So you're stuck in a groundhog day loop...

[Kittenwolf]

So you're stuck in a groundhog day loop, you've gotten over the "What the heck is going on" stage and you're yet to hit the "Achieve X to break free" stage.
What would you do? :)

[Lord Raziere]

kill the people I hate repeatedly.

figure out a way to blow up a building under 24 hours.

be a total jerk.

troll every forum.

blow all my money on whatever I want.

eat whatever I want.

dance on top of cars.

play videogames to explore every option available.

do whatever, tomorrow never comes.

do any dare, no matter how dangerous.

say the most outrageous things while acting perfectly serious, just see how people would react.

[Atcote]

Hmm... The film would have me believe that I'd have to achieve the 'Perfect Day' in which I correct all my previous mistakes and personality flaws in order to move on. It's ambiguous how much time it takes him, and whether or not he continues to feel any sort of physical effect from his repeated deaths (though the mental effects seem to be there). It's also ambiguous how long he's been stuck; some people think months, years, and others think up to the many thousands of years.

So what would I do if I'm not ready/able to escape?

Live without consequence. Or, at least, without consequence that sticks.

Knowing me though, the 'Get out' button would be 'Do something horrible that would ruin your life', so I'd probably keep avoiding that until my psyche totally cracks.

[Aedilred]

I'd almost welcome such a scenario. Of course, being stuck in the same day, even a really good one, would get wearing after a while, but it'd give me the opportunity to do things I don't have time to do in the normal course of life. Learning the piano to near-concert standard, as he does in the film, would be a good start (I can already play, but don't have time to dedicate to the necessary sustained practice). I'd read as much as (in)humanly possible. I'd learn to dance, I'd improve my fencing.

Assuming I was confident I could do so without consequence, there are certain things I'd like to say to certain people (both good and bad).

In terms of what would get me out of the scenario, I don't know, and I probably wouldn't investigate the option until I got bored.

[Kittenwolf]

I think for me there'd be quite a few things:
Try out a bunch of weird and wacky hairstyles and strange colours
Try out a bunch of piercings/tattoos
Learn accents & improve my acting, then go wandering around the city pretending to be scottish, or icelandic, or a girl, and see how differently people react when you say the same things to them
Learn piano, guitar and the bagpipes
Catch up on all the books & games in my pile of shame

So many possibilities...

[drakir_nosslin]

I'd train a lot of gymnastics and similar sports. For once I wouldn't have to worry about injuries.
Then I'd learn to cook, paint, play the piano ect. I'd probably go mad sooner or later and start breaking things.

[LaZodiac]

As a manga fan, Groundhog Day has fused with the Endless Eight for me. So like, I'd probably suffer ungodly amounts of monotony for awhile, before doing the crazy stuff.

[AtlanteanTroll]

There's only one way out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIIqYqtR1lY).

[paddyfool]

@drakir,

Good thinking on the gymnastics, sir! I'd definitely study some thingsunder those circumstances which I wouldn't otherwise, starting with Parkour. (Although the lack of any abiilty to build muscle, only technique, would prove limiting).

@AtlanteanTroll,

The protagonist tried that in the movie, a lot. It never took.

----------

One thing that I think might be fun for a while (which I didn't see in the movie, although I may have forgotten it) would be to see just how far geographically I could get in any given direction. Up to and including learning to (a) fly, (b) forge/steal a pilot's license, and (c) steal a plane.

[Nexaduro]

As a manga fan, Groundhog Day has fused with the Endless Eight for me. So like, I'd probably suffer ungodly amounts of monotony for awhile, before doing the crazy stuff.
AAAAAARGH

Between Endless Eight and a certain Magical Girl show... Groundhog Day loops are now an almost pathological fear of mine.

I'd probably try to learn as much as possible about theoretical physics, after hundreds of years I might just find something out about how to escape. :smalltongue:

[Kobold-Bard]

Endless killing sprees interspersed with assorted other crimes and bouts of complete despair.

I don't have the patience to undertake any self-improvement stuff (musical instruments, foreign languages, improving life & social skills, etc.) even if I do have eternity. I imagine my sanity would suffer after a while & I'd start to think I'm in some sort of alien prison where the days keep restarting, so I'd probably set up some sort of alien worship cult & devote centuries to worshipping it.

[factotum]

I'd be looking to find the X I needed to do in order to break out...plus figure out the winning lottery numbers for a lottery draw that takes place on my Groundhog Day. Once I discover X, buy lottery ticket with the right numbers, wait for the draw to take place, and do X, then collect my winnings! :smallsmile:

[DeadManSleeping]

With death as no consequence? I would probably teach myself how to do very dangerous stuff. You know, climbing tall buildings and cliffs and mountains and such, skydiving, fighting, the works. Then I'd probably move on to the arts (though the visual arts are hard when you can't look at old work). Then maybe the sciences. After that? Maybe I'd get around to making the day better.

[Whiffet]

I just hope this occurs on a free day. Otherwise I'd spend every single day going to the same classes over and over because this MIGHT be the day I break out of it, and it just so happens I have a test or something that I can't miss. :smalltongue:

Hmm, I imagine I would finally get around to reading those books I bought to learn a few programming languages. Oh, yeah, and I'd go insane. I'd definitely go insane. I'd probably turn into a raving lunatic and get arrested repeatedly for at least a few weeks.

[Asta Kask]

Visit every page on the Internet.

[AtlanteanTroll]

@AtlanteanTroll,

The protagonist tried that in the movie, a lot. It never took.
He did? What happened? I always get really bored and do something else about half an hour into Groundhog Day.

[Comrade]

Perfect my guitar, bass, and drum skills.

Get tattoos. See how they look and if I like them.

Study a ****load.

Admittedly, I would probably steal some ****...just 'cos in the end there won't really be any consequences :v

Going off the film Groundhog Day, the cycle would supposedly be broken after doing lots of good stuff for people.

Going off Endless Eight, I would have to hope that somewhere out there Suzumiya Haruhi will finally be satisfied with her summer :v

[Kobold-Bard]

He did? What happened? I always get really bored and do something else about half an hour into Groundhog Day.

He killed himself in a variety of creative ways, but always still woke up in the day again.

[AtlanteanTroll]

He killed himself in a variety of creative ways, but always still woke up in the day again.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF----

I'd sleep all day then. No use doing anything.

[Mutant Sheep]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF----

I'd sleep all day then. No use doing anything.

Strange. You wouldn't take a trip to all the major cool sites on the world first? Go to China, see the Great Wall, die. Wake up yesterday, go to Britain, see the stuff, and mess with one of those guard guys. Step 3:??? Step 4: Can never get profit because you cant keep your money.:smallamused:

[AtlanteanTroll]

Strange. You wouldn't take a trip to all the major cool sites on the world first? Go to China, see the Great Wall, die. Wake up yesterday, go to Britain, see the stuff, and mess with one of those guard guys. Step 3:??? Step 4: Can never get profit because you cant keep your money.:smallamused:

I couldn't get anywhere cool in 24 hours.

