Something to talk about.

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These are not trivia questions, so don't bother to look here for the name      of Tonto's horse or the shortstop for the 1923 Yankees. These are      questions of a different sort - questions about you. They are about your      values, your beliefs, and your life. Here is an enjoyable way to find out      more about yourself and others, and confront ethical dilemmas in a      concrete rather than abstract form. To respond to these questions you      will need to examine and interpret your past, project yourself into      hypothetical situations, face difficult dilemmas, and make painful choices.      These questions can be an avenue for individual growth, a tool for      deepening relationships, a quick way to get to know a stranger, or merely      a pleasant amusement. These questions expose issues that warrant deep,      solitary reflection, but are also particularly stimulating when explored      with others. You will be surprised how effectively these questions      catalyze unusual and rewarding discussions.

When conversing, we often exchange small talk without being very      involved in our conversation; broach the questions here and see what      happens. Start giving yourself permission to voice those dangerous      questions you've never been quite willing to ask, those provocative      thoughts whispered by an inner voice and then forgotten. Too frequently      we pull back from bringing up questions that seem awkward or intrusive,      yet these are the very ones that will open paths to understanding and      intimacy. When people encounter someone inquisitive who genuinely      wants to hear what they have to say, far from being offended, they are      usually eager to talk about the important things on their minds.

There are no correct or incorrect answers to these questions, only      honest or dishonest ones. Can you know what you would do in a strange      hypothetical situation? Of course you can't, but why let that inhibit you?      This is a chance to gain insights without actually living through the      predicaments described. Let yourself be swept up in these situations so      that you care about the choices that you make. Resist the temptation to      escape from a question by denying its reality or coming up with some      complication that obscures the basic issue. Ignore the paradoxes of time      travel and the impossibility of various magical powers. Accept the      conditions that are described, that odds are accurate, that promises will      be kept, and furthermore, that you know this when you make your      decisions.

1.For a person that you loved deeply, would you be willing to move          to a distant country knowing there would be little chance of seeing          your friends or family again?

2.If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate          with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone?          Why haven't you told them yet?

3.If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward          would remember nothing of the experience would you do so? If          not, why?

4.If a new medicine were developed that would cure arthritis but          cause a fatal reaction in 1 percent of those who took it, would you          want it to be released to the public?

5.You discover that your wonderful one-year-old child is, because of          a mix-up at the hospital, not yours. Would you want to exchange          the child to try to correct the mistake?

6.Do you think the world will be a better place in 100 years?

7.Would you rather be a member of a world championship sports          team or the be the champion of an individual sport? Which sport          would you choose?

8.Would you accept $1,000,000. to leave the country and never set          foot in it again?

9.Which sex do you think has it easier in our culture? Have you ever          wished that you were of the opposite sex?

10.You are given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their          deaths and twice repeating the words "good-bye." People would die          a natural death and no one would ever suspect you. Are there any          situations in which you would use this power?

11.If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the body          or the mind of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life,          which would you want?

12.What would constitute a "perfect" evening for you?

13.Would you rather be extremely successful professionally and have a          tolerable yet unexciting private life, or have an extremely happy          private life and only a tolerable and uninspiring professional life?

14.Whom do you admire most? In what way does that person inspire          you?

15.If at birth you could select the profession your child would          eventually pursue, would you do so?

16.Would you be willing to become extremely ugly physically if it          meant you would life for 1,000 years at any physical age?

17.If you could wake up tomorrow morning having gained any one          ability or quality what would it be?

18.You have the chance to meet someone with whom you can have          the most satisfying love imaginable - the stuff dreams are made of.          Sadly, you know that in six months this person will die. Knowing          the pain that would follow, would you still want to meet the person          and fall in love? What if you knew that your lover would not die,          but instead would betray you?

19.If you knew of a way to use your estate, following your death, to          greatly benefit humanity, would you do it and leave only a minimal          amount to your family?

20.If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone that you choose,          would you?

21.While on a trip to another city, your spouse spends the night with          an exciting stranger. Given that they will never meet again, and you          will not otherwise learn of the incident, would you want your          partner to tell you about it? If roles were reversed, would you          reveal what you have done?

22.Are there people you envy enough to want to trade lives with them?          Who are they?

23.For an all-expense-paid, one-week vacation anywhere in the world,          would you be willing to kill a beautiful butterfly by pulling off its          wings? What about stepping on a cock-roach?

