Job Openings: Philosophy and Prompts

What If... #8

What if you weren't the only 'you'? Most people have wished at one point or another in their lives that someone - or everyone - was more like them, so what if everyone was as determined, industrious, committed, brave, talented, intelligent, and understanding as you because they are you? Who do you have the potential to be?

What if you lined up outside of the classroom on your first day of kindergarten and found twenty-nine other yous standing there? What if all of you walked in together and each found a seat at one of the desks arranged in five rows and six columns? Assuming you were all exactly the same and you all shared the same memories, feelings, and experiences because you walked from the cloning machine directly to the room, how would this moment affect the rest of your life? Would it? How would the learning experience, the friendships, the punishments, and the rewards be different for the you sitting in the middle of the front row compared to the you sitting in the back corner by the door, regardless of whether or not you wanted to sit there? How would this experiment be altered if it had been six rows and five columns, or three rows and ten columns, or ten rows and three columns? How would it be altered if the desks had been arranged in a circle?

If all of you stayed together from the first day of kindergarten through high school, would you still be exactly the same? Would you walk in one day a few minutes late and find another you sitting at your desk, or would you all choose to keep the same spot throughout the entire experience?

How many of you would graduate from high school on time, or at all? How many of you would go to college, then finish college? What would each of you major in? How many of you would live to see your 21st birthday? Would you all still be the same after all of this time? If not, what thoughts, experiences, moments, discoveries would take you down different paths?

How much would one trophy, one lucky guess on a test, or one detention alter your life course? Would this cause teachers or other supervisors to trust one of you more, or give you the benefit of the doubt when others would be punished? How would favouritism change your life outcomes? Would certain yous get an unfair advantage? If more yous were produced from and raised by the first generation of yous, how different would the third generation of yous be from each other? How would these differences affect socialization and social rankings? Would this affect which yous 'succeed', or even what each you would consider success?

On the last day of high school, how much would you like yourself - either you personally or your peers? Would you be the best of friends, the worst of enemies, or be completely detached from the other yous? At the age of 20, how much would you like yourself? At the age of 40, how much would you like yourself? How many yous would live to see your 80th birthday? Why would this be different for different yous? At the age of 80, how much would you like yourself? Would you always consider yourself the same as the others, or would you come to think of each you as a completely separate being? When would this happen and why?

Would you be able to fall in love with your other selves if you were the only living beings left on Earth? Would you be doomed (or choose) to be forever alone or would you somehow work it out? How successful would this be? Would certain yous be more likely to fall for other yous? Why or why not?

How much potential for diversity is there in a single person? How much does every person have in common, regardless of how different they seem?