Post: #1

Who would it be?

   



Don't be so quick to try to be the first guy reply with God, Little Dark, or Donald Trump.

Give me something original and put some thought into it. You can only pick one guy.


Here's my answer: Viktor Frankl: We would talk about the meaning of life and his thoughts on love, which he wrote extensively about in his books.

Post: #2

I never knew my grandfathers, so both of them.

Post: #3

(06-22-2016 01:51 AM)spokepoker Wrote:  I never knew my grandfathers, so both of them.

What would you talk about?

Post: #4

Whatever they wanted to talk about. They fought in the war(s) and all I have of them are stories and stuff I would find in the attic at my grandmothers. One built airfields on the islands and helped free the phillipines (found a watch they made for him that my grandmother hated cause it had naked chicks all over it). Lots of stories from my mother and grandmother about what he did there, and after, but I would rather have heard it from him.
The other I think was a pilot, he was hawaiian, so had a special hatred for the japanese. I never heard much about him, very dysfunctional family on that side.

Just something I missed in life, and would rather hear from them for an hour on a bench, than anyone else in the world.

Post: #5

Not what you asked but i would have to put a number of people in there, not just a guy to explain things for me. If some guy came up to me and said i figured out the meaning of life i wouldn't be able to understand what he would be saying even if he was right. I would have to reach those conclusion on my own.

That being said hitler, genghis khan, alexander the great. What does it really mean to be leader?
Why do all great leaders committed mass murders? Do you fear death?

Einstein, tesla, da vinci specially. Those people were ahead of their times, why? What do they know, what have they learned? Who taught them? Is leaving a legacy for mankind worth it? More than your own life?

Onassis the pinnacle of materialism, what goes throw your mind when everything you can possibly desire is in your reach? Does human life has a price for you? Have you thought about paying to be immortal?

I would also want someone like say michael jordan or whoever reached the peak in terms of social status and validation, when you practically can't do no wrong and people love you no matter what. What do you think of regular people? Can you still feel empathy?

What i would probably find is that people on the higher spectrums of whatever field are not all there mentally.

Life ultimately is meaningless i don't need to talk to anyone for an hour to realize that, but talking to those people might help me realize where to put all my energy as long as i am here.

Post: #6

(06-22-2016 02:08 AM)spokepoker Wrote:  Whatever they wanted to talk about. They fought in the war(s) and all I have of them are stories and stuff I would find in the attic at my grandmothers. One built airfields on the islands and helped free the phillipines (found a watch they made for him that my grandmother hated cause it had naked chicks all over it). Lots of stories from my mother and grandmother about what he did there, and after, but I would rather have heard it from him.
The other I think was a pilot, he was hawaiian, so had a special hatred for the japanese. I never heard much about him, very dysfunctional family on that side.

Just something I missed in life, and would rather hear from them for an hour on a bench, than anyone else in the world.

If someone gave me a watch with naked chicks on it , I would wear that watch everyday of my life. That's an awesome gift.

Post: #7

If I could pick one man's brain, it would have to be Christopher Lasch. He was the last of America's public intellectuals, a true man of letters. He was best described as a man "though capable of lighting candles, was best at cursing the darkness."

Christopher Lasch was, in many ways, a simple college professor who wanted nothing more than for his students to read more, think deeply and write well --- his excellent primer on grammar and writing is a testament to that. But in his numerous books, such as Haven In the Heartless World: The Family Besieged and The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy, he combined a masterful understanding of history, Freudian psychology and progressive and conservative thought to produce some of the most intellectually sublime essays I have ever read.

By far his most well-known book -- The Culture Of Narcissism -- wasn't slated for a major release; he had intended his book for a small audience of professors and intellectuals. However, his book was a surprise best-seller and many of his ideas about culture and personality found a natural -- although not entirely welcome -- home in conservative thought. Although the book was dead-end in some ways, for a mind like him, it became a springboard for great works like The Minimal Self, Women and the Common Life and his magnum opus that was published shortly before his death, The True and Only Heaven.

Off the top of my head based on his writings: I would first ask him how he was able to able to fuse the insight Freud had into psychology with so many conservative critiques of progressivism while still remaining himself a liberal. How has the Left managed to seamlessly cover up the failure of progressivism with mass media, psychiatric medication and hollow consumerism? Is the inevitable outcome of any form of feminism a retrenchment of an aristocratic class? Is it possible to find meaning in a world where an individual's own usefulness has been systemically eroded by technology and bureaucracy? An hour might just be the tip of the iceberg.

