By whatever ruse means magic you are given this gift. You will receive the truthful honest answer to one question. What question is that?

Well I wouldn't label it greed Walt. I think that would be the more PRACTICAL choice. I mean knowing what happens after we die versus being able to buy whatever you wanted? I mean logically it's a no-brainer. Plus which maybe we're better off NOT KNOWING. There is always the possibility that it won't be sunshine and mint juleps. I'm really not that money oriented for myself personally but think of all the good you could do for others? See? There is always an upside to every choice. I'm pretty sure I'd go with something like that. Have you ever seen the TV show LUCKY DOG? A couple saves a dog's life by taking it out of the shelter and finding a suitable loving family. It ALWAYS HAS A HAPPY ENDING. Think of the possibilities? Setting up thousands of shelters like that all over the world? Thank you for your reply Walt! :) This post was edited by RosieG at May 28, 2021 11:29 AM MDT

Nah - it's greed.
If I just wanted to cover my necessities with a little "playing" money, I could do with 1 or 2 million.
$100 million is just asking for me to get in trouble.  LOL

I just asked a question about WOODY GUTHRIE. Didja know he wrote a song called "The BIG GRAND COULEE DAM"? So you aren't buying what I'm selling vis a vis your MO?

So what would you spend the money on or is too private a matter to discuss on this forum? Could you really spend that much money? Wouldn't it be earning interest until you spend it? It sounds as if it would be huge CHORE to go to a store or stores and spend 30 million bucks. Maybe a Tiffanys'. Anyway it's moot right? You aren't holding out on us are ya? Thank you for your reply Walt! :)

After the $1 or $2 million ... I got a few ideas that could get me in trouble, especially if I had $100 million to play with.
Pretty sure I could put a few satellites in orbit. Be funny to mess with all the extraterrestrial listening posts.
Maybe figure a way to "tag" the moon. Muahahahahahaha
Also, I'd like to find out if our "gas giants" are combustible.  Maybe send a probe with some "lost" USSR nuclear warheads to find out.

The gubment recently admitted there are UFO's.Maybe with $100 million YOU could be the one to figure out how to make contact? I'd dump the "nuclear warhead" thingy though. On the other hand how do we know "they" are friendly? How do we know "they" haven't been stalking us and casing us and tracking us and testing us...poking at us to see how we would react? What good would putting satellites in orbit do Walt? Isn't there a huge listening post somewhere in South America....Argentina maybe? If you could figure out why we're here in the first place that would sure be wondrous. Also how everything began out of nothing and how and why there is so much VARIETY? Or why some people are kind good just and some are the opposite? Any of that strike you as being useful? Once we know what do we do with that knowledge? And on it goes. Always so many more questions than answers. Will we ever run out of questions? Thank you for your reply and Happy Saturday to thee and thine. Oh. "Gas giant" and "tag" the moon? When we landed there didn't we put a flag down? :) Oh and also WHY we(you and me) have a fear of heights just for the halibut? Wouldn't that be a nifty thing to know? This post was edited by RosieG at May 29, 2021 1:46 AM MDT

I was watching some BBC science show the other day ... and they said that "ocean dwelling" plankton has been discovered on the outside of the international space station.  Allegedly, there is no way for them to get from Earth to the outside of the ISS.  So they view that as proof of life from other planets.

They also theorized that octopi evolved from extraterrestrial life.
Which is funny because I was watching the TV series Resident Alien, which says the same thing.

Life is circular. Our understanding is circular. We end up where we began. Over and over and over and over and over again! Gosh Walt. Something else we have common...ALWAYS LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS. Octopi evolved from otherworldly sources and you are watching a show that says the same thing! I think we get connected in all the time and most of us are OBLIVIOUS to it. You notice which is kinda swell. I notice too and so do others. I don't honestly know what that means though. It's just nice to know we are NOT ALONE in our quests. Thank you for your reply and Happy Tuesday to thee and thine. Where does "Resident Alien" play? I don't have HBO so where do you watch it? I miss out on a lot of great stuff that plays where I don't go. :)

I think Resident Alien is on the SyFy Channel.

I was thinking on my drive to work this morning, is there a scientific definition of sapience?
One which can be applied to non-humans?
What if we changed the laws on killing to apply to any sapient species, and not just humans?
Of course, I'd be willing to "pardon" past crimes under the excuse "we didn't know any better".

Well sapiens means "of pertaining to or resembling modern humans."

SAPIENT means

Having or showing great wisdom or sound judgment.
They are not related. A sapiens isn't automatically sapient. I know it sucks but there you have it. Now can other animals show wisdom and sound judgment? Sure. WHY NOT?

However a sapiens is very rarely sapient. A sapient sapiens? Maybe extinct. Thank you for your reply Walt. Here comes a question. I know. SHOCK!

As I understand it, there are (at least) 3 levels of "awareness".

The most basic, primary level is sentience, which is essentially the ability to have a point of view.
The next level is sapience, the ability to hold a train of thought and form opinions.
The final, highest level is the understanding of the self.

This is entirely NEW to me m'dear so thanks a bunch. I did not know. Sentience? Having a point of view? Caring about an outcome? Now "holding a train of thought and form opinions" seems to me to be the same thing as "the ability to have a point of view". As for the last one you mention. That one is undoable. Any point of view we have about ourselves will ALWAYS BE SELF-SERVING won't it Walt? Give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Always impute to us good motives high intension and eing honorable. So that last one I have to work on accepting. Thank you for your reply and the new info. I'm ready to be corrected instructed educated about where I'm wrong! Willing student. Available teacher?