If you could be and personally experience (in the first person sense) the full life of any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Hypothetical Question
If you could be and personally experience (in the first person sense) the full life of any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Da Vinci, maybe? Holy crap, think of all the stuff he got to do.Originally Posted by Logos
Hmm, I'm sure there are other options too. Maybe Jefferson? Socrates? Jim Henson? Sir Francis Drake? I feel like I'm overlooking someone though.
Note: I don't actually know the full lives of these people, just chunks, so perhaps something utterly horrible that happened to each and I don't really want to be any of these.
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I pity your souls
Da Vinci died a virgin. Socrates had to kill himself, and was considered to be very ugly.Da Vinci, maybe? Holy crap, think of all the stuff he got to do.
Hmm, I'm sure there are other options too. Maybe Jefferson? Socrates? Jim Henson? Sir Francis Drake? I feel like I'm overlooking someone though.
Note: I don't actually know the full lives of these people, just chunks, so perhaps something utterly horrible that happened to each and I don't really want to be any of these.
...the human race will disappear. Other races will appear and disappear in turn. The sky will become icy and void, pierced by the feeble light of half-dead stars. Which will also disappear. Everything will disappear. And what human beings do is just as free of sense as the free motion of elementary particles. Good, evil, morality, feelings? Pure 'Victorian fictions'.
INTp
All three of those things could end up to be the case for me even in this life, so meh.
Retired from posting and drawing Social Security. E-mail or PM to contact.
I pity your souls
Egyptian Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare
...the human race will disappear. Other races will appear and disappear in turn. The sky will become icy and void, pierced by the feeble light of half-dead stars. Which will also disappear. Everything will disappear. And what human beings do is just as free of sense as the free motion of elementary particles. Good, evil, morality, feelings? Pure 'Victorian fictions'.
INTp
Casanova
Djingis Khan
Alexander the great
some pharaoh
As of now, my list would consist of the following:
- Alfred the Great
- Charles Darwin
- Aristotle
- Confucius
- Muhammad
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Abraham Lincoln was the first person who popped into my head.....
Suomea
So you just shot off the first thing that came out of your head?
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
A random woman from the medieval period. My major would be so much easier and based on factual evidence.
ILE
7w8 so/sp
Very busy with work. Only kind of around.
Oh! Definitely an explorer. Marco Polo or Amerigo Vespucci or I don't know, for all I know they had tragic lives, but the idea of discovering and exploring something new and uncharted is so inspiring!
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
John Muir
But it wouldnt be new and and uncharted for you! You would just be a big cheat if you did that
Mark Twain
Augustus
Milton Friedman
Thomas Jefferson
Charles II of England
Themistocles
, LIE, ENTj logical subtype, 8w9 sx/sp
I would want to be someone creative, like Shakespeare. But I wouldn't particularly want to be a man, and women weren't given the opportunities for that kind of thing back then. But otherwise I'll go with Shakespeare.
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.-Mark Twain
You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.
Would I be allowed to alter the actions of said historical person or just repeat everything they did?
David Lee Roth (SEE)
or
Victor Hugo (ESE)
Good choice with Jefferson. Charlemagne might be another good choice.
Alfred the Great: The only English monarch with the epitaph "the Great" as well as the first self-styled "King of the Anglo-Saxons." He kept the Anglo-Saxons from being completely conquered by the Danes, which allowed for the gradual emergence of an English nation through his strengthening of Wessex and Mercia. He reorganized the legal system, the military, and encouraged education in his kingdom. He also maintained correspondence with other foreign leaders and officials like the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Not only did he sponsor the development of education, but he he was educated as well and was personally responsible for translating various works into vernacular English.
Charles Darwin: We are talking about probably the world's most revered modern scientist here.
Aristotle: Student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, and whose works would greatly impact the Middle-Eastern and European Middle Ages.
Confucius: The opportunity to see the Warring States period of China while also being the individual who developed China's most influential and enduring philosophies.
Muhammad: He led an interesting life as a merchant turned religious leader with an enormous amount of impact on the world. So the opportunity to actually live his thoughts and experiences, seems too good to pass up.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
You would not be able to alter their actions. You would live their life exactly as they did from birth to death.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Good luck dealing with the climate, and hygienic conditions, and intellectual climate, of shithole Arabian villages of the 7th century.
My selection is entirely of British people. I couldn't really bear to live the life of a religious person (I make an exception with Elizabeth I), and they must have lived a fair amount of time.
Purely hypothetically: Horatio Nelson, Elizabeth I, Bertrand Russell, Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth...
Edit: Peter the Great and Catherine the Great of Russia would be good.
Last edited by Not A Communist Shill; 08-06-2008 at 08:32 PM.
Yes, but look at the effect of this one man from all of this!
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Not entirely sure what the point of that would be, but I'd probably choose Hugh Hefner. Just for the poon tang.
Has he influenced history enough to be considered an 'historical figure?'
The point is that you get a 1st person perspective of the entire life of a historical figure. You would get to know what exactly they were thinking when they discovered, wrote, or performed some action and get to share in the novelty of the experience with them.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
.
