radiokills Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 ok so i am a huge fan of the journalist/essayist chuck klosterman, and have been reading various collections of his older/more significant essays. before each one, he poses a question to the reader that (usually) is somehow conceptually related to the subject matter of the essay. i find the majority of the questions really interesting, so i figure it would be equally interesting to hear some peoples' responses. ill post a few, and if you guys like them ill continue :/ Let us assume you met a rudimentary magician. Let us assume he can do five tricks - he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, he can make a coin disappear, he can turn the ace of spades into the Joker card, and two others in a similar vein. These are his only tricks and he can't learn any more; he can do only these five. HOWEVER, it turns out he's doing these five tricks with actual magic. It's not an illusion; he can actually conjure the bunny out of the ether and he can move the coin through space. He's legitimately magical, but extremely limited in scope and influence. Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein? It is 1933. You are in Berlin, German. Somehow, you find yourself in a position where you can effortlessly steal Adolf Hitler's wallet. This theft will not effect Hitler's rise to power, the nature of World War II, or the Holocaust. There is no important identification in the wallet, but the act will cost Hitler forty Reichsmarks and completely ruin his evening. You do not need the money. The odds that you will be caught committing this crime are less than 2 percent. Are you ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet? anyways, enjoy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drazil Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 The magician would be more impressive because I get to actually meet him. Einstein is just a historical figure to me. No, I do not feel I'd be ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet. Apparently, he was not a happy man and one ruined evening would not make me feel any better about anything. Besides, stealing is not good karma. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Griddles Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 More impressive: yes, cooler to meet no. I would defiantly steal his wallet, in fact I will steal your wallet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedy's Gurl Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 as a person of german jewish heritage....i get the feeling that me stealing hitler's wallet and ruining his day would probably be bad for history. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alison the wilca Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 i love Chuck Klosterman's bizarre questions.And I can never seem to come up with a clear answer to any of them. I would totally steal Hitler's wallet though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tenderloin Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I would steal Hitler's wallet, give it to the magician, and ask him if he could make a rabbit jump out of it every time he opens it up. Then I would return it to Hitler, sans 40 clams. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drazil Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I would steal Hitler's wallet, give it to the magician, and ask him if he could make a rabbit jump out of it every time he opens it up. Then I would return it to Hitler, sans 40 clams. That would HAVE to affect history to some degree. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?[/i] Are you ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet?[/i]More entertaining, yes. More impressive, no. And you are ethically obligated not to steal Hitler's wallet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radiokills Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 And you are ethically obligated not to steal Hitler's wallet. thats very shortsighted in my opinion. moral obligations dont go out the window just because of someones actions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 More entertaining, yes. More impressive, no. And you are ethically obligated not to steal Hitler's wallet. As a magician, yes, this person would be a league above Einstein in skill and craft, as a physicist/mathematician however, probably not so much. Though your answer is, technically, ethically correct, all bets are off and some ethical standards can be relaxed when the subject being trespassed against is the fuehrer himself Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 thats very shortsighted in my opinion. moral obligations dont go out the window just because of someones actions.Huh? As a magician, yes, this person would be a league above Einstein in skill and craft, as a physicist/mathematician however, probably not so much. Though your answer is, technically, ethically correct, all bets are off and some ethical standards can be relaxed when the subject being trespassed against is the fuehrer himself Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Though your answer is, technically, ethically correct, all bets are off and some ethical standards can be relaxed when the subject being trespassed against is the fuehrer himself Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ction Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 it'd be so awesome, if the German police caught you in the act, and used tasers on you. Anyone know how to say "bro" in German? caliber?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Anyone know how to say "bro" in German? caliber??"Bru" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 it'd be so awesome, if the German police caught you in the act, and used tasers on you. Wow Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 it's a joke you dope. I'm playing on your whole stance against tasers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EL the Famous Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 it'd be so awesome, if the German police caught you in the act, and used tasers on you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Kinsley Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 No, I do not feel I'd be ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet. Apparently, he was not a happy man and one ruined evening would not make me feel any better about anything. Besides, stealing is not good karma.Somewhere in Germany someone said, "Nein!" Magician = EinsteinReal magic vs. magical brain... it's a draw. Stealing Hitler's wallet would be a fantastic story for around the water cooler/cocktail parties*, but not an ethical requirement. Shooting him would be an ethical requirement. *Does anyone actually have cocktail parties anymore? Next question please! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theashtraysays Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Stealing Hitler's wallet would be a fantastic story for around the water cooler/cocktail parties*, but not an ethical requirement. Shooting him would be an ethical requirement.That's an interesting slant. Annoying Hitler is not worth the moral/ethical violation of stealing something from someone, and by no means an imperative. Stopping the holocaust and WWII before it started clearly is. But that assumes you KNEW that he was who he was and was going to do all that he did... but I guess that's not really what the question was. As for the magician, I'll stick with Albert. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Kinsley Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 That's an interesting slant. Annoying Hitler is not worth the moral/ethical violation of stealing something from someone, and by no means an imperative. Stopping the holocaust and WWII before it started clearly is. But that assumes you KNEW that he was who he was and was going to do all that he did... but I guess that's not really what the question was. As for the magician, I'll stick with Albert.But if you didn't know who he was and was going to do all that he did, NOT stealing his wallet would be a moral imperative. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theashtraysays Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Agree. Then it's just stealing from some German dude. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Kinsley Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 But... now that I give it more thought, he would have had that wacky little mustache. That alone is grounds for a karma-waiver for stealing his wallet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theashtraysays Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Dunno about that one. Is karma a German word, btw? That complicates it even more... And my vote for Einstein was largely due to the mustache. And the hair. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Agree. Then it's just stealing from some Austrian dude.Fixed it for you. Klosterman is overrated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Dunno about that one. Is karma a German word, btw? That complicates it even more...Karma is Sanskrit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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