[The Succubus]

Hmmm....I'd make a beeline for Andie McDowell and convince her to sleep with me as it's well known the contents of her pants are able to repair rifts in space-time. I saw it in Star Trek once:

"Captain! The Borg have us pinned in some kind of temporal stasis field!"

"I'm on my way to Commander McDowell's quarters. Give me 20 minutes and some smooth jazz."

[Lord Raziere]

also....

I'd try to stay up all night, to never sleep so that I can maybe see how time is being rewinded, study it, then harness it to become the Doctor and travel through time.

[Gamerlord]

For a "month" or so...TROLL EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE! :smallbiggrin:
After which, the whole "perfect day" thing.

[Mordokai]

He killed himself in a variety of creative ways, but always still woke up in the day again.

I'd do that too, just to see what it feels like. Too bad I couldn't keep the journal, it would probably make for an interesting read :smallbiggrin:

Once all options would be exhausted, I would probably go doing all matter of horrible things. I won't go into details here, but I believe I would go all the way to Chaotic Evil and back and all over again. In short, I'd be a real terror. After all, there are no lasting consequences, why bother with anything?

Once that would be over, I might try and better myself in various fields. Maybe try and learn an instrument. Try to figure out a math problem that has been bothering me ever since high school.

Yeah, I'd think I'd have a great deal of fun with this. Of course, like mentioned, I would very much like to keep a journal of this "forever day". It would make a fascinating reading once the day finally finishes.

[drakir_nosslin]

@drakir,

Good thinking on the gymnastics, sir! I'd definitely study some thingsunder those circumstances which I wouldn't otherwise, starting with Parkour. (Although the lack of any abiilty to build muscle, only technique, would prove limiting).

Yup, I've already been doing parkour for quite a while so physically I'm already good, but I'm too much of a coward to dare and try new things because I don't want to cripple myself and spend the next 30 years wishing I could do all the things I'm planning to do now.

I wonder if muscle memory transfers between the days, otherwise it's going to be hard to learn some things.

[Coidzor]

Probably work on figuring out how to maximize my life enjoyment and relationships with those who are important to me in case I ever do get out, and then establish a routine whereby I can come into a windfall of cash early on in order to better facilitate whatever I want to actually do with my time.

Then I'd probably start learning new skills, probably starting with sewing or dancing.

Travel is a great idea that never occurred to me, though, I must admit.

[Ravens_cry]

I would buy stuff that my budget wouldn't allow, but I technically have money for. Books, food, video games, maybe even some nice wine, do some travelling. Then I would get really good at things. Play the piano, the guitar, learn to code, to cook really well.
Go bungee jumping, skydiving, scuba diving.
Learn how to talk to people better.

[Icewalker]

LEARN EVERYTHING.

...yep.

[Lillith]

I'd go for the personal improvements honestly. Once I figure out that I'm stuck in a loop (and had a mental breakdown cause basically I wouldn't see my bf ever again and dear goodness being stuck is horrible) I'd go for the things I've always wanted to learn but never had time for. Learn to be fluent in a couple of languages. Read a lot of classic books that I've on my list. Teach myself a couple of instruments like the piano, violin and flute. Improve on my drawing skills and probably do some mental prep work for school in case I can still get out.

Then I'd find out the lottery tickets number and maybe some other things that might benefit me later on if I get out. When I'm done with that I'd try to make the day 'perfect' for me and those around me. After that and I'm still stuck... hello again mental breakdown.

[thubby]

LEARN EVERYTHING.

...yep.

pretty much this.
though I'd probably start with watching all the shows i keep meaning to but never have time for.

[paddyfool]

I couldn't get anywhere cool in 24 hours.

Are you sure about that? You can fly halfway round the world in that time; the tricky part is just getting on the plane, and you'd have plenty of shots at figuring out how to do that.


Yup, I've already been doing parkour for quite a while so physically I'm already good, but I'm too much of a coward to dare and try new things because I don't want to cripple myself and spend the next 30 years wishing I could do all the things I'm planning to do now.

I wonder if muscle memory transfers between the days, otherwise it's going to be hard to learn some things.

Given how well said protagonist learned to play piano (and flip cards into a hat), I'd say that muscle memory would have to transfer, somehow.

[Tyndmyr]

Rejoice at having found immortality. Hope it never stops.

[Lillith]

I'd figure immortality would be very boring though if you're stuck on the same day. The people will stay exactly the same except for your influence. And even then they'd respond the same way to the same thing over and over again. Every time the same news and developments. No new things ever. Imagine that fun game you're looking forwards to, you'll never get it. If I'd get immortality I'd rather have it to see what is going to happen in the future. Not be stuck on the same day forever. =P

[KenderWizard]

I'd be looking to find the X I needed to do in order to break out...plus figure out the winning lottery numbers for a lottery draw that takes place on my Groundhog Day. Once I discover X, buy lottery ticket with the right numbers, wait for the draw to take place, and do X, then collect my winnings! :smallsmile:

Clever!

I'd have to go for learning. Definitely languages, I'd love to improve my language skills and learn as much as I could of as many languages as possible. Also, some skills I've always wanted the time to learn, like playing violin, re-learning ballet, doing a cartwheel. I'd go places and climb. Everywhere I've always thought I could climb, because I'm a good climber but quite risk-adverse. That includes the surrounding buildings I think I could reach from my roof, and lots and lots of cliffs. I think I'd probably alternate going to language classes and finding people to talk to with going to the airport and learning everything I could, just keep trying until I can bluff my way onto any plane, first class. If I still have time, I'm going to get to know everyone in Dublin city, so afterwards, I can make friends again with the people I got on really well with, and I'll also be able to pull the "Hello! Mary? It's me, Kender! How's John and the boys? Your eldest must be in school by now! Did you enjoy Spain? Don't you remember me, from night classes? Two years ago? We were both in Life Drawing, room 112?".

[Tyndmyr]

I'd figure immortality would be very boring though if you're stuck on the same day. The people will stay exactly the same except for your influence. And even then they'd respond the same way to the same thing over and over again. Every time the same news and developments. No new things ever. Imagine that fun game you're looking forwards to, you'll never get it. If I'd get immortality I'd rather have it to see what is going to happen in the future. Not be stuck on the same day forever. =P

Well, in addition to immortality, you get predictability, yes. Predictability for everyone but you. This is like having superpowers.

No, Im still pretty ok with it. Enough things are happening in enough places every day that Im pretty aright with reliving a day.

[Elder Tsofu]

Wouldn't you start from the same spot every day too? It would certainly limit the available area if you had to get there in one day.

[Icewalker]

pretty much this.
though I'd probably start with watching all the shows i keep meaning to but never have time for.

Yeah, also this.

I think would be an incredible opportunity. I would do so many things, it's really an opportunity to do such an incredibly large amount.

But I agree, it'd get boring eventually. It would take a VERY long time to run out of things to learn (VERY long) but eventually, I would. There would probably come a time, likely after centuries, that I'd want to return to a regular cycle.

