Flight or Invisibility?

[cos]

Recently I listened to this bit on This American Life where John Hodgman surveys people about which superpower they'd pick if they could be the only person in the world with either flight, or invisibility? And why would they pick it.

What surprised me is that none of the people he included in sound bites, nor John Hodgman himself, ever even alluded to most of the things that came to mind first to me. So before you read what's below the cut here, I'm curious: What do you think? Which would you pick, and why? What would you do with it?

Edit: The reason I'm asking this question is to find out what you think are the reasons why you might want flight, why you might want invisibility, and why you'd pick the one you pick? (Before you read further and see what came to mind when I thought about it)

Well, okay, what came to mind first was that flight would be the more practically useful superpower, great for errands, travel, impromptu visits to friends, commuting, and sightseeing. One of the people quoted in this radio piece did make the point that flight was very useful for practical reasons like that.

But my next thought was, being the only person in the world with flight would make any use of it very conspicuous and attention-getting. You pretty much couldn't use it for practical purposes like that, because of all the attention every single use of the power among other people would bring. Too distracting, too much of a hassle. Very impractical.

Invisibility is clearly the better choice. You could let a few close friends and trusted people know, but you wouldn't have to make it public, and you could use it frequently. While not quite as useful as flight, it'd still be useful: Going through a scary or unsafe area. Watching wildlife, and being able to get closer than usual, would be wonderful. Yes, animals can smell you, but you might be downwind, and if you're sitting quietly they'd certainly get closer to you than they would if they could see you. Or journalism! You could visit war zones without becoming a target, go to political events and not get treated weirdly or alter the discussion by your mere presence, things like that. Journalism is something I'd do more of if I could be invisible. It might also make it possible to travel to countries that normally wouldn't let me in, or that it'd be dangerous to try to go to openly.

But all of these uses of invisibility that I thought of weren't mentioned in the piece at all. All people talked about was spying on friends, family, and coworkers, or seeing people naked. Which, come on: the main reason most of us don't do these things isn't because we can't. You can find ways to do them and not get caught if you really care to. We don't do them mostly because we think they're wrong or creepy. Invisibility wouldn't change that.

I'd certainly expect some of the people in the radio piece to have very different views from mine, but I thought the things that came to mind for me were obvious enough, or plausible enough, that I'd at least hear some of them, from someone. Now I wonder whether I'll see any of them from any of you who read this, before you read my whole post.

Comments

[ohmyqueen.livejournal.com]

I picked being able to understand all the languages, including those, especially, of birds. And I could speak them also. And I'd have perfect pitch and beautiful contralto voice. I can never pick just one thing, you see.

[cos]

But that doesn't help at all in knowing what you think of the flight vs. invisibility question - what comes to mind for you with those two options and how you compare them against each other.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Flight vs. Invisibility: Invisibility

Super power I want? To stop time and move through it unstopped. I always had the theory that with infinite time, I could mimic the effects of any other power. Super speed is almost as cool, but not quite. THough there's the problem of aging too fast...

[cos]

> Flight vs. Invisibility: Invisibility

What comes to mind for you when thinking about what would be good about having flight. What would be good about having invisibility? Why invisibility comes out as the better choice for you?

(If you haven't read the lj-cut portion of my post yet)

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I have read the cut portion. I'm not sure I could break down my reasoning in great detail, though your point about flight being VERY conspicuous is part of it. I'm not sure, though, if I were dropped into the world in which everyone could choose a superpower right now and therefore there would be bunches of flying people, I would change my answer. Maybe I'm just secretly sneaky?

[amadea.livejournal.com]

See, it's interesting - I wouldn't pick invisibility for the same reasons you wouldn't pick flight - *any* use of it, if it were to be detected, would be *so* disruptive to the social order around me. People thinking I'm doing something kind of weird and astonishing (like flying) - I'm used to that. But people thinking I'm doing something that could fundamentally disrupt their expectations about how the basic mechanics of social life (seeing and being seen) work - now THAT sounds dangerous. And for any use of the superpower that had any practical use at all - even those you mention - as soon as its consequences became known, so would the power. I'm honestly not sure I would have much use for either, but flight might be fun and easier to use in a way that wouldn't have that kind of impact.

