Imagine...

[Nurvingiel]

One night, unbenownst to you, the craft of an advanced alien race hovered outside your window. As you slept peacefully, the aliens conducted an experiment that went horribly wrong. They intended to copy your brain onto their database for further study. But due to a malfunction in the scanner and an anomaly in the hyperdrive, your brainwaves were copied into every human being in the world.
Ashamed at their failure, the aliens left discreetly. No human had any idea what happened. After the experiment, everyone on Earth (except you), felt a little different. Their memories are the same, but they now hold the exact same values you do.
The only differing factor between one person and the next is their past experiences. Imagine... that everyone on Earth thinks like you!

What are the benefits? The reprecussions? What are the immediate and long-term effects of the change? How are governments and cultures changed? What aspects remain the same? It all depends on what you value.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Well for a start there would be world peace as anything people were arguing about they would agree on everything. World religon would change so devoted Buddhas or Hindu's would become whatever religoun you followed.

[Draken]

Every website with Liv Tyler pics will run out of bandwidth for a start.

[Nurvingiel]

Actually, I wasn't entirely clear about some points in the first post. I'm glad you replied - before we really get into this, maybe we should work out the logistics first.

1. It was night for you, but half way around the world, people were going about their daily business and found their values suddenly changed.

2. This change in values is one-time, and instantaneous. People are still individuals, so if they learn something that causes their values to change, they do. Where I'm going here, is suddenly everyone has the same values, but life still goes on as normal. People still learn and grow and change.

For example, in my case, world religions wouldn't change, because I think if I was raised as a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim I would follow those religions. But, fundamentalists (of all sorts) and agnostics suddenly deeply question their beliefs.

How would it be for you?

EDIT: Cross post with Draken. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for, LOL!

For me... the works of Tolkien become more widely read than the Bible within a week.

[inked]

It would remain confusing and chaotic for I have not reached perfection!

Not that it wouldn't be better in some ways.......... !

[Nurvingiel]

Very interesting... go on inked. Any drastic changes in world governments? Medical shcool applications skyrocket perhaps?

[Hasty Ent]

interesting scenario.... my world might look something like this:

houses of worship would find themselves empty, except for tourists admiring their art and architecture

professional athletes would find themselves ignored, since there would be no audience for any professional sporting events

artists, poets and musicians would be revered but only if they consistently produced work that was intellectually rigorous and challenging... those who continued to work within existing styles and genres would be disdained

large national chains like Wal-Mart would find their customer base shrink to zero, and small independently owned shops would be overwhelmed with new business

automobile manufacturers wouldn't be able to give away their SUVs, and all new purchases would be subcompacts and hybrid cars

people would walk more than drive

no one would litter, and everyone would recycle

television programming would change, that is, reality shows and trash TV would disappear

there would be no advertising of any kind whatsoever in any media




I could go on and on and on.... but those are the main points, I think

[osszie]

The whole world would be sober and tea total!

That's something I definitly don't think the world is ready for

[Nurvingiel]

Awesome guys! I want to live in your world Hasty Ent.

Here's mine...

What happens to transportation?
Short term:
- SUVs and other vehicles deemed "ridiculous" by the government are illegal. Drivers are allowed to keep currently owned SUVs, but they see their insurance premiums triple.
- Bus ridership increases dramatically. Current bus systems are overcrowded, and you may be passed by several busses before one comes with enough room for you. But riders pack themselves in cheek by jowl and enjoy the slightly body odour-smelling trip. The government takes steps to remedy the issue.
- The number of cyclists increases rapidly.
- Punishments for speeding become very harsh.

Long term:
- Cycle paths are built, and many roads find themselves closed to motorized traffic. This is less of a problem as originally anticipated.
- Multi-car households find a way to manage with one car
- Recycling programs become widespread, and funding for research into effective recycling is granted. Many vehicles find themselves recycled, like SUVs etc.
- People try their best to buy a decent car, and drive it for as long as is safe. People help this by changing their oil on time etc.
- Accidents due to speeding drop dramatically worldwide

Sports:
- Professional athletes who have a dispute with their salaries are laughed out of the barganing room. The NHL salary dispute is resolved over night, and all the players are very happy playing the sport they love for half a million dollars a year.
- Fighting in any sport (except ones where fighting is the sport) is no longer entertaining to fans, and it's phased out when players get out of the habit. Fights occasionally happen but no one cares.
- Most children are involved in at least one sport, ranging from anything from badminton to swimming to gymnastics to rugby.
- Most people get involved with their local martial arts club. Most notably Chito-ryu karate, and branches of it.