Of course, I'd make sure to have developed the upload (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading) by then. (Even if I worked out the upload quickly, I'd stick in the loop for a few centuries. Get a head start on everybody else. :smallamused:)

[Frozen_Feet]

I would probably stay away from doing anything really stupid, on the off-chance that I accidentally accomplish what is needed to break away from the loop. Assuming mental knowledge and skills carry on, but physical developments won't, I don't think I'd manage to learn things I want to nearly as well as I'd want abusing such poor form of immortality.

Overall, I think I'd just do my darnest to map romantic prospects within nearby area.

[Elder Tsofu]

As long as I didn't have any commitments for the day (family, work, friends), that I couldn't easily cancel I'd probably:

Begin to laze around for perhaps a week.
Then I'd probably experiment with the local and semi-local environment for maybe two.
After that I'd probably be doing a mix of those for a few weeks.
When that period of time had passed (maybe 1.5 months) I'd be bored out of my skull and feel extremely down about everything, since what use is it to wake up in the morning when you know that precisely nothing you do is meaningful and you've got nothing to look forward to?
I suppose that after a period of that I could just "crack" and either become a mass-murderer or extremely good at something else. Possibly both.

If I had commitments I couldn't easily cancel you could speed up to point 4 after half a week.

[Tyndmyr]

Wouldn't you start from the same spot every day too? It would certainly limit the available area if you had to get there in one day.

If it's a typical day in my life, this isn't a great problem. I live a few minutes away from an international airport.

Now granted, if you're like...stuck in a hospital bed every day, and have no options, it's pretty terrible, but that seems a bit unlikely.

I feel like after enough time, I'd start making up achievements to pull off. Learn every language. Have sex with everyone in a given place. Walk through every street in the world. The sheer amount of things I could possibly do is pretty limitless, especially when consequences are basically all gone.

[Ravens_cry]

You could advance the science of the human mind by having repeatable test subjects. Here is a thought, though it would probably make a bad movie. What if instead of a groundhog day loop, you had a looping week, or even year?

[thorgrim29]

Looping week I would prefer to looping day, but a looping year would be mind shattering for me.

[KenderWizard]

Looping week I would prefer to looping day, but a looping year would be mind shattering for me.

I agree! It'd be too much. A looping week would be useful because you could get further and do more things that require an elaborate set-up, but even the first "reset" on a year would be awful.

[Frozen_Feet]

An annual loop would further discourage goofing around as A) you'd have to deal with consequences of your actions for longer and B) the chances of accidentally breaking the loop increase dramatically, yet you can't know that until the year ends.

Beyond that, I think an annual loop would be much more desireable than a daily one, as there's simply a lot more you can do in that time.

[Shadow of the Sun]

I'd probably teach myself mathematics. I've always wished I was more mathematically skilled.

Read lots of books. Watch lots of videos on youtube. Listen to lots of music, compose lots of music...

After that, settle down and relax for a while.

[Fallen Angel]

kill the people I hate repeatedly.

figure out a way to blow up a building under 24 hours.

be a total jerk.

troll every forum.

blow all my money on whatever I want.

eat whatever I want.

dance on top of cars.

play videogames to explore every option available.

After 24hrs they reset. You can't bring cards with your saves on them to new days.

:(


do whatever, tomorrow never comes.

do any dare, no matter how dangerous.

say the most outrageous things while acting perfectly serious, just see how people would react.

Probably how I'd do it too.

Can I please have plenty of memory cards in my pockets? I really would be bummed out of I could not have this. (Also a Flash Memory Card or some other PC solution.)

FUUUUUUUU-... I just thought: Borders is closed and I cannot purchase a Kindle easily. ****, that would be a useful thing to have.

[Fallen Angel]

There's only one way out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIIqYqtR1lY).

Drugs were involved with the making of this.

(If MASH actually happened.. this is what they would prob get around to... but IRL?.... This is a parody.)

[goplayer7]

Watch every TV show available on the internet and listen to every song ever made and download and read as many books as possible (With everyday reseting I can go on torrent sites because 1) I can't get arrested after the loop and 2) any viruses I might get go away at the reset)

As long as you live a relatively secluded life already, then when you begin the loop nothing really changes except for the fact you just don't have a record of what you did.

Eventually I would get to learning everything after I have my fix of all social media in the whole of history.

[Fallen Angel]

Yes, you get a inventory you can take between loops.

For every pound you take with you, you get ten pounds of force thrown into your chest upon wakeup. Damage might happen.

So what can you do in this modified scenario?:

[Tyndmyr]

I can take the entire world with me, causing ten worlds to be thrown into my chest, killing me, looping me to the beginning, where ten worlds are thrown into my chest...

[goplayer7]

I would be perfectly happy not sending everything back... I would make a mental algorithm that encodes all the information that I need to send back to the start of the loop in terms of the initial state of the environment.

For example, I remember what doctor who episode I'm at one day by a circle on the calendar, the next (after I've watched 5-10 episodes) double the length of my shoe in inches.

And yes, given an infinite loop I would have the time to remember my environment in that much detail

[Orzel]

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker attacks cars. Says they are Decepticons.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker pulls ropes. Claims wizards on other side.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker frees zoo animals. Except crabs.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker dies of pie overdose.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker dies of ice cream overdose.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker raises ninja army. No one sighted.

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorker curses late bus in 30 languages.


Basically do all sorts of crazy things to get on the news

[PirateMonk]

Experiment (non-simultaneously) with staying up all night, sleeping during the day, and polyphasic sleep cycles

Learn everything interesting and work on unsolved problems in the sciences

"Read the Internet" sounds fun

[thubby]

Experiment (non-simultaneously) with staying up all night, sleeping during the day, and polyphasic sleep cycles

Learn everything interesting and work on unsolved problems in the sciences

"Read the Internet" sounds fun

i would pay to see someone somehow do all of those at once.

[Tonal Architect]

This is like the opportunity of a lifetime.

Remove all morals, remove all consequences (literally, everything resets), remove most time-constraints to yourself (you still gotta set up things).

Wanna know how killing the president feels like? Go ahead. Nuclear apocalypse? If you manage to pull it off in 24 hours, go ahead and fiddle as the world burns. Wanna enact sick hentai scenes? Sure, why not, they won't even remember (lulz). Wanna know how it feels like to cut off your own leg, feet, arms, even your head? Darwin awards, here you go.

I'd probably experiment with some way to make me rich in less than an hour, maybe stealing from some rich whomever, or tricking some rich person into giving me ever increasing insight into their life until I can convince them to hand me a lot of money; this is especially true for the week loop...

I'd travel the world, meet different people. Even if I date girls by the thousands, I'd still be short of knowing seven billion people. I presume some of them are interesting.

Read all the books in the world. Period.

Find some sure-fire way to get rich AFTER the loop ends.

There's just so much to do... I'd love to get stuck into one of those. I'd be stuck in it for ages...

