Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with whatif

Fictional Almost-Factual Encounters

taramosalata — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:39:21 -0800

Seeking relatively well-known, canon-caliber fictional accounts of imaginary encounters between actual, historically significant figures -- especially encounters that could well have taken place, but which we know did not or remain undocumented. Philip Levine's poem "On the Meeting of Garcia Lorca and Hart Crane" typifies what I'm looking for. Mark Twain's _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court_ does not (respectable evidence out there of a historical Arthur notwithstanding). The literary field is rife with examples, I know -- say, some novel casting Charles Lindbergh and Adolf Hitler into a tete-a-tete. But, ack, I'm drawing a blank. Two addenda:

1) I'm not really looking for contemporary sci-fi, especially as possible encounters wouldn't have required time travel....

2) I confess disapproval of AskMeFi users who amass answers as shortcuts to journalistic brainstorming or dissertation research. Your answers will purely be helping me to compile a personal reading list around a curious subgenre.

Thanks!

Commercial with Modern Romans?

nervestaple — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 00:21:47 -0800

I'm trying to get my hands on a TV commercial from a few years ago for some financial or business company, with a vision of a modern Roman Empire. What I remember: Caesar steps out of an SPQR limousine, illuminated by flashbulbs and surrounded by black-suited, earpieced Praetorian guard, then an image of a Roman New York, with a statue of Caesar instead of Liberty. Any pointers on finding this commercial? Also, are there any fictional works that deal with the what-if subject of the Modern Roman Empire? Thanks!

Planetary Magnetic Field Replacement

Tzarius — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 04:08:05 -0800

The magnetic field of the earth isn't that strong, right? So what would it take to replace it? I'd just been reminded of this whole "magnetic field flip" scare and wondered if the resources are available to 'fake' it, should the need arise. The size of the (electro)magnet will (?) need to be continent-scale, but could we give it enough power to matter outside the ionosphere? And what configuration would be most effective?

How do you make a Wild West Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game?

ZachsMind — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 14:15:45 -0800

What would it entail to produce a MMORPG in the western genre with subtle steampunk and/or horror undertones ? Ynoxas mentioned this in the Blue the other day and I've found myself dwelling on it but not to a point where I can find an answer on my own. A lot of people have talked about it. Some people have even tried to make it happen. Why are there so many anime, and scifi, and swordplay MMORPGs, but genres like western and steampunk and horror just haven't really been explored? Is there just a lack of interest? Is there something about the mechanics of it that makes it near impossible?

What would it take for a world of this nature to interest you enough to download it? What events would have to occur to make such a thing happen? What would you want it to be like, and how would you get it there?

What will happen to cities if a pandemic occurs?

stokast — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:57:07 -0800

What will happen to cities if a pandemic occurs? How would the city be cut off from the rest of the world? What would that be like? Would people be advised to stay where they are? If lots of people left, what problems would they have?

What would a blind world 'look' like?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 27 May 2005 10:28:20 -0800

What if most people were born blind, and seeing was rare? Literary mag The Believer has an Idea Share section, which is a collection of (apparently anonymously submitted) hypothetic book premises and themes, shared online in the hopes that someone will make a book out of it. I was particularly intrigued by this entry:

The field of alternative history has been created out of “what if” questions—(“What if the South had won the Civil War?” etc.) This practice should expand to other fields. Alternative Biology: “What if two intelligent species had developed at the same time?” Alternative Sociology: “What if the majority of people were born blind, and seeing was rare?” Sort of an academic sanctioning of science fiction.

I think there's a gold mine of hypothetical scenarios here, and the two examples given are sublime. Let's focus on the blindess one for now - if this goes well, I'll let someone else ask the (paleonto-)biology one (indeed the seed for a book of its own), or feel free to come up with your own alternative science premise.

So, what would a world where most people have no vision faculty be like?

How long could humanity survive if the sun is destroyed?

John Kenneth Fisher — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 21:08:38 -0800

Terrorists destroy the sun.... How long does humanity survive??? (the inside... there's more???) If, hypothetically, the sun were to blink out of existence, how long would humanity be able to survive? I'm assuming our planet would stay intact and not slam into other planets, and just be spun out into space to freeze. With all of our technology, (assuming, say, a week's notice. Long enough to prepare what we have, not long enough to use anything we DON'T have,) how long until the bulk of humanity freezes? One day? Two? and what about those (think high level government) with access to resources to try to survive? Could they pull out a week, a month?

Thoughts?

Presidential succession questions

junkbox — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 10:25:11 -0800

What would happen if, the day after the election, the president AND the vice-president elect were killed? [More presidential succession questions and info inside] According to the Encyclopedia Americana:

Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 also authorizes Congress to establish a line of succession to the presidency in the event of simultaneous vacancies in the offices of president and vice president. Pursuant to this provision, Congress adopted a law in 1947 that places the following persons in the line of succession after the vice president: first the Speaker of the House, then the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then the members of the cabinet in the order in which their departments were created.

The 20th Amendment provides for other contingencies. In the event of the death of a president-elect, it provides that the vice president-elect shall become president for the full term. If a president-elect fails to qualifyfor example, by falling short of residency or age requirementsthen the vice president-elect acts as president until the president qualifies. The amendment further authorizes Congress to provide for the death or failure to qualify of both the president-elect and vice president-elect, which Congress has done in the succession law of 1947.

Does this mean that the Speaker of the House would serve the entire 4-year term? Would that be the Speaker from before the election, or if the House had changed sides in the recent election, the *new* Speaker? Could a special election be held after one year?

Would this situation (because the Constitution is a bit vague, simply leaving arrangements to Congress) require the involvement of the Supreme Court?

If humans were marsupials, would pouches be erotic?

Grod — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:45:41 -0800

If humans were marsupials, would pouches be erotic?