[cos]

That's a really interesting way to look at it.

Was that what came to mind before you read the middle (lj-cut) portion of my post?

[amadea.livejournal.com]

Well, it's something I'd thought about before, so my previous thoughts came back to mind before reading the cut, and then I read the cut portion and thought about how it was relevant enough to my own thoughts that it was worth posting something about it.

[kirin]

My initial thoughts on the subject (I'd seen the Hodgman question come up before, though not actually listened to the segment) are similar to yours - mainly that the choice is awful, because what you really want is *both*, so you can fly around for practical and enjoyable purposes inconspicuously.

I'm still awfully tempted by flight, but trying to use it while remaining undetected - low pop areas and/or nighttime only, maybe wear something reflective to confuse people - would be a huge hassle and prone to failure. But invisibility has fewer uses (I'm not much of a journalist), and as amadea points out, though subtlety is easier, eventual detection might be even worse.

Teleportation would probably be more practical than either. Extremely useful, fairly concealable if you're careful. Amadea's time-stop is also way up there on the practical uses scale, though I fear it would be very addictive/abusable, with disastrous consequences if you did age in your own timeline. I've also fantasized about at-will personal force fields for going into dangerous or uncomfortable environments, but that's less everyday-practical and more an Adventure sort of usefulness.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I'd pick flight just because it sounds way more fun. Sure, ok, also practical and useful, but those thoughts were secondary. The uses for invisibility all sound WAY less fun to me and given my current personality and lifestyle, also minimally useful.

The conspicuousness of flight hadn't exactly occurred to me but I think I could work around it.

[eirias.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely pick invisibility. Flight has too many negatives -- I don't even like to drive, so I'm not sure why I'd want an extra dimension to worry about; it's too conspicuous; and if it turned out to be fun it would be lonely to be the only one. I'm actually not sure invisibility has that many positives, honestly; most of what it could get me I either already get anyway (being left alone in public) or I'm better off without (the ability to eavesdrop -- likely to lead to knowledge I'd wish I didn't have, and maybe the temptation to spy on e.g. politicians doing evil deeds). But I might find a use for it, and flying would be worse.

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

When I was younger, I'd have said invisibility.

Now, I'm a little more devious. With a backpack that contains the right outfits, flight _is_ invisibility. All I need is my ceiling tile suit, my airplane suit, my brick wall suit, my asphalt shingle suit, my mirror suit, my black suit...

[mindways]

But my next thought was, being the only person in the world with flight would make any use of it very conspicuous and attention-getting. You pretty much couldn't use it for practical purposes like that, because of all the attention every single use of the power among other people would bring. Too distracting, too much of a hassle. Very impractical.

Really? I'd imagine that around one's home stomping grounds, after the novelty wore off, it'd be like spotting the Goodyear Blimp, or a celebrity at sufficient distance that you can notice them but not interact with them - sure, people would see you, and you'd probably get lots of photos taken of you flying, but it's only at takeoff/landing that there's anything approaching interactive attention. (And even there, it depends on how fast you're going.)

Also, people don't look up very much. Land atop a building, then come down the stairs, and odds are that people nearby won't have seen you land - only people far enough away that the rooftop was in their not-looking-up field of view.

And wow, would it help with certain cross-Boston visits. Even at highway speeds (rather than airplane speeds), it'd cut travel time in half. But I expect you'd need to coordinate something with the FAA... :)

Other uses for flight: rock climbing solo, or without gear, or setting up a top-belay easily. Rescue assist (wilderness search, or fire rescue). Otherwise-impossible dancing and acrobatics. Depending on altitude safely reachable, getting above the clouds (for mood/SAD-helping sunshine, stargazing, or having way better odds of watching Northern Lights or meteor showers). Plus, if you're the only one, any benefits of fame you might enjoy. (And the prices of fame, too, of course. But you'd have a way to leave paparazzi in the dust...)

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

To me the idea of invisibility means to get to see or hear something, be somewhere, or witness something that would not be shared if your presence were known. It is essentially a super-power of non-consent. As such, using it would be directly in opposition to my ethical foundation.