The only minus I can imagine is that I'd miss being able to talk to the people I really do open up to... And I'm sure that, being unable to have such people in the loop, in time we would grow distant for obvious reasons, for while I proceed to becoming a god (lol), all would be stuck in their everyday self, not even remembering the adventures I've mentioned the other day.

I guess that would be the only thing that would make me think twice about this. In the end, when and if one manages to come out of the loop... One'd probably be so godlike, that all of their former associations would be meaningless.

[Frozen_Feet]

It's good to remember that a lot of things still are flat-out impossible to achieve in one day, no matter how many times that day repeats itself. For example, reading all books there is isn't going to happen. It just falls outside spatial and temporal horizon of what you can do.

I also feel the need to restate that since physcal qualities reset, you would never become as awesome in a lot of skills as you think you could. Martial arts, for example is as much about physical fitness and muscle memory as skill - yu are never going to get that far if your body resets.

Nevermind finding the best teachers also falls outside your event horizon.

And I still question sensibility of doing excessive harm to yourself or others. If you have any doubt of what's needed to break the loop, there's always the chance of you accidentally getting out while having done something stupid. Those stupid things also aren't entirely consequence free - you still remember them, so they still tax your psyche. Post-traumatic stress disorder, anyone?

[Tonal Architect]

PTSD wouldn't really apply here, I guess. Take a game, let's say, Fallout 3, for instance: I never went with a playthrough where I blew up megaton, but I did blow it once, to see how that would go. I also killed a few NPCs for no particular reason, and reloaded the game after that.

Most people do that, and no one visits a shrink for going postal over videogame characters.

I assume that that's how the world would feel to someone stuck in such a loop: Like a game which you may still get out of, in which people... "respawn" the day/week after. Even if you presume a good-intentioned person, they will eventually view it as so, mostly because the situation is exactly like that.

As for reading all of the world's books... Ok, granted, unless your town has this huge foreign library/bookstore, and even then, you're probably stuck with what's available nearby, so no obscure foreign books... although reading just about everything in a 200-miles radius isn't so far-fetched, and depending on the availability of stores, libraries, universities perhaps, that might just be a LOT.

[Elder Tsofu]

If you walk into one of our university libraries with the intention to "read it all" you'd walk out as an old man if at all. And I don't count ours as a large library as such. Hook up your computer to the wireless and you also get access to more scientific papers than you'd care to read that weren't physically there in the library.
Then you have the ordinary libraries.

But you'd need to be close to a decent sized town for the full effect. Now imagine yourself looping the day you were out camping in the deep forests or were on a cruise out at sea. :smalltongue:

[Tyndmyr]

It's good to remember that a lot of things still are flat-out impossible to achieve in one day, no matter how many times that day repeats itself. For example, reading all books there is isn't going to happen. It just falls outside spatial and temporal horizon of what you can do.

Why? The library of congress isn't that far from me. I'd do this.

All you need is the ability to get there in the day, and accomplish part of it. I'll read the rest later. Video games would be much more frustrating. You'd have to find someone with an appropriate save to progress in longer games.


I also feel the need to restate that since physcal qualities reset, you would never become as awesome in a lot of skills as you think you could. Martial arts, for example is as much about physical fitness and muscle memory as skill - yu are never going to get that far if your body resets.

Right. I won't become all muscular, but I will learn the moves. That's fine. If it ever breaks, I can get in better shape then. This is not a great loss. I could already do a half marathon without prior notice, if so desired.


And I still question sensibility of doing excessive harm to yourself or others. If you have any doubt of what's needed to break the loop, there's always the chance of you accidentally getting out while having done something stupid. Those stupid things also aren't entirely consequence free - you still remember them, so they still tax your psyche. Post-traumatic stress disorder, anyone?

Oh, I'd do stupid things...but I highly doubt I'd want to do harm to myself or the like. Letting all the monkeys out of the zoo? Hilarious. And while it's problematic if the loop breaks then, it's not the end of the line for me.

I feel like the internet alone could provide me with material for a very, very long time.

[Frozen_Feet]

Most people do that, and no one visits a shrink for going postal over videogame characters.


Day repeating infinitely doesn't make life a video game. When your game character gets hurt, you don't actually feel it. In this theoretical temporal loop, when you get hurt, you get hurt.

Nevermind that humans become more affectionate to things that appear more human. Game characters might come close... but you can't get closer than real humans, so I'd say you better not underestimate long-term psychological ramifications caused by their suffering.

So on and so forth. Save for the "infinitely repeating" part, you're still living a real life. If your mind stays the same through the experiences, anything that can ordinarily induce a psychological malady, should be able to do so in Groundhog day loop. You can claim you'll get desensitized to it eventually, but I'd argue that in itself is a sign you're going bonkers - because how do you propose bouncing back once the loop is broken?

Acting without care for consequence is part of many mental disorders, notably, anti-social personality disorder. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder)

[Frozen_Feet]

Most people do that, and no one visits a shrink for going postal over videogame characters.


Day repeating infinitely doesn't make life a video game. When your game character gets hurt, you don't actually feel it. In this theoretical temporal loop, when you get hurt, you get hurt.

Nevermind that humans become more affectionate to things that appear more human. Game characters might come close... but you can't get closer than real humans, so I'd say you better not underestimate long-term psychological ramifications caused by their suffering.

So on and so forth. Save for the "infinitely repeating" part, you're still living a real life. If your mind stays the same through the experiences, anything that can ordinarily induce a psychological malady, should be able to do so in Groundhog day loop. You can claim you'll get desensitized to it eventually, but I'd argue that in itself is a sign you're going bonkers - because how do you propose bouncing back once the loop is broken?

Acting without care for consequence is part of many mental disorders, notably, anti-social personality disorder. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder)

[thubby]

its only a mental illness because it requires one to ignore real and permanent consequence.
if there isn't actually consequence to ones actions, acting like there is would be warped.

[Elder Tsofu]

All actions have consequences, even short-term ones.

[Frozen_Feet]

My whole point is that there are consequences to your mind. Otherwise, you can forget about learning anything either, as your mind resets too and no knowledge persists.

Consider: what are the chances of you someday wanting to leave the loop? What are the chances of you accidentally exiting it sooner or later?

Again: temporal loop aside, your environment is as real as it gets. It's not a game. If you try and treat it as one, you'll be in for one hell of a shock once you return to normal time. For the sake of your own sanity, it's better to stray of from most extreme forms of experimentation.

[AtlanteanTroll]

I agree! It'd be too much. A looping week would be useful because you could get further and do more things that require an elaborate set-up, but even the first "reset" on a year would be awful.

Maybe not. You could easily save millions of lives.

[Metahuman1]

I'm going to do a few things I'd never have been willing to do before I break the loop. Why? Cause I Won't get in trouble for telling my boss just how brain dead and inept he really is or for cussing out the Lazy hack Co-worker that won't pull her weight for any reason and yet is never disciplined for it. That's why.