24.Would you be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end          hunger in the world?

25.If God appeared to you in a series of seemingly vivid and moving          dreams and told you to leave everything behind, travel alone to the          Red Sea and become a fisherman, what would you do? Have you          ever had dreams this real?

26.What is your most treasured memory?

27.Have you ever hated anyone? If so, why and for how long?

28.Would you rather be given $10,000 for your own use or $100,000          to give anonymously to strangers? What if you could keep          $1,000,000 or give away $20,000,000?

29.If you knew there would be a nuclear war in one week what would          you do?

30.Would you accept twenty years of extraordinary happiness and          fulfillment if it meant that you would die at the end of the period?

31.What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? Is there anything          that you hope to do that is even better?

32.What was your most enjoyable dream? your worst nightmare?

33.Would you give up half of what you own now for a pill that would          permanently change you so that one hour of sleep each day would          fully refresh you?

34.If you knew that you could devote yourself to any single          occupation -- music, writing, acting, business, politics, medicine,          etc. -- and be among the best and most successful in the world at it,          what would you choose? If you knew you only had a 10% chance          of being so successful, would you still put in the effort?

35.What was your best experience with drugs or alcohol? your worst?

36.If the person you engaged to marry had an accident and became a          paraplegic, would you go through with the marriage or back out of          it?

37.Your house containing everything you own, catches fire; after          saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a          final dash to save any one item. What would it be?

38.How would you react if you were to learn that your mate had a          lover of the same sex before you met each other?   39.You are offered $1,000,000 for the following act: Before you are          ten pistols -- only one of which is loaded. You must pick up one of          the pistols, point it at your forehead, and pull the trigger. If         you can          walk away you do so a millionaire. Would you accept the risk?

40.Someone close to you is in pain, paralyzed, and will die within a          month. He begs you to give him poison so that he can die. Would          you? What if it were your father?

41.You have the power to go any distance into the future and, after          one year, return to the present with any knowledge you have gained          from your experience but with no physical objects. Would you take          the journey if it carried a 50% chance of death?

42.Given a choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as          your dinner guest? as your close friend? your lover?

43.While parking late a night, you slightly scrape the side of a            Porsche.          You are certain no one else is aware of what happened. The          damage is minor and would not be covered by insurance. Would          you leave a note?

44.If you could choose the manner of your death, what would it be?

45.For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

46.How do you react when people sing " happy birthday" to you in a          restaurant?

47.What is the worst psychological torture you can imagine suffering?          Anything causing even minor physical injury should not be          considered.

48.Would you like your spouse to be both smarter and more attractive          than you?

49.Would you be willing to give up sex for one year if you knew it          would give you a much deeper sense of peace that you have right          now?

50.A good friend pulls off a well-conceived practical joke that plays on          one of your foibles and makes you look ridiculous. How do you          react?

51.By controlling medical research funds, you are in the position to          guarantee that a cure will be found in 15 years for any disease that          you choose. Unfortunately, no progress on any others would be          made during that period. Would you target one disease?

52.Would you add one year to your life if it meant taking one year          from the life of someone in the world selected at random? Would it          matter if you were told whose life had shortened?

53.If you walked out of your house one morning and saw a bird with a          broken wing huddled in some nearby bushes, what would you do?

54.Assume there were a technological breakthrough that would allow          people to travel as easily between continents as between nearby          cities. Unfortunately, there would be 100,000 deaths a year from          the device. Would you try to prevent its use?

55.You and a person you love deeply are placed in separate rooms          with a button next to each of you. You know that you will both be          killed unless one of you presses your button before 60 minutes          pass; furthermore, the first to press the button will save the other          person, but will immediately be killed. What do you think you          would do?

56.When you tell a story, do you often exaggerate or embellish it? If          so, why?

57.Do you feel that advise from older people carries a greater weight          because of their greater experience?

58.Without your kidney as a transplant someone close to you will die          within a month. The odds that you will survive the operation are          only 50% , but should you survive you would be certain a normal          life expectancy. Would you consent to the operation.

59.Has your life dramatically changed as the result of a seemingly          random external influence? How much do you feel in control of the          course of your life?

60.If a friend were almost always late would you resent it or simply          allow for it? Can YOU be counted on to be on time?

61.    Do your close friends tend to be older or younger than you?