More comments later. What is a world full of Nurvingiels like? *ponders*
Everyone drinks tea all the time!
Entmoot crashes because there are 6 billion members

[brownjenkins]

we'd have a world full of bass players, so i'd predict a huge resurgence in funk

i'd also probably stop visiting forums 'cause everyone would agree with me

seriously... my morality is long-term humanity-centric, with little regard for god or absolute principles... and i try to put a lot of thought into everything and am willing to change even my most basic assumptions if i come across something better

so i think most religious types would not necessarily drop their beliefs, but deeply question them and be willing to "keep the good and toss the bad" about their own particular flavor of religion... basically, a greater focus on the philosophy and less on the theology

[osszie]

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

we'd have a world full of bass players, so i'd predict a huge resurgence in funk

i'd also probably stop visiting forums 'cause everyone would agree with me

seriously... my morality is long-term humanity-centric, with little regard for god or absolute principles... and i try to put a lot of thought into everything and am willing to change even my most basic assumptions if i come across something better

so i think most religious types would not necessarily drop their beliefs, but deeply question them and be willing to "keep the good and toss the bad" about their own particular flavor of religion... basically, a greater focus on the philosophy and less on the theology

I dunno why dude.....but I just got a vision of the future world from Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure when I read that

Not a bad way for things to be imo

[brownjenkins]

"All we are is dust in the wind, dude."

[BeardofPants]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I want to imagine a world full of BoP-lets.

Let's see:

Transportation:

Everyone would start walking, and using the public transport systems to get to work. Pollution at least from en-masse cars would decrease. SUVs would suddenly lose their market, except for those who genuinely use them for their intended purpose, however, there would be no 4-wheel driving across environments that are easily destroyed by car tracks.... Dune environments would suddenly be pristine again; vegetation would grow back, and the fragile dune environment would start dissipating as dunes regained their foothold. Major cities in the world would have a "no-drive" zone except for buses and trams. There would be no more almost getting run over every Friday night by 'boy-racers', and right-wing mayors would be a thing of the past. There would be no more money being recklessly spent on highways that people don't want. There would also be a push to rid the world of oil/petrol-based cars. Electric cars would be in common usage. Research for a more environmentally friendly car would be at the fore.

The Final Frontier

Space would no longer be a hole to throw money into. It would be the number one research interest, since no more money was being wasted on military, and so forth. Space exploration, and associated research interests would be driven by the need to find "life", to find out if we are in fact alone. Research in terra-forming other planets would be on the short-list of valid research (ensuring that the terra-forming projects would not interfere with potential 'life'). More money would be targeted towards the space-station, and private companies would be actively encouraged in providing "tourist" flights, which nasa would sign onto to provide more funding for research. Satellite research (that is natural satellites, ie the moons) would get more focus, particular those belonging to jupiter, satern, and pluto.

Research:

Research would be tend to have a more academic focus, since there would be no more military/weapons research. Anthropological research would get a significant raise in funding, and there would be more of an effort to combine various 'arms' of research, instead of the various disciplines tending to "go it alone". Everyone would be either atheist, or agnostic, and they would all be arguing over the origin of life, and evolutionary theory within the theories themselves; in other words, critiquing the theories from within a scientific POV, and not a loaded religious POV.

War, Military machine, and governing bodies:

There would be no more need for war (or terrorism). People would be accepting of each others differences, slight though they may be, and since religion would no longer be a prime motivator, the Palestinian and Israeli situation would be resolved. There would be no more land squabbles, especially once the terra-forming projects were underway. There would also be no more Superpowers. The world would act as a governing body, ruled by a non-First Past the Post system that would be decided, and voted upon by the world-body, and would be more democratic than many current systems. Your vote would actually count. There would be no "big political party" domination. Instead, the governing body would be a reflection of the actual vote. The parties that garner more votes would be held accountable by the smaller parties.

Diet & environment:

We'd all be vegetarian. This would cause a problem with the beef, milk, etc, industry, since there'd suddenly be a mass of farming animals, and no demand anymore. Money would have to be spent on creating a reserve for these animals, which are dependent on human protection to survive. More than likely, there will be a shift towards the "tourist" farm, where people can visit an 'authentic' farm, and help out. But viability will be a problem, and whilst many will now be concerned environmentalists, these animals will slowly die out. Research will be driven towards adapting these creatures back into the wild, but it would be hard, and more than likely, there will be several issues with regard to sustaining current eco-systems due to the sudden imbalance.