If it's a day were there will be lottery Drawings, I will make darn sure Every day I'm in the loop I buy tickets with the winning numbers to as many Lottery's as I can play before I break the loop, cause that kind of money would actually allow me to solve a lot of problems not only for myself but for a number of people close to me.

Then I can worry about getting out of the loop.

[Frozen_Feet]

Maybe not. You could easily save millions of lives.

If by "easily" you mean "by effectively living decades and decades to prepare the best out come", it not easy by any definition of the word. :smalltongue:

[AtlanteanTroll]

If by "easily" you mean "by effectively living decades and decades to prepare the best out come", it not easy by any definition of the word. :smalltongue:

Sure it is. Say you relived this year, you could easily (maybe not on the first loop) get people to shut down Fukushima.

[Fallen Angel]

PTSD wouldn't really apply here, I guess. Take a game, let's say, Fallout 3, for instance: I never went with a playthrough where I blew up megaton, but I did blow it once, to see how that would go. I also killed a few NPCs for no particular reason, and reloaded the game after that.

Most people do that, and no one visits a shrink for going postal over videogame characters.

I assume that that's how the world would feel to someone stuck in such a loop: Like a game which you may still get out of, in which people... "respawn" the day/week after. Even if you presume a good-intentioned person, they will eventually view it as so, mostly because the situation is exactly like that.

As for reading all of the world's books... Ok, granted, unless your town has this huge foreign library/bookstore, and even then, you're probably stuck with what's available nearby, so no obscure foreign books... although reading just about everything in a 200-miles radius isn't so far-fetched, and depending on the availability of stores, libraries, universities perhaps, that might just be a LOT.

Digital. (This is why I cursed the fact Borders closed down. I can't purchase a Kindle IRL in under a day. Which is why I setup my own thread they way I did. I assume sometime I'll get a package in under a day. Or it can be delivered to somewhere in under a day and I can pick it up several states over.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Digital.
Not even an eReader has every book for sale. You can't even get the original Stranger in a Strange Land on the Kindle.

[Kobold-Bard]

Digital. (This is why I cursed the fact Borders closed down. I can't purchase a Kindle IRL in under a day. Which is why I setup my own thread they way I did. I assume sometime I'll get a package in under a day. Or it can be delivered to somewhere in under a day and I can pick it up several states over.

Find out who living near you has one, then steal there's every morning?

[Joran]

Sure it is. Say you relived this year, you could easily (maybe not on the first loop) get people to shut down Fukushima.

Living in the United States... probably not. I'd give up after having to wait 11 months if I failed. How will you get people to listen to you about an upcoming tsunami? If you do succeed, you'd have to do it EVERY YEAR, which has to be wearing.

The hardest thing about a Groundhog Day loop is that it's impossible to BUILD anything. I can read and learn anything I ever wanted, but I can't write anything, because I'd constantly have to recreate it. So, I can't write the next great American novel, build a house, or do anything that takes more than a day to do. Same with curing cancers, no time for cells to grow, no time for you to see what happens with experiments.

I agree with most people. I'd try new experiences, learn new things and skills, and try to make good use of the time. First couple weeks will probably be learning to streamline the process, like Bill Murray did. Find an easy way to get a stupid amount of cash and get people to leave you alone or do what you want them to do.

P.S. I agree with Frozen_Feet. I won't go on any murdery rampages because of the psychic damage. I'll remember what I did and the looks on people's faces.

[Mutant Sheep]

I guess, if it was a day where Oots updated, making insanely accurate predictions would be fun. Same for any webcomic. :smallamused: Knowing what people are going to say could lead to so much fun!*insane crazy smile*

[AtlanteanTroll]

I guess, if it was a day where Oots updated, making insanely accurate predictions would be fun. Same for any webcomic. :smallamused: Knowing what people are going to say could lead to so much fun!*insane crazy smile*
Heck any bets would be great. Especially in a Groundhog Week/Year. Is there a year when you have both the Olympics and World Cup?

[Joran]

Heck any bets would be great. Especially in a Groundhog Week/Year. Is there a year when you have both the Olympics and World Cup?

Yes, Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup fall on the same year.

It'd probably work well as long as you keep a low profile. Otherwise Vegas or your neighborhood bookie will stop taking your bets. Or you may get a friendly visit from "local business interests".

Bookies will cancel bets if they see too much money falling on one side or another.

[thubby]

Yes, Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup fall on the same year.

It'd probably work well as long as you keep a low profile. Otherwise Vegas or your neighborhood bookie will stop taking your bets. Or you may get a friendly visit from "local business interests".

Bookies will cancel bets if they see too much money falling on one side or another.

why even bother with the illegal? win the freaking lottery. it regularly gets up in the millions.

[Whiffet]

I guess, if it was a day where Oots updated, making insanely accurate predictions would be fun. Same for any webcomic. :smallamused: Knowing what people are going to say could lead to so much fun!*insane crazy smile*

Is it bad that I think this sounds much more fun than almost anything else mentioned? :smallbiggrin:

[Joran]

why even bother with the illegal? win the freaking lottery. it regularly gets up in the millions.

The problem with the lottery is that it'll take more than a day to get your money. The drawing for the lottery is at 11 PM here, so it won't help you if you only have a day.

I think Bill Murray had it right. He robbed an armored truck.

[Douglas]

I think Bill Murray had it right. He robbed an armored truck.
It was quite an amusing trick of absolutely perfect timing, too. I wonder how many times he had to try before finding the right moment.

[CrimsonAngel]

Do everything i'd be too afraid to do if I had to face the consequences. :I Forever.

[Starwulf]

In regards to the lottery, and the groundhog loop year, if you started to win every single lottery, I'm pretty sure they'd refuse to pay you after you won like 3 in a row, and I'm sure an investigation would be begun after you won the second one for any signs of tampering. Though, as me and my wife were discussing it, we figured, memorize all the major lottery jackpots, pick the biggest one or two for yourself, then send anonymous notes to beloved friends and family, telling them to play the lottery on this date with these numbers(that or just send them the winning #'s, and tell them it must be kept a secret). That way, you don't have family pestering you for money, and you know they'll be well taken care of, so you don't feel bad moving far far away from them, plus all the winners, while concentrated in one family/group of friends, won't be easily connected all to one person, so they wouldn't feel the need to refuse to pay out the money(I'm sure an investigation would still be launched).

As for what I'd do, being that I'm married, i sadly don't think I could live out most males dreams by going out and sleeping with tons of women, simply because I'd still have the memory upon leaving the loop(not to mention, as my wife pointed out, the moment I broke it, and started speaking in a dozen different languages that I had learned over the last decade or so, she would instantly realize I'd been inside a time-loop, and the first thing she'd ask would be "Did you sleep with any other women?"). Not sure If I'd even go around murdering people I can't stand, A: On the off chance I broke the time-loop the day I committed a murder, and B: as others have pointed out, it would suck having to live with those memories for the rest of my life, even if they were never played out in the real time-line.

