Blogocentric Formulations

Day 21: Experiments for the Greater Good

*Written as part of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 

Day 21 Prompt: Would you let a government lab perform experiments on you if, in return, they would give you an unlimited supply of anything money could buy?

I suppose my answer would depend on the experiments and what I were getting an unlimited supply of in return. If it were an experiment to see how much psychological trauma someone could endure before going completely and irreversibly insane in exchange for an unlimited supply of Oreos... no. Well, hang on a minute... these are Oreos we're talking about. But no. Definitely no. Yes, that's my final answer!

I'm much more interested in the things money can't buy, and for some of those things, I'd be willing to let the government experiment on me if it could ensure success. For example, if I was somehow the missing link in cancer research, and experimenting on me would very likely result in a cure for cancer, I would absolutely subject myself to it if it meant the end of cancer for millions of people from that point on.

When it comes to these debates ("would you do X for Y?" or "what would you do for a million dollars?"), I'm usually the boring one that says, "No, I wouldn't do that," or "I'm not sure that's worth a million dollars." And I say those things not because I'm inherently afraid of taking risks or doing something humiliating, but because money just isn't that important to me. My own personal financial success is not a strong motivator to do something inherently risky or dangerous. That might be the behavior that prevents me from ever starting my own business... but it's also the behavior that's going to keep me from participating in humiliating and demeaning reality TV competitions for a chance to win money.

I'm definitely a "greater good" and "for the benefit of others" kind of person. I'm not enticed by promises of my own success. I feel like that's something that should be earned through talent and/or hard work, not stupidity. But if this question were, "Would you let a government lab perform experiments on you if, in return, they would double the education budget or commit to genuinely trying to eradicate poverty by restructuring their budgets and social programs," I'd probably agree to it.

I suppose this means I'd be in real trouble if they ever brought back "Fear Factor" with a new twist that promised the winnings to needy families or veterans or something.