It would be my hope that I would do the least of the talking -- hopefully next to no talking at all. Being in the presence of such an intellectual giant for an hour would renew my hope that there are men in this world who used their God-given gifts of intelligence, erudition and wisdom for good.

I did a book review a couple years back on the aforementioned Culture Of Narcissism and I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

Quote:The best hope for emotional maturity, then, appears to lie in a recognition of our need for and dependence on people who nevertheless remain separate from ourselves and refuse to submit to our whims. It lies in a recognition of others not as projections of our own desires but as independent beings with desires of their own. More broadly, it lies in acceptance of our limits. The world does not exist merely to satisfy our own desires; it is a world in which we can find meaning, once we understand that others too have a right to those. Psychoanalysis confirms the ancient religious insight that the only way to achieve happiness is to accept limitations in a spirit of gratitude and contrition instead of attempting to annul those limitations or bitterly resenting them.

Barring that, I would say either of my grandfathers (neither of whom I knew personally) or maybe Stephen King or the famed "Last Psychiatrist." If I had to go with a guy off the forum, it would have to be an older, wizened guy like WIA or Quintus so I could pick their brains about women and the meaning of life.

Post: #8

I would have to say Robert E Lee. I enjoy reading military history and would be interested to hear his opinions on political observations of his time. Mid nineteenth century was a big turning point in our nations history. I'm from a northern state but, always respected and admired his intelligence and leadership abilities.

Post: #9

Sticking to those who are alive & assuming the conversation would be free flowing, unhindered & honest.

I could say someone interesting such as Joe Rogan. Yet I'd largely already know what he thinks from his podcasts & stand-up.
Where-as Vladimir Putin would definitely be an interesting fellow.

Get a first hand account of what he thinks & feels in regards to Russia & the West.
Get a first hand account for what he thinks of his place & perception in the world.

Bear in mind, I say that not being a fan of Putin or anyone else from the Kremlin.

Post: #10

Wow this is a hard one. I've been sitting here thinking about it. I think it would be Roosevelt. This article explains why.

Quote:His other jobs were quite varied: cattle rancher, deputy sheriff, historian, naturalist, explorer, author of 35 books, police commissioner, assistant Secretary of the Navy, governor of New York, war hero, and lawyer.

Quote:He was a Rough Rider. In 1898, he resigned from the Department of the Navy and organized the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, known as the Rough Riders. Among other battles, he led the charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.

Roosevelt called his governing philosophy "Square Deal," meaning fair dealings between businesses, consumers, and workers. He opened 40 antitrust cases against corporations. He promoted safe handling regulations for food and drugs, fought against misleading advertising, and encouraged arbitration between businesses and unions.

Roosevelt knew an opportunity when he saw it. The French had abandoned construction of the Panama Canal largely because of malaria and yellow fever. In 1904, Roosevelt contracted the U.S. to build the canal in return for control over the area. He dispatched surgeons and sanitation engineers to tackle the mosquito problem, then teams and heavy equipment to complete the canal, which opened in 1914.

Roosevelt's Wikipedia entry has a list of presidential firsts, including the first president to refer to the presidential mansion as the White House, host a black man at a White House dinner, appoint a Jewish person as a cabinet member, travel outside the United States while in office, and fly in an airplane. He was also the first American to ever win a Nobel Prize, for Peace in 1906.

As a bonus postscript, the president's son, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. distinguished himself at the Normandy Invasion on D-Day and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 2001, President Roosevelt himself was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his service at the Battle of San Juan Hill, the only president to ever be so honored.

Children: Alice Ted Jr. Kermit Ethel Archie Quentin

Honorary Degrees: LL.D. D.C.L. L.H.D. Ph.D. J.D. Sc.D.

Judo Black Belt (Don't know why they threw that in there. )

Also my personal reasons: He was a family man, never backed down from a fight, he saw combat, he was outspoken, masculine, a man's man, a leader, and believed in many things I believe.

Post: #11

Bush Sr.