No, I'd probably stick to learning a dozen or so languages, reading all the classical books I've yet to read, teach myself the top 5 most useful programming languages, plus graphical art design, I'd also study a half a dozen or so major subjects that have always interested me. If I made the time-line last a few decades, i could easily make a few breakthroughs with enough study and contemplation.

I'd also catch up on my game back-log, just playing through an entire game in a straight 23 hour time period. Maybe acquire one of the competitively played games, and hone my skills to a perfectly fine-tuned edge, then compete once I left the time-line and blow away everyone with my perfect skills.

[Frozen_Feet]

You know, one potential problem with winning lotteries and other random contests: it's not guaranteed future is predetermined to that extent. Afterall, your own actions at least already cause variation. It's possible that random processes are truly random, and the lottery ends up with a different result each time.

[Tyndmyr]

You know, one potential problem with winning lotteries and other random contests: it's not guaranteed future is predetermined to that extent. Afterall, your own actions at least already cause variation. It's possible that random processes are truly random, and the lottery ends up with a different result each time.

You'll know that soon enough once the looping starts. It's highly unlikely, though, since randomness doesn't mean causeless, and it's unlikely that your actions will affect the source of entropy.

I agree that there will be mental repercussions, and eventually, a person used to living in a time loop(well, a short one, at any rate, like a day or three) will be unable to function effectively when it breaks. It may take ages for this to happen, but suddenly being reintroduced to consequences might be a bit like a misbehaved child suddenly being an adult. LOTS of wild expectations and problems.

How long that would take would likely depend on how paranoid people are of the loop breaking, and how much they disregard consequences as a result.

Edit: Also, there have been people in real life who have won the lottery multiple times. So, you could certainly get away with twice, which is not at all trivial.

[hookbill]

nice thing is going with the groundhog day "movie" setting loop (day/week/year)

the video game mentality would take hold, maybe not at first, but after seeing the person you supposedly killed walking and alive, you'd eventually become dull and the value of life would slowly go down for you. Hell you'd have to just on the fact that you'd be willing to attempt murder anyway... or you may just have a melt down finding out your not cut out for it.

I think the thing we're missing here (lotto, books, etc) is that the OP is based on GH day movie, so everthing (aside from you) would be EXACTLY the same, lotto numbers, positions of cars, people, mishaps (remember the hot sauce) so any knowledge you gained, you'd keep, anything you did to yourself, would stick, BUT anything that you influenced that day would be like a vcr tape being rewound and starting over from the beginning.. remember he woke up in bed, same pajamas, same thing on the radio, etc...

[Frozen_Feet]

You'll know that soon enough once the looping starts. It's highly unlikely, though, since randomness doesn't mean causeless, and it's unlikely that your actions will affect the source of entropy.

In the case of short loop, like the daily one in the movie, I could agree. But in case of longer ones proposed, like those lasting for a week or a year? Especially in that last case, ripple effects from your own actions will start causing changes further down the road that will be outside your ability to predict, potentially making each year radically different.

There's also the possibility that same causes can lead to several different effects (see: probabilistic theories, like Quantum mechanis). For singular events, the variations might be miniscule, but longer the loop takes, the more those little variations would add up.

[Tyndmyr]

In the case of short loop, like the daily one in the movie, I could agree. But in case of longer ones proposed, like those lasting for a week or a year? Especially in that last case, ripple effects from your own actions will start causing changes further down the road that will be outside your ability to predict, potentially making each year radically different.

There's also the possibility that same causes can lead to several different effects (see: probabilistic theories, like Quantum mechanis). For singular events, the variations might be miniscule, but longer the loop takes, the more those little variations would add up.

Possibly. Things like a random number generator are based on things like a computer, though. So, unless they ordered a different computer and you somehow changed which one they got or something oddly specific like that...the lottery numbers should be the same.

However, yes, the longer the time frame, the better the loop in general, since you get a lot more variation potential.

And the whole loop theory is based on no differences outside of you. That's going to be invariant, or we're just talking about a weird causality free immortality.

[Morph Bark]

I cannot help but wonder how "daily" a daily loop mentioned like in Groundhog Day is. I mean, if it ends for you once you die (and restarts), I'd imagine it is possible that you can keep going during your current "day" for as long as you are awake.

Thus of course giving an edge to people who can stay awake for many days in a row.

[goplayer7]

I think the movie had a scene where he was awake when he went back to the beginning again. I could be wrong... and the loop does goes for the entire day even if you are dead because there is a scene where his two co-workers identify his dead body.

[KenderWizard]

PTSD wouldn't really apply here, I guess. Take a game, let's say, Fallout 3, for instance: I never went with a playthrough where I blew up megaton, but I did blow it once, to see how that would go. I also killed a few NPCs for no particular reason, and reloaded the game after that.

Most people do that, and no one visits a shrink for going postal over videogame characters.

I assume that that's how the world would feel to someone stuck in such a loop: Like a game which you may still get out of, in which people... "respawn" the day/week after. Even if you presume a good-intentioned person, they will eventually view it as so, mostly because the situation is exactly like that.

As for reading all of the world's books... Ok, granted, unless your town has this huge foreign library/bookstore, and even then, you're probably stuck with what's available nearby, so no obscure foreign books... although reading just about everything in a 200-miles radius isn't so far-fetched, and depending on the availability of stores, libraries, universities perhaps, that might just be a LOT.

I think a lot of people wouldn't be able to go through with actually killing someone. And I think only people who wouldn't be emotionally affected in normal time would fail to be emotionally affected in loop time. Your brain wouldn't know it wasn't "real".

Also, my college library is a copyright library, so it has everything ever published in the UK and Ireland. But a lot of those books are kept in special buildings elsewhere in the city, so I might have to spend a couple of loops figuring out how to get quick access to them.



Sure it is. Say you relived this year, you could easily (maybe not on the first loop) get people to shut down Fukushima.

But you'd still go mad. I'm not suggesting an annual loop wouldn't be interesting and much more useful, I'm saying that whatever about a couple of years spend in a single day, even two years of the same year would make your brain break. Think about where you were a year ago. Think about EVERYTHING that happened between then and now. Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year, Easter, start of summer, Ramadan. ALL the days in between. Anything you won or said. Your birthday. Everyone else's birthday. Your college work, your job, your family. What if someone died in that year, of something you can't prevent? And tomorrow you wake up and ALL of that is gone. You probably wouldn't remember what you did on the new "yesterday" because it was a random day a year ago. Your stuff would be different, you'd be missing things you got since. What if you had started, or worse; ended, a relationship? If I woke up tomorrow and it was a year ago, I'd go mad. And if I got through this last year again, and it happened again, I don't even know what I'd do. But it wouldn't be devote my year to trying to prevent a disaster, because I wouldn't have time, what with trying to get the hell out of this nightmare.

[Istari]

Yes, you get a inventory you can take between loops.

For every pound you take with you, you get ten pounds of force thrown into your chest upon wakeup. Damage might happen.