As far as the environment goes, everyone will become more conscious of protecting Earth. There will be no more littering, and harsh penalty fines will be imposed for those who do try to persist - and I'm including those who throw their cigarette butts out the car window!!! Research will focus on developing a plastic that biodegrades naturally into the environment after disposal, and there will also be more interest in developing a bacterium that will eat garbage, so there will be no more need for colossal garbage dumps. There will be no more cigarette smokers, so the tobacco companies will go out of business. There will be no more cutting down trees in ancient rain-forests. Timber will be synthetically grown instead, and since farming would no longer be an option due to vegetarianism, jobs will need to be provided elsewhere. More than likely there would be jobs providing on the huge terra-forming projects. Hunting and poaching will no longer be an issue. Environmental destruction will no longer affect those species that are endangered, and funding will be provided for those already destroyed habitats, so that they can be replicated. Animal extinction would at least be halted from the human destruction causative. However, strict controls would have to be set in place to ensure that there is still a natural "culling" process in place, so that the species are able to sustain themselves, and not suffer from over-population. As for the human over-population problem, many will no longer be having children, so a new issue would arise - the problem of how to sustain the human population if we're no longer breeding. In order to sustain the population, cloning research would become of utmost importance. Research into enabling fully formed clones, and fully formed non-clones (that is "unique" humans) would be undertaken, and it would be a brave new world without children.... Stagnation, and Founders Effect would be a prevailing problem....

sea research:

There would be a greater effort to explore our own oceans, which are just as mysterious to us, as the far reaches of space...

Pants:

Everyone would wear them, and skirts would become a thing of the past. Suddenly, everyone would be trying to steal everyone else's pants, and pant stores would go out of business cos of everyone stealing them all the time.... Pants would suddenly be only available through nicking others, and society would be in a constant state of flux because there would be a significant margin of people going around in their underwear....

World Hunger:

Terra-forming would not only take place in space, but also back at home. Certain areas would be designated areas suitable for terra-forming, so that those in the third would will have a less harsh environment to adapt to. Strict measures would have to be put into place to ensure that the terra-forming projects did not interfere too much with existing eco-systems, and desert systems.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by osszie

The whole world would be sober and tea total!

What? Did you stop drinking?


BoP - TOTALLY agree about cigarette butts!


*ponders* Hmmm,

Would all of the females have PMS the same time that I do?

Would all the females in the world be trying to get my husband away from me?

What in the world would males be like if they thought like I do?

I guess overall I'd miss the old world - I find other people fascinating and wonderful, and I enjoy their differences.

As far as what would happen - well, I hate coffee, so all those Starbucks would have to change to totally tea and other non-coffee drinks (their hot vanilla creme is wonderful, as is there chai latte!)

Everyone would have a horse and a dog!

[Nurvingiel]

Brilliant post BoP!

more of mine...

Culture
- Crisis in the malls! Women's fashion stores can suddenly no longer sell belly shirts, or jeans that make people look like their pants are falling down all the time. The fashion industry responds by making durable, comfortable, yet colourful and exciting clothes. People retain quite individual styles.
- The book industry booms, literacy rates rise, and libraries have more funding and patrons. People respect libraries and don't dog ear the books or 'forget' to return rare books. Screaming children and their parents are turned out on their ear.
- People start listening to little-known bands, especially metal bands. In a complete about-face, major record companies scrap rubbish like "Digital Rights Management", and websites are created where you can download mp3s for 10 cents (payable through your credit card on a secure system) spring up from trustworthy sources
- Symphonies, operas, choirs, youth orchestras, jazz bands etc. are better funded, and they find attendance is surprisingly high. Theatres and artists find themselves similarly well-funded.

Government:
- Due to the increase in social programs, transportation, and arts funding, taxes increase. People complain, but realize they like the benefits.

more later...

[Nurvingiel]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

BoP - TOTALLY agree about cigarette butts!

Me too! A huge forest fire was started near my home town that way.

Actually, in Nurvingiel-world, smoking would completely cease.

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

*ponders* Hmmm,

Would all of the females have PMS the same time that I do?

Would all the females in the world be trying to get my husband away from me?

What in the world would males be like if they thought like I do?

I guess overall I'd miss the old world - I find other people fascinating and wonderful, and I enjoy their differences.

Of course you'd miss the old world, this one would be too bizarre.

People now have the same values as you do, but their physically still the same. So everyone isn't going to PMS at the same time.

Maybe everyone will go after your husband - those that meet him. It's not your heart that everyone shares, just what you value. (How many butts do you have to kick... )

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

As far as what would happen - well, I hate coffee, so all those Starbucks would have to change to totally tea and other non-coffee drinks (their hot vanilla creme is wonderful, as is there chai latte!)

Everyone would have a horse and a dog!

Cool ideas RÃ*an! I'm glad I lured you over here...

[Earniel]

Lovely idea Nurv.

I will ponder some more on the terrifying prospect of having the whole world think like me before I post.

[Nurvingiel]

Thanks Ëarniel! So what does Ëarniel-land look like?

Originally Posted by brownjenkins

i'd also probably stop visiting forums 'cause everyone would agree with me

Lol Brownie!

I never thought of that! I argue with myself though... ... and sometimes I lose!

[osszie]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

What? Did you stop drinking?

yeah........11 months and counting.....it's boring as sin

Music! Planet Oz needs lotsa loud music! It'd be compulsory

[Rían]

Lots of folk dancing! Esp. those wild Bulgarian ones! Whee!

Why'd you stop, oz? Liver acting up?