Even though the examples you give are more neutral than the ones from the surveys, they still involve being where you are not welcome. If an area is "scary or dangerous" it's probably that way because the people who do feel safe there are making you feel unsafe because they don't want you there. A political event is of the polis, it is public, and being present and visible for it is part of meaning of being be there. etc. etc.

On the other hand, it's 2am in Somerville as I write this. It's a lovely night out. If I went onto my back porch dressed in black and went for an evening soar, very possibly no one would notice and I would have the most delightful view of the city at night.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

I wonder if any of the clips were edited around the juicier-sounding responses.

The benefits of invisibility are obvious. There are places I have every right to be even if people would do me harm (or, more likely, hassle me) for being seen there. To hell with the consent of muggers, misogynists, and other doers-of-evil. I also think of invisibility as a way of doing many of the same things flight would allow, free travel and thievery (if necessary) among them, so obviously I don't differ from miss_chance as much on the details as on the fundamentals - I have no honor. But mostly I like the option of hanging around in public places without people bugging me.

Flying would simply be fun, and would also facilitate travel. Kickass views. Fab photos. You could make a living doing all kinds of things that would cost other people big bucks and put them at greater risk. I like the idea of being able to do dangerous things and then fly out of trouble if I fall/get rushed by a rhino/get yelled at by my mom. I don't like the idea of jokers taking potshots at me, though.

Basically, I don't trust people not to try to hurt me, and I think that it would be a great comfort to know I could steal things in a pinch if I was truly desperate. So, invisibility rather than flight. Except for the part where it turns into a sitcom, with naked bottoms and spray paint and dogs chasing me and stuff.

[carik.livejournal.com]

I got asked this yesterday, at a training I've been sent to for work. My response was that I'm a motorcyclist, and have tried invisibility: it sucks. (Basically, no one on the road can see you if you're on a motorcycle -- that would only get worse if I were ACTUALLY invisible, and wouldn't be restricted to times when I was riding). On the other hand, I've worked in and visited a lot of buildings with really bad elevators, so being able to bypass those and fly up seems like it would be awesome. Also, my knees are bad, and there are occasional days when going up stairs really sucks.

Neither one is really practical -- I'd rather be able to teleport, say -- but flight feels like it would have more practical uses to me.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

The problem with motorcycle (or bicycle) invisibility is that there are some expectations. It stinks being invisible, but when biking I act as if I am invisible until there's no mistaking I'm in the line of sight of a car. For example, making a left, I take my lane....

[cos]

> My response was that I'm a motorcyclist, and have tried invisibility: it sucks.

Implied in a "superpower" is that you get to choose when to use you. You wouldn't have either flying or invisibility imposed on you when you don't want it (or at least, no more than if you hadn't had the superpower).

[carik.livejournal.com]

True, but invisibility makes me nervous. I think I'd spend all my time wondering if someone or something was about to run into me, and mostly not use it.

[dpolicar]

Mostly, my answer to variants of this question (which I've been asking myself at intervals since I was seven) tells me a lot about my current state of mind.

Right now, I'd pick flight. Not so much for practical purposes -- it's not clear to me that flying to the supermarket is more efficient than walking there, and in any case I'd rather drive if I'm going shopping -- but for the potential upside.

Pretty much the first thing I'd do is go on national TV and announce that I'm looking for proposals from researchers interested in studying antigravity, go to www.icanfly.com for details.

That said, on the days that I'd pick invisibility, it's because I'm feeling alienated and want to spy on everything with impunity. (Though usually I go with telepathy on those days instead.)

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

I thought about this when I heard that bit when it was originally aired last year.

First of all, the thing I want to do is fly. Not because it's practical, but because being able to soar through the sky without any sort of mechanical assistance - that sounds like a dream come true. It's really something I wish I could do. Whereas being invisible holds absolutely no interest for me - when I seemed like a woman people acted like I was invisible, walking into me if I didn't dodge out of their way and shit like that. And I'm eventually going to develop a new invisibility, i.e. passing, which means guys are going to say really stupid shit about women to me because male bonding bullshit and then I'm going to have to explain using small words how fucking stupid and misogynistic they are or else I'm an asshole too, which I'm not looking forward to. In other words, I've already got more than enough invisibility in my life, thank you.

