are young again. This could be the worst crime possible or a totally legal thing that's expensive but either way it would allow all kinds of radical changes to the world. Either way these cities could possibly have the same people in charge forever and that could help with stabilizing things against the chaos this causes.
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
$endgroup$
I actually think large cities could function but they would be very different to ours.
Your house would be near a cluster of sleeping rooms and would have a password entry since keys are not going to work. Clusters of sleeping rooms are at least 5 miles apart and probably need some excellent public transit options. That is probably the hardest part of making a city and is probably going to have assigned sleep times to help allow reuse. People would be assigned to these facilities based on age, gender, physical condition and so forth so you keep a similar body at least.
There would be numerous government centers that would give you a daily ID after you give a password so you can have an identity and legal agreements based on that. You have to show it to get into your job and you have to put its info into your phone to receive calls.
There will be huge penalties for sleeping in random places or at random times, as that threatens the system.
Children will be communal. Since no one really has DNA that is theirs and letting children swap with adults would be a disaster children will be raised in group facilities that are at least 5 miles away from any other places people might sleep. Being a parent will be a job like any other since little kids keep swapping around getting attached to any single one is harder.
Prison could simply be being stuck in disabled bodies, no matter how evil you are if you are paralyzed you aren't going to do much damage.
Coffee and other stimulants are practically mandatory if you are feeling tired while out and about so they will possibly be government dispensed. Health care is also going to be communal since one person's illness is now literally everyone's problem.
Immortality is possible and that changes things a lot. An old person just needs to set it up so they sleep with young people and boom they are young again. This could be the worst crime possible or a totally legal thing that's expensive but either way it would allow all kinds of radical changes to the world. Either way these cities could possibly have the same people in charge forever and that could help with stabilizing things against the chaos this causes.
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
answered 3 hours ago
EricEric
3696
3696
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
$begingroup$
And narcolepsy would be the most devastating disease :)
$endgroup$
– Alexander
9 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Jack Chalker seems to think that it might be possible - he postulates a similar society in the second book of his Four Lords of the Diamond series, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold.
His society is somewhat more controlled than most modern societies, and has a method of identifying a person mentally - that is, the mind that's in the body. In general, there are two classes of person - those that keep the same job regardless of the body they're in (i.e., the job stays with the mind), and those that keep the same job regardless of the mind that's in the body (i.e., the job stays with the body). Most white-collar jobs are in the first class; undesirable jobs, and (in his society) host-motherhood, are in the second, and it's rare for people in the first class to associate with people in the second (because what happens if a first-class swaps with a second-class?).
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Jack Chalker seems to think that it might be possible - he postulates a similar society in the second book of his Four Lords of the Diamond series, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold.
His society is somewhat more controlled than most modern societies, and has a method of identifying a person mentally - that is, the mind that's in the body. In general, there are two classes of person - those that keep the same job regardless of the body they're in (i.e., the job stays with the mind), and those that keep the same job regardless of the mind that's in the body (i.e., the job stays with the body). Most white-collar jobs are in the first class; undesirable jobs, and (in his society) host-motherhood, are in the second, and it's rare for people in the first class to associate with people in the second (because what happens if a first-class swaps with a second-class?).
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Jack Chalker seems to think that it might be possible - he postulates a similar society in the second book of his Four Lords of the Diamond series, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold.
His society is somewhat more controlled than most modern societies, and has a method of identifying a person mentally - that is, the mind that's in the body. In general, there are two classes of person - those that keep the same job regardless of the body they're in (i.e., the job stays with the mind), and those that keep the same job regardless of the mind that's in the body (i.e., the job stays with the body). Most white-collar jobs are in the first class; undesirable jobs, and (in his society) host-motherhood, are in the second, and it's rare for people in the first class to associate with people in the second (because what happens if a first-class swaps with a second-class?).
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
$endgroup$
Jack Chalker seems to think that it might be possible - he postulates a similar society in the second book of his Four Lords of the Diamond series, Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold.
His society is somewhat more controlled than most modern societies, and has a method of identifying a person mentally - that is, the mind that's in the body. In general, there are two classes of person - those that keep the same job regardless of the body they're in (i.e., the job stays with the mind), and those that keep the same job regardless of the mind that's in the body (i.e., the job stays with the body). Most white-collar jobs are in the first class; undesirable jobs, and (in his society) host-motherhood, are in the second, and it's rare for people in the first class to associate with people in the second (because what happens if a first-class swaps with a second-class?).
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
answered 3 hours ago
Jeff ZeitlinJeff Zeitlin
1,201412
1,201412
add a comment |
add a comment |
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1
$begingroup$
Do you wake "in the body" as in, your body changed, or your mind passed to another body? Are you still in the same place you went to sleep in? Think it would change the answer.
$endgroup$
– Nyakouai
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
The former: you wake "in the body" and your mind moves. Good clarification.
$endgroup$
– danxinnoble
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Socialism might be quite popular.
$endgroup$
– JustSnilloc
2 hours ago
$begingroup$
I guess the 5-mile radius itself would prevent people to gather too much in large cities. Prisons would be far out of towns, and probably kindergarten schools too.
$endgroup$
– kikirex
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
there would be no society. My eyes do not produce the same signals as your eyes do. It would takes weeks or months to learn the hear with some else's ears or see with their eyes, in someone else's body you would have to learn to walk all over again, if it happens every night the human population is reduced to a pile a flailing sacks of meat.
$endgroup$
– John
1 hour ago