Comedian/author John Hodgman posed that question in a rerun episode of my favorite program, National Public Radio's This American Life. (OK, enough with the links already, but these will get you going. The main one is "episode," because it takes you to the actual presentation of this question.)
So, which would you choose? Take a moment to decide. …
If you follow the typical trajectory, Hodgman explains, you come up with an answer very quickly. Then, almost immediately, you start explaining why—either in your head, if you're reading this by yourself, or to others, if you're discussing the question. Next, you very likely will begin thinking of all the reasons you should choose the other superpower. And, ultimately, you very likely will switch.
Hodgman illustrated with a taped man-on-the-street conversation. The guy followed the "typical" scenario to the T.
How fast? What about your briefcase?
A few caveats or, more precisely, answers to questions Hodgman gets all the time: If you choose to fly, you can travel 1,000 miles per hour, but you can only carry in flight what you can carry now while you walk around. If you choose invisibility, the clothes you are wearing turn invisible, but anything you carry will be visible, and you still make the same sounds you make when you're visible.
Hodgman's piece started out funny. That's because grownups talking about and choosing superpowers is funny.
But as I anticipated—because, I hate to admit it, this wasn't the first time I'd ever thought about the fly-vs.-invisibility conundrum—the conversation turned serious.
More background: According to thousands of informal interviews, the majority of men choose flying, and the majority of women choose invisibility.
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And Hodgman's conclusion, with which I wholeheartedly concur: Choosing invisibility would be the most dangerous. To your soul.
More than idle speculation
Invisibility is inherently tempting. If you could be invisible, you truly could find out what you're like when no one is watching. It's also potentially dispiriting. If you're invisible, you might find out what people say about you when you're not around.
I tried this question on my wife, Joanna, and our friends Marc and Vicki. Within a couple of minutes and without my prompting, the conversation turned to the dark side of invisibility. The temptation. The potential for harm—to others and to ourselves.
We decided, given the choice, we'd prefer flying. And besides, in Dallas traffic, that certainly has its up sides.
Ask away …
So, go ahead and try this question on your friends or Bible study class. Don't push the conversation. Just see where it leads. And you may discover an opportunity to talk about temptation, human nature, sin and playing it "safe." Like flying 1,000 miles per hour without a helmet.
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