The Random Thread of Random Randomness

I'd chose purple, I don't want to invade other people's privacy with mind reading, and I interpret banging bod as you'd get an ultra fit body, but then you'd have to do the work to keep it, so I'd rather just be able to eat what I want without gaining weight.

 

That is a good potion, but be aware that there are still negative outcomes to eating extremely poorly besides weight gain (clogging one's arteries for example). That said, never being overweight would be a huge health advantage!

Interesting. I worked under the assumption that you would always have a bangin body. However, your interpretation is just as valid.

 

Mind reading. Black potion.

To me this is something by which you could then DO things.

Speaking languages is great, bit the only real thing you could do is be a translator. Banging Bod is great, but of limited use if you are happily maried, possibly I would feel differently if my circumstances were different. Looking 25 until you die.... well the problem is I didn't like the way I looked at 25 this would be different (like you say) if it were vitality, fitness, etc. But seems like a poison apple...

I already have the ability to eat anything and not gain any weight (much to the chagrin of my wife)

 

Which is increasingly worth less as technology progresses.

For instance...

https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/12/interpreter-googles-real-time-translator-comes-to-mobile/

 

No, trust me on this, I've read enough sci-fi and fantasy novels to know that the black one is a trap too. Trust me, you do NOT want to know what others are thinking all the time! I'd go green. Gives me more books I can read.

 

Think more along the lines of a Charles Xavier type thing, but without the ability to mind control.


The point of the exercise is to evaluate which you would choose at face value and not the most nefarious possible interpretation

While I don't think that is the way the potion is to be interpreted, it is pretty interesting. Assuming that your 25th year worked under the same rule set as the Groundhog Day movie (with the caveat that it resets at the end of 365 days as opposed to 24 hours) that would be pretty damn spectacular. Having a cycle that continually resets daily limits what you can do; where you can go and who/what you can interact with. You're limited by how far you can travel within a single day. However, if that cycle is extended out over the course of an entire year, then you can visit any place, perform any activity and interact with any person within the entire world. You are essentially immortal and live without any permanent consequences. And since you retain your memories from your previous cycles (just like in the movie) you can learn anything you want. While a singular day would get repetitive quickly, it would take an insane amount of time for a yearly cycle to become redundant.

 

We seem to be interpreting the potions differently, so let me more precisely define the parameters of each ability (so we're not all comparing apples to oranges)

Green [Fluent in 10 Languages]

• you get to choose which languages (in addition to any you can already speak/read/write fluently)
• fluency extends to speaking, reading and writing
• your expertise in your 10 new languages would be equal to the level of your current day most proficient language and you would be able to improve upon them as normal
• the languages are bound to human languages (you can't choose speak with animals)

Blue [Bangin' Bod]

• your body is transformed to the level of a "9 or 10" in line with the beauty standards of a culture of your choice (but still bound to the limits of reality... you can't look like the Hulk from the MCU for instance)
• you gain no other benefit (increased strength, endurance, vitality, lifespan, etc.) beyond your physical appearance (although you can still improve upon these traits in the exact same way as you would without the potion)
• to ensure that the Red potion is not completely redundant, your appearance is still bound to your age. Meaning, if you gathered 100 people of your age, you would be consistently rated to be in the top 10 among them in terms of physical appearance. So if you're 80 years old, you ain't beating out a good looking 20 year old.
• your bangin bod includes your facial appearance
• everyone you knew would still recognize that it is you (for the sake of simplicity), you're just more aesthetically pleasing
• you retain your bangin bod despite potentially poor lifestyle choices, but you can still accrue negative health benefits

Black [Mind Reading]

• you have the ability to choose when and on whom you use your powers on (you have full control over it)
• you have no ability to control someone's mind directly (although, with practice, the ability to read another's mind could make you very persuasive if you are clever enough to exploit it)
• reading someone's current thoughts requires the same mental concentration as listening to someone speak and understanding them
• reading someone's past thoughts requires greater concentration (something along the lines of doing conventional research and shifting through information)
• as a frame of reference, think of Charles Xavier from the X-men but without the power to control/influence the other person (the information only travels from them to you... you can't implant thoughts/ideas)

Red [Look 25 until you die]

• your appearance falls within the upper and lower limits of what you could/did look like at the age of 25
• you are still bound to conventional weight gain/loss and muscle gain/loss
• drinking the potion does not alter your life expectancy
• you gain no further advantage beyond looking young (no increased strength, endurance, vitality, lifespan, etc.), you still physically age as you would if you had not consumed the potion, you just don't look it

Purple [Able to eat anything without gaining a pound]

• your fat levels remain at an ideal/healthy level no matter what food you eat and in what quantity
• you are still able to gain (and lose) muscle as normal
• you do enjoy the health benefits of living at a healthy weight
• you are not immune to secondary effects of a really poor diet (clogged arteries, vitamin deficiency, etc.)
• consuming too few calories will still result in weight loss (and any associated negative effects), but upon increasing calorie intake above expenditure you will gain weight back up to that perfect ideal (but no further)

@Scalenex @Tk'ya'pyk