Andrew Carnegie was the first person I thought of. I'd have to think about it some more (and definitely research the family life of each person who came to mind) to come up with an actual list though.
Lincoln was the first one who popped into my head too. then i thought washington.
lol at hugh hefner
i've never cared for history much. i'm with mimosa and i look toward the future.
think, think, think, said pooh bear, as he tapped his head....it would have to be an artist...Salavdor Dali or Monet is my favorite...
Monet it is. to build that garden...
Whenever I imagine living the life of a famous historical figure, the idea of living without modern conveniences (such as indoor plumbing) always comes to mind.I'm sure they thought nothing of it though, not knowing what they were missing.
I guess one thing that stands out about my first reply in this topic is that accomplishment means nothing to me if I don't have a (reasonably happy and healthy) family. No accomplishment is so great that I would consider living my entire life without a family in order to see its achievement.
to me, those are things that go without having to be said... dittoWhenever I imagine living the life of a famous historical figure, the idea of living without modern conveniences (such as indoor plumbing) always comes to mind.
I guess one thing that stands out about my first reply in this topic is that accomplishment means nothing to me if I don't have a (reasonably happy and healthy) family. No accomplishment is so great that I would consider living my entire life without a family in order to see its achievement.
Looking at it from another perspective though... If I had to choose between living in a communist society (with no opportunity to leave) and not having a family, I'd take not having a family.
As I try to think of other possibilities, it has crossed my mind that pretty much everything I'm looking for in a historical figure can be summed up by the family concept I mentioned (but that's just a given, as Kelly Jo said) as well as a combination of the indigo and green descriptions in the links in my sig. Wouldn't want one without the other.
indeed!
The last person in my group of friends to throw me a curveball.....information I could actually utilise to an end, plus I could totally use it to mess with said person if they started me again! Yes I am full of vengeance right now, but it'll pass <2
Hello, my name is Bee. Pleased to meet you .
Franz Liszt, because he had amazing technique as a pianist and his compositions are out of this world. Though apparently he was a ladies man, so that might be a bit awkward.
"Language is the Rubicon that divides man from beast."
That is not exactly a historical figure, much less one who has been dead.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Elaborating --
Mark Twain: lived to a healthy old age. Made a successful living out of writing. Traveled through the world, and the US, in a fascinating historical period. A genuinely good man in my opinion.
Augustus: pretty much a fulfilling life for a LIE (excepting the disappointments with some family members). Very interesting and busy and rewarding life from the age of 19 on. Chance to apply Te on large scale, run circles around enemies with Ni, fulfillment of Fi (his wife and life-long friends) and Se. Again, saw a large part of the then known world, including the fading Egypt. Lived in a remarkable period in history. Had the opportunity to bring some Te sense into the world.
Milton Friedman: a long, healthy life, making a living of exposing idiocy and finally seeing it fade away.
Thomas Jefferson: lived in, and helped to shape, another remarkable period in history. Wide range of subjects of interest, and spent a lot of time thinking and reading and inventing. I would have taken better care of my finances, though.
Charles II of England: apart from his final illness, probably a fun and interesting life throughout, including (or especially because) his wanderings in exile. Satisfaction in seeing the end of the Taliban-like cultural darkness of the Cromwell era and the relief of the Restoration. Another fascinating period in terms of scientific discoveries, which he at least tried to encourage, and never suppressed.
Themistocles: probably one of the cleverest and most cunning men who ever existed, who again led an exciting life in an interesting period.
I'm no myth, but why would you want to be me?
Moonlight will fall
Winter will end
Harvest will come
Your heart will mend
I would also like to maybe live the life of the Biblical Ezekiel, who trained in the Judah priesthood (which would make my career path easier), experienced the defeat of Jerusalem, was a part of the Babylonian exile, and was alive for (though not there) when Jerusalem was sacked. Of course, there is no indication as to how he died, so I have no idea how unpleasant some of his experiences may have been.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
Wasn't he the one who had very bizarre visions?
Yes. Bizarre, but highly symbolic imagery. Some scholars, and those doctors who have nothing better to do than spend their time diagnosing dead historical figures, believe that Ezekiel may have been epileptic. But as there are a significant amount of disputes regarding the dating of texts (usually split between pre- and post-exilic texts), living the life of someone in that exilic period would be phenomenal. Then I could find out what texts were available, their present structure, as well as possible links that may exist between other texts. For example, there are many links between the Book of Ezekiel and the legal ethics literature of the Holiness Code (Lev 17-26), so there is a good deal of debate as to whether H was shaped by Ezk, Ezk was affected by H, or if Ezk and H both drew their inspiration from a priestly Proto-H source.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
temporal lobe seizures, perhaps. regardless, the book of ezekiel is fascinating. chapter 16, in particular, which i can recite for you if you like.
whenever the dog and i see each other we both stop where we are. we regard each other with a mixture of sadness and suspicion and then we feign indifference.
Jerry, The Zoo Story by Edward Albee
Recite from memory? If so, that is an impressive feat.
Johari Box"Alpha Quadra subforum. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious." ~Obi-Wan Kenobi
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