And for the second part, my reasoning is exactly the opposite - if I'm known as that guy who can fly, I won't spontaneously disappear as a test subject one day without anyone noticing, whereas being invisible means just the opposite. Yea, people will bug me on the street and point at me (or even take pot-shots) when I fly, but seriously, none of that is shit that doesn't happen now (I mean, no one has ever been violent at me, but that's just luck TBH). But I can't imagine being able to keep either superpower a secret from people who'd want to hurt me because of it, except by never ever using it (which rather defeats the purpose), so I'd much rather make sure everyone and their dog knows. Just seems like a better idea to me, is all.

[(Anonymous)]

I would choose invisibility because we *can* fly, it's just mostly via public transit. It's very difficult to be invisible (you can fake it with a camera and a mic, but you need prior access. with invisibility you can follow people, etc.)

After reading the cut: Flight doesn't have to be conspicuous, radar could flag you as a bird, and you could take off and land at night and/or in more remote areas.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

This was me!

[hermitgeecko.livejournal.com]

I'm going to opt for flight.

Most of the reasons I can think of for being invisible, are not so ethically great.

But if I could personally fly, I think that I'd be less spooked when cirne wants to take me flying in a teeny plane.

As you can likely see, I haven't given this a whole lot of thought.

[electrictruffle.livejournal.com]

Flight. Hands down.

Pretty much any time I've seen the _superpower_ of flight depicted, it has been essentially reactionless. You just decide to fly and you go. No wings, no thrusters, no pushing against anything; you just go. And you can take stuff with you!

Having the superpower of flight would let me do things that we simply can't do with technology. Say you can fly carrying as much against gravity as you can reasonably carry when you walk...and can continue to accelerate with the same force even off planet or in orbit....

-ETR

[kirin]

Of course, far enough and you'll need to both be in a space suit and packing oxygen, which is gonna use up a lot of your weight. Would have to do some back-of-the-envelopes to see if a picnic trip to the moon was feasible, but I'm guessing anything farther would be out unless you had pretty extreme acceleration and the magic negated the inertial forces on your body and supplies.

This is where teleportation (with the same load-carrying ability) would be handy, even if it was just line-of-sight. I can *see* Mars, so... (Of course, you'd better either have flight as well, or be able to velocity-match your destination reference point automatically, or there's gonna be trouble.)

[electrictruffle.livejournal.com]

I think that you might need to take several trips to orbit to get things established, but that once you had your little 'space camp' set up you could go quite far.

Assumption: if you have the superpower of flight, you somehow develop enough 'thrust' to overcome gravity...and that can can continue to develop the same 'thrust' even after gravity is no longer a factor.

So if you were in 0g, you could accelerate at 1g, and if you were suitably attached to a spacecraft 99x your mass, then you could accelerate at 0.01g.

I think that Mars would be achievable for as a long summer outing :)

-ETR

[kirin]

I like the way you think. Though you'd want to do some stringent calculations beforehand and timing during the journey (and I hope you can control your acceleration well) if you don't want to risk either seriously overshooting or, much worse, impacting at speed on the far end. You'd also need good aim, though to some extent you could correct as you go. The bigger the mass you're pushing, the trickier corrections will be.

But I guess as long as you get the big moment of when to switch from accelerating to decelerating roughly right, you shouldn't be going too fast at the end and should be able to avoid disaster. I would definitely consult with (or take along) someone with a PhD in orbital mechanics, though. ;)

[eirias.livejournal.com]

G and I were just talking about you over coffee this morning, and he mentioned that he hadn't seen anything from you on FB in a while. I went to look for your profile, but I couldn't find it. That raises the obvious question: was it flight, or invisibility? :)

Hope you are well.

[cos]

http://facebook.com/coscos - now you decide, flying or invisible? :)

[catness.livejournal.com]

I would want invisibility. Primarily for safety. If I am leaving my house, there are so many times in a typical day for me when Not Being Seen would be so much better. It would up my safety level so much. Would be great at the airport, too, when there's a long TSA line.

Flying would be way more fun, but invisibility would be my pick.

(Also, I'm not interested in any of the ways most people would think invisibility was "useful".)