Another fun test - the desert island test
Ok, this one will have very specific conditions.
The proposal: to spend one year alone on a tropical desert island, with no loss to your professional/family/study affairs, and you'll get one extra year of your salary at the end (if you don't work, imagine a good but not huge amount of money).
Details of the island:
- plenty of fresh water and trees
- no human beings
- relatively mild weather (some rain, but not storms or the like)
- lots of birds and small animals, but no dangerous ones and no poisonous fish
- some banana trees, coconuts and the like, but not so much that you can live off only of them for the whole year
The point is: there is no obvious danger, and you won't lack food and water even if you don't do anything, but not for the whole year.
So, for food, in the longer term you will have to do some fishing and/or hunting and/or grow your own food.
Before you go, you get:
- basic training on how to fish, hunt, grow your own food, and make fire using sticks, dry plants and the like.
You can take with you:
- just the clothes you're wearing (plus glasses if you wear them)
- one one-person's tent
- a lighter to make fire in emergencies (but not with enough fuel to use it the whole year)
- books, but not more than a total of 1000 pages
- seeds and the like to start your garden
- a knife
If you have an accident or get seriously will you can send a radio signal to be picked up, but if you do it once the exercise is terminated and you don't get the money, even if one day before the year is over.
The point is that you'll have to be able to take care of yourself, and be alone, but not in extreme conditions as in that Castaway movie with Tom Hanks. You're given a fair start.
The question is:
Would you in principle want to give it a try? Why? And if not, why not?
If you have family, partner, etc, try imagine you didn't - the same goes for if you need regular medication, etc.
Re: Another fun test - the desert island test
Quote:
Originally Posted by Expat
Ok, this one will have very specific conditions.
The proposal: to spend one year alone on a tropical desert island, with no loss to your professional/family/study affairs, and you'll get one extra year of your salary at the end (if you don't work, imagine a good but not huge amount of money).
Does that mean you would just your regular compensation for this year-long event?
Or you would get 2 years of pay for this one year-long event?
Re: Another fun test - the desert island test
Quote:
Originally Posted by Courage
Quote:
Originally Posted by Expat
Ok, this one will have very specific conditions.
The proposal: to spend one year alone on a tropical desert island, with no loss to your professional/family/study affairs, and you'll get one extra year of your salary at the end (if you don't work, imagine a good but not huge amount of money).
Does that mean you would just your regular compensation for this year?
Or you would get 2 years of pay for this?
2 years.
Re: Another fun test - the desert island test
Quote:
Originally Posted by Expat
The question is:
Would you in principle want to give it a try? Why? And if not, why not?
If you have family, partner, etc, try imagine you didn't - the same goes for if you need regular medication, etc.
Sounds like a really attractive offer to me at this point in my life. No stupid obligations, bureacratic red tape, no possible avenue to neurotic compulsive activity to do something about things I can't possibly change... of course I'd need to bring loads of sunblock. :)
I wonder if I'd last.
Re: Another fun test - the desert island test
Quote:
Originally Posted by Expat
The proposal: to spend one year alone on a tropical desert island, with no loss to your professional/family/study affairs, and you'll get one extra year of your salary at the end (if you don't work, imagine a good but not huge amount of money).
[...]
The question is:
Would you in principle want to give it a try? Why? And if not, why not?
I think it would be okay for maybe a week to a couple of months.
The enticements: Peacefulness. Time to day-dream without interruption and perhaps write them and my other thoughts down. The opportunity to study nature and wildlife, making friends with them. The opportunity to learn how to become more self-sufficient.
The repellents: The biggest one would be lack of people. Though I may often seem like a solitary, boring individual, I actually have quite a lot of contact with others, though it's usually more focussed on a few important people as opposed to a lot of... not as important people. I can spend most of my days alone, but I think something would go wrong inside of me if I didn't have at least one other person around, even if we didn't talk a whole lot. Just... somebody there to touch and see and hear and be with. Probably the next biggest thing would be taking care of myself. Much to my shame, it wouldn't be unlikely that I'd simply forget or lack the impetus to do many of the important things required to shelter and feed myself. For example, it's easy for me to imagine myself getting so wrapped up in following a squirrel around on his adventures that I'd forget to make dinner until midnight when my stomach cramps in hunger, alerting me to my plight. Thirdly, there's also the possibility that I might get bored.
So, taking all of that into account, I'd probably have to say, sorry, but no, maybe another time.