So what can you do in this modified scenario?:

Hello flashdrive.

[Douglas]

I cannot help but wonder how "daily" a daily loop mentioned like in Groundhog Day is. I mean, if it ends for you once you die (and restarts), I'd imagine it is possible that you can keep going during your current "day" for as long as you are awake.

Thus of course giving an edge to people who can stay awake for many days in a row.
As I recall the reset in the movie happened whether he was awake or not, and he even pinned it down to the exact time. There's a scene where he's talking with someone late at night, having told her all about his loop, and she says something along the lines of "Aha, it just hit midnight and I'm still here with no reset!" He responds by saying the reset happens at 6am. He presumably learned this by staying up all night once and watching the clock until suddenly finding himself waking up in bed again.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Interesting idea. What if you got a Tattoo on the day of the loop? Something unmistakable. And added to it each day of the loop from the same artist. Surely he would recognize his or her work, but you personally would never be recognized. And what if you got sick? If you have to vomit first thing of the new day, do you vomit what you ate on the day before the loop started, or do you vomit what you ate on the last loop?

[Joran]

Interesting idea. What if you got a Tattoo on the day of the loop? Something unmistakable. And added to it each day of the loop from the same artist. Surely he would recognize his or her work, but you personally would never be recognized. And what if you got sick? If you have to vomit first thing of the new day, do you vomit what you ate on the day before the loop started, or do you vomit what you ate on the last loop?

Tattoos don't stick. His body resets, otherwise his suicide attempts would actually work.

Assuming you were sick, you'd vomit out what you had the day before the time loop started. Bill Murray committed suicide one time by eating a LOT OF FOOD.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Tattoos don't stick. His body resets, otherwise his suicide attempts would actually work.

Yes ... But ... If you stayed awake all night ... And are we sure it's with any bodily change? What about minor stuff?

[Niezck]

Presumably his body does change, as he has new memories and can retain muscle memory. But, yeah, obvious changes don't seem to stick. Hence no suicide.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Presumably his body does change, as he has new memories and can retain muscle memory. But, yeah, obvious changes don't seem to stick. Hence no suicide.

But muscle growth is a no go as well then?

[thubby]

Presumably his body does change, as he has new memories and can retain muscle memory. But, yeah, obvious changes don't seem to stick. Hence no suicide.

i believe the premise demands an acceptance of mind-body dualism. and muscle memory is still a mind thing

[KoboldRevenge]

(Just not go to sleep. That's how I would escape)

But also fight club. Start one with all those townfolk:smallamused:

[Mutant Sheep]

Ok, looking at the list of threads, I read this as "So I moved out of a Groundhog Day Loop".:smalltongue: What we need in this thread is for one of us to get INTO a groundhog day loop, so he can tell us everyday for the rest of his life how much it sucks/rocks.

[MBI]

Seeing this thread is rather odd, As I've been imagining what I would do in a several year/ lifetime loop lately. I think If I had the choice of how long the loop would last, I would choose somewhere starting at least ten years ago.

Then, after I figure out the nature of the time loop, I would begin to experiment.
I would do all these at least once (In no particular order):
1) Grasp onto sanity with every fibre of my being, and never let go.
2) Find ways to prevent disasters while keeping a low profile.
3) Go on the internet and "Invent" Rich Berlew's art style. Create Runescape webcomic before it's too late.
4) Create web persona known as "That Guy From the Future."
5) Leave hints about the future and see what effect that has on the timeline.
6) Flat out state future events to see what effect it has on the timeline.
7) Track down certain people on the internet (Andrew Hussie and Tim Buckley for example) and leave hints about their futures.
8) Visit websites (Like this one) and troll the hell out of the fan base.
9) Keep note of mental age.
10) Find a way to destroy 4chan for the lulz.
11) Test my theory on whether I was the one who caused Someone I once knew to become hated by many.
12) Save someone's life.
13) Determine whether the outcomes of random chance would remain constant across loops.
14) Let scientists examine me.
15) A crapload of other thing's I'm too tired to think of now.

I would NOT murder anyone (or do anything similar) as I would have no way of determining whether that loop would cease to exist after I leave.

[ORione]

I just hope this occurs on a free day. Otherwise I'd spend every single day going to the same classes over and over because this MIGHT be the day I break out of it, and it just so happens I have a test or something that I can't miss. :smalltongue:


There's no consequences. Just skive off. Maybe a couple of times bring up issues your teacher was about to present, or steal good ideas from classmates to make yourself look smart.

If it's a test, study until you are perfect, so that you'll do well when you do break out.


Visit every page on the Internet.

Every page? :smalleek:



The hardest thing about a Groundhog Day loop is that it's impossible to BUILD anything. I can read and learn anything I ever wanted, but I can't write anything, because I'd constantly have to recreate it. So, I can't write the next great American novel, build a house, or do anything that takes more than a day to do. Same with curing cancers, no time for cells to grow, no time for you to see what happens with experiments.


I agree. That would be the worst part.

Me? I think I would alternate between hedonism and self-improvement. I wouldn't kill anyone or anything, because that's just not the kind of person I want to be. I've never killed anything bigger or smarter than a spider, and that's not going to change. The worst I would do would be being a jerk to people who deserve it.

So, nothing truly Evil. Chaos, however... hoo boy. Among learning languages and piano, I would also learn how to shoplift. I would also give into urges to pour water on electronics or ram into the car in front of me at red lights.

I'd do a lot of internetting. One troubling thing is that no one else would change, so I couldn't get into extended discussions on this site, and my favorite webcomics would never update. That would be troubling. I suppose this would give me more time for older media, such as books and movies. I would read and watch so much.

I would also track everyone in my area to find out what everyone does in that day, how they interact and such. Just because. Who knows, I might be able to take advantage of it.

[Whiffet]

There's no consequences. Just skive off. Maybe a couple of times bring up issues your teacher was about to present, or steal good ideas from classmates to make yourself look smart.

If it's a test, study until you are perfect, so that you'll do well when you do break out.

My point was that if the test is on the day I'm repeating, I need to attend the class just in case the loop ends. Especially if its my awful sociology class. :smalleek: My professor firmly believes in "no excuses" and gives you a zero if you aren't there the day she gives it. Even if, say, you have a competition of some sort across the country where you represent your school or if that day happens to be a holy day for your particular religion so you have to do something else. Pretty sure that's illegal. I should maybe report it.

Anyway, that class is hard for me, and if I skipped the class and accidentally broke the loop, I don't think she would accept my excuse. :smalltongue:

[Karoht]

Learn every stock market movement of the entire day, down to the smallest detail. Pick a few stocks to micro manage and flawlessly buy and sell all day to make huge amounts of money. When I can get that to work down pat, learn a bunch of new skills, instruments, singing, dancing, etc. Karaoke every song in the book, twice.

Eventually, the loop breaks, and I leave it with a legitimately earned pile of money, and a bunch of new skills.