But not to chat about his presidency though, I'd like to know about his time as CIA director. He was only director for a year but was one of the most influential directors they've had. He saved the CIA from being dissolved after watergate and the "family jewels" report that exposed illegal and unauthorized operations and assassinations. He is also the only politician ever to be in that role.

I bet what he knows could write a lifetime of movies and spy novels.

Post: #12

I would spend one hour on a park bench with Tyra Banks making out.

Post: #13

Aldous Huxley

Post: #14

Nicola Tesla, he was so far ahead of his time, we're just now starting to understand some of the things he was discovering 100 years ago. He is one of the most brilliant, under-appreciated scientists to ever live IMO.
His vision of free energy for the world was just not compatible or profitable for corporate America, so they would never allow the people to have his world changing technology. And that's just one of his hundreds of mind-blowing discoveries and inventions.

Post: #15

Patton or Ben Franklin from a historical perspective.

Modern man I'd most like to have spoken with, Felix Dennis.

Post: #16

   

Post: #17

Alex Jones.

I feel like just a few minute conversation with him would be enough time to cover some very interesting topics. The man is high energy AF and a patriot.

Post: #18

In all honesty, most everyone people are going to mention are people who likely have already written a lot of their thoughts and ideas, and have also been written about extensively. I'd like to spend time with someone I know nothing about.

My father's father.

I never met him as he died from complications from a stroke long before I was born. Even my mother only met him a few times and it was after he had his stroke and he was mostly paralyzed.

My father has shown me some pictures from when he was a boy and my grandfather looked like the archetypal character of a hard nosed working-class 1950's dad. Greaser hair, white T-shirt tucked into a pair of Levi's, and a tattoo on his forearm.

I'd really just like to get to know him, the man who's name I share. My grandmother died last year and for years before that she had severe Alzheimer's and I never really got the chance in my adult life to ask her about him either. My own father doesn't even have a lot to say about him, but I know this much:

My grandmother and grandfather were old-school New England-living French Canadian. They were both previously married and their respective spouses both past away, so then they met and married eachother. Because of that my father wound up with 3 half-brothers (1 from his father and 2 from his mother).

I also know that my grandfather had his stroke while making love to my grandmother on their anniversary.

Post: #19

Jesus Christ.

Post: #20

(06-22-2016 03:12 AM)2Wycked Wrote:  If I could pick one man's brain, it would have to be Christopher Lasch.[/url]"
I would first ask him how he was able to able to fuse the insight Freud had into psychology with so many conservative critiques of progressivism while still remaining himself a liberal. How has the Left managed to seamlessly cover up the failure of progressivism with mass media, psychiatric medication and hollow consumerism?

Good suggestion, I'd never heard of the guy but am now interested.

I would say Obama or Roosevelt. What is it like to be the most powerful person in the world. I imagine there's some dark stuff they have to think about and a viewpoint inaccessible to "mortals." I'd" be curious about some of the decisions that seem irrational to me, about what I might not know loading on the decisions.

Post: #21

Dead Person:

Heinz Guderian.
I own one of his books.

Alive person:
Not sure. I'd love to speak to Roosh in person, Sameseau, and Parzival because I think any one of them could educate me very well.

Post: #22

Quintus Curtius

I am thinking I would like to gain input on issues I have trouble understanding and why not talk to someone who I already know and can talk freely about anything.

I met QC last year in Canada and he is very knowledgeable and guides you with out any air of arrogance. Conversation flows smoothly with him. It would love to spend an hour with QC sitting on a bench.

Post: #23

Malcolm X

Post: #24

Probably one of the great dominant personalities of history, such as Alexander the Great, Francisco Pizarro, Genghis Khan, or even Adolf Hitler. I know I wouldn't necessarily get any great insights from them about the 'meaning of life' and some such, but it would be fascinating to get the measure of such men.

Would they be sullen or charismatic? Relaxed or full of effervescent energy bursting from the seams to resume their will to power? Would they strike me with awe or leave me feeling underwhelmed and thinking they're just like regular people who happened to be in the right place at the right time. It would be fascinating to sit with them for an hour and see how big of a gulf there exists between a historical immortal and yours truly.

Post: #25

Not a single person mentioned a famous supermodel? I'm disappointed

(it's assumed that you'd bang on the bench, of course)

EDIT: sorry, missed Pride Male's post