[Joran]

Learn every stock market movement of the entire day, down to the smallest detail. Pick a few stocks to micro manage and flawlessly buy and sell all day to make huge amounts of money. When I can get that to work down pat, learn a bunch of new skills, instruments, singing, dancing, etc. Karaoke every song in the book, twice.

Eventually, the loop breaks, and I leave it with a legitimately earned pile of money, and a bunch of new skills.

Sounds like too much work that you'd have to replicate every time. Just memorize the lottery numbers for that night and then find some time to buy a ticket. Still legitimate without all of the effort.

[Karoht]

Sounds like too much work that you'd have to replicate every time. Just memorize the lottery numbers for that night and then find some time to buy a ticket. Still legitimate without all of the effort.Oooh, even better. Thanks for the tip.

[Tyndmyr]

Honestly, if it ever breaks, now I'm a person with ludicrously complete knowledge and some very well developed skills. I feel like money isn't going to be an issue.

[Asta Kask]

Every page? :smalleek:

Every damn one of them. Even the darkest, most horrible ones that I can't even mention here because I'll be banned from the forums evermore if I did. Even those.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Learn to cook everything.

[Traab]

I dunno what id do. Id likely try to learn everything. Going the chaotic evil route might be a bad thing though, getting into that sort of habit cant end well, assuming you ever get out of the loops. If your first response to any scenario afterwards is chaotic evil, you would probably be shot quickly. Id probably do the seduction route though. Find every attractive girl in range, figure out what makes them tick, and see if I can come up with ways to make them want to sleep with me in a single day. By the time im done with that, id probably be the single greatest cassanova to ever exist.

I might go for learning to play every instrument, learning languages, learn various trades, etc etc etc. All of which would come in handy after escaping the loop. Especially the last two. Imagine being able to get hired on as a translator for just about any group of people, or being able to work at any trade skill job. You would never have to worry about employment again. The music would be a handy way of relaxing, and impressing people. Plus, ive always wanted to go to a chinese buffet and talk to the wait staff. :p

Id also try to find out any loopholes. I mean, what happens if im flying? Do the time zones changing effect when time resets for me? Or do I always get the same say, 6 am-12am schedule for my starting time frame? Unless you are like Phil and stuck in a single town, the world is your oyster. I mean, you can take a plane to any of the united states and spend the day exploring those once you run out of local stuff to do. Then do the same for other countries. You would only have so much time to explore the further away you go, but still, there is way more than a single town to check out. You could spend hundreds of years living the same day and never have the same day twice. Just skip town as soon as you wake up and head in a different direction.

*EDIT* For those talking about longer than a single day loop, oh man, I just recalled a naruto fanfic story i read called chunin exam day. Basically naruto wakes up and its the first day of the exams. If he fails at any stage, the loop resets. However, the best part loop wise is the 1 month gap between the second and third round of the exam. Imagine having a free month to do whatever you want in the real world? The only down side is spending that first week or so making sure you fulfill the requirements for things not resetting. He had the advantage of shadow clones of course, so he was able to do insane stuff, like day 1, he could trick the hokage into giving him the uchiha district, then remodel the entire damn thing in that first day due to his thousands of clones, and due to his repeats he knows everything about electrical work, carpentry, plumbing, etc.

Anyways, back to the topic, having more than a day would be great, but it would also impose limits on your behavior. Go on a mass murdering crime wave, and if you didnt suicide at the end you would spend your remaining time in lockup before the reset. Same for any other crimes you try to pull off. On the other hand, it would also give you a ton of leeway on producing stuff. Take the comment on the great american novel. You could easily do that with a month. Even a week would be enough time to write the entire thing by memory. It would make it easier to learn new things as well, because im sure that a part of your single day repeat would be taken up by convincing the teacher that you know what you already know before getting into the lesson. Although I guess you could go the Phil route and toss a wad of cash at the teacher to make him/her drop everything and just start up where you say to.

[hydroplatypus]

I would probably fool around on internet for a few months, then read large amounts of books, watch everything ever made, then go horribly horribly insane. Honestly if the loop goes for long enough then I don't think there is any way to avoid insanity. That being said, in the pre-insanity era I would not be evil, as I couldn't live with myself.

Lets see, other random ideas for stuff to do for a 1 day loop
1. see how people react to me doing entirely random but legal things. Ex. walk on my hands all day and see what people say.
2. hack everything in existance (this would be really far into the loop) just for the lulz
3. see how large an object I can build in 1 day

For a yearlong loop
1. after all the already mentioned stuff, I would master nanotechnology, and mind uploading, so I could get Virtual Reality to actually do cool stuff.
2. Get other scientific advancements working
3. If it turns out to be possible get teleportation/FTL and find aliens by brute force searching every solar system out there
4. Get magitech by principle of advanced tech=magic to those who don't understand it
4.a. see how people react to this

[Joran]

Take the comment on the great american novel. You could easily do that with a month. Even a week would be enough time to write the entire thing by memory.

I can think of few things as tedious as writing out something that you've already written, especially something as long as a novel. Even assuming perfect recall, it's going to take hours if not days to do each time. Having to do it 50, 100, 1000 times sounds like a superb form of torture.

[Ricky S]

What I have always wondered was what would you do if you had a finite number of loops but there was a loop everyday for the rest of your life? You would have so much time and could concievably kill yourself if you wanted to. Do you think you would be able to live through it all without going insane? Would you try and make each day perfect before the new loop started? For the purpose of this say you have 30 loops before you get to a new day.

[onthetown]

Call the news to see if the groundhog saw its shadow?

Seriously, I don't understand this thread. Is this like a "what would you do if you had forever" thing?

Edit:


Learn to cook everything.

Cook ALL the things!

[Traab]

What I have always wondered was what would you do if you had a finite number of loops but there was a loop everyday for the rest of your life? You would have so much time and could concievably kill yourself if you wanted to. Do you think you would be able to live through it all without going insane? Would you try and make each day perfect before the new loop started? For the purpose of this say you have 30 loops before you get to a new day.

Now thats interesting. I think I would work on perfecting the outcome of the day when it mattered, but for most normal days? Id probably setup a schedule where for 28 of them id spend it elsewhere studying something until it was mastered, then moving on to the next thing. Then id run the 30th cycle like normal and move on to the next one. First day of course is just to see whats happening this morning. But then, my life is pretty open, schedule wise, so I wouldnt have 12 hours of stuff I need to do to avoid trouble. Im honestly not sure how long I could do this for without going insane. Id probably be very detached emotionally from everyone around me, since, for gods sake, I have to repeat the same interactions endlessly, and manipulating them would only be interesting for so long.

And onthetown, this isnt, "what if you had forever." Its, "What if you were stuck repeating the exact same day forever?" Nothing you do matters because when you wake up, its that same morning again and everything is reset. You couldnt even manage to get a bruce lee build because you wake up that morning physically the same as the day before. You can learn things, gain skills, things like that, but why? On the hope that maybe someday the loop will break and you can unleash your master of every skill self on the world?