What would you do if you were the last person on the planet?

[Guest]

Just had a random thought today.

What would you do if you woke up and every person on Earth (including the ISS), except you, magically disappeared?

Well, I'd explore the heck out of this planet, scavenging things.

What would you do?

[ZedNova]

I'd go to where the supercomputer Titan is located, install KSP on it and enjoy 20k part ships at 4k 144fps.

(Yes, i know what bottlenecks and chip architecture is, and that KSP wouldn't work on it...lemme have some fun pls)

Edited November 1, 2015 by ZedNova

[Superfluous J]

First, I'd move somewhere where you can grow crops year-round. I'd then raid the local library for books on farming and the local stores for canned goods to keep me going until the crops became sustainable.

Once I knew I'd be able to survive indefinitely, I'd learn how to fly (from books), go to the local airport, and repeatedly take planes into the sky just to jump out and skydive back to the ground. hen I'd base jump off of all the nearby tall buildings and bridges. Eventually, I'd take a road trip to the grand canyon in a convertable, and drive off the side to see if I can "base jump" that.

I don't know what I'd do for the 2nd half of the year, or for the rest of my life, but "whatever I want" would be high on the list.

[Thomas988]

As much fun as I would love to have, getting a sustainable and reliable food and water source would be my first priority. Like what 5thHorseman said, I'd get a farm and learn how to do farm stuff. I'm sure I'd find a good place to get drinkable water (famous last words, am I right?), like a well.

Then I would just travel. I'd drive all over the US and perhaps fly to other countries. I would make to sure to break into locations that would otherwise be inaccessible to a normal person, including Area 51, the White House, NASA's space centers, NSA headquarters, yadda yadda yadda.

[GluttonyReaper]

I'd probably just, y'know, die.

[Dispatcher]

Take up boating, travel and fishing, from any number of suddenly available yachts.

[HoloYolo]

Firstly, I'd mourn my family. I just lost them, so I would be extremely depressed. I then would figure out how to drive, and then drive to Florida. I'd learn to cook and fish, and try to survive as long as I can really.

[pTrevTrevs]

I would find the equipment used for cloning animals and stuff and try to clone myself, or maybe use it to create an artificial human (not a clone of me) so I can repopulate the earth. Also I would declare myself ruler of the world and take up residence in the White House. I would begin a collection of vintage aircraft and drive around in a tank, since I could get gas for free, the crappy mileage wouldn't matter. Once I had a significant population going from cloning, I would try and get things running again that I would need to restore the world to its former glory, like oil rigs, roads, radio towers, etc.

I seem to be the only smart person here, everyone else just wants to play KSP on a supercomputer or equally stupid stuff.

[Nookos]

Always fun to think about the amount of goods and freedom available all at once

However I m pretty sure in reality I would enjoy travelling with all the gadget and luxury I can find for about 2 months before killing myself as life would become even more pointless than it already is Fun fun fun

Did that question pop up after watching the tv show the last man on earth? I like his idea of going for groceries in a B2

[Dispatcher]

...I seem to be the only smart person here, everyone else just wants to play KSP on a supercomputer or equally stupid stuff.

Oh, there are a few non-trivial responses posted. But honestly, the entire premise at the start of the thread is fairly unlikely. For those who are more serious about the subject, I wouldn't be surprised if there were forums devoted to the topic.

[Fluburtur]

Since I live in France I would live on top of the Eiffel tower and wander in Paris to gather stuff, then I would find a car to go where I actually live and I guess I would make a big pillow fort somewhere. Since stores could be full of canned food and water I would be fine.

[Beowolf]

I would find the equipment used for cloning animals and stuff and try to clone myself, or maybe use it to create an artificial human (not a clone of me) so I can repopulate the earth.

Um, I fear you're hugely underestimating that amount of skilled labor that goes into such a bleeding-edge process. We aren't talking about a single machine, like a 3D printer. Cloning happens in a cellular biology lab, designed to be staffed with half a dozen Ph.Ds. None of those machines were designed with cloning in-mind; each does one tiny piece of an overall process that has hundreds of steps. There isn't any "How To Clone: Quick-Start Guide" lying around.

Unless you already hold a Ph.D. in either cellular biology or biochemistry, you won't even have the vocabulary to read their notes. Even an Einstein-level genius from some other field would spend years studying before he was ready to try cloning a mouse.

... I would begin a collection of vintage aircraft and drive around in a tank, since I could get gas for free, the crappy mileage wouldn't matter.

Sounds like great fun, but wear your parachute, and stay over land. Gasoline and avgas will start going bad within a year. You'll lose a few of those lovely single-engine fighters to gummed-up engines. Diesel/kerosene/jet fuel will probably last for decades, long as you're careful about filtering and water buildup.

- - - Updated - - -

I suppose I'd spend much of my remaining time travelling, and looking for other survivors. After all, I don't know I'm the last person. All I know is I'm the last one around here. There's a Cessna Caravan at KPNE, 10 miles away. I'd fly it around, checking smoke plumes and such for other people, until I found a larger twin-engine turboprop seaplane, and claim that as my semi-permanent home.

In theory, anyway. Reality would probably be that, between the loss of my beloved family and the pain I'll be in once all my meds run out (I'm disabled and can barely walk) I'd eat a shotgun shell some bad night.

Let's not do this, okay?

[Rath]

Steal DARPAs man amplifier, learn to fly planes from books, fly to a Russian military base, steal their old half-track APC that can run on wood. Then, find the warmest place that I can fin that is run o geothermal/wind/solar for power for a few decades. Find the biggest computer I can fit in my plane along with thousands of microsd cards, try to download the entirety of the KSP forum/videos/Reddit and some other stuff before it crashes.

Be happy I got out of Trig class.

- - - Updated - - -

Or try to find a prototype of a hyper-automated farm. (They are like a normal circular farm except the boom not only waters the plants, but also plants seeds, gathers seeds, harvests and variates the amount of water based on the weather and does basic preperation.)

[Bill Phil]

No point in surviving if the rest of the species is dead. Can't procreate, can't continue...

Unless...

I could upload myself to the network...

But that's not possible, yet.

Of course I would probably make hundreds of time capsules. Each filled with the human genome and up-to-date encyclopedias, plus pictures and music...

[StrandedonEarth]

Go look for explosives so I could amuse myself by blowing stuff up. Even better if I could find a nuke. And if I happened to blow myself up in the process, oh well. If I'm definitely the last person alive, then no great loss.

Explosions would also attract other survivors in the area.

[Robotengineer]

I'd go to Houston, contact the crew on the ISS tell them what happened and request they come down (safely). Then I would basically play KSP IRL.

Edit: :facepalm: Note to self, read the OP next time.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Robotengineer

[maltesh]

I'd go to where the supercomputer Titan is located, install KSP on it and enjoy 20k part ships at 4k 144fps.

(Yes, i know what bottlenecks and chip architecture is, and that KSP wouldn't work on it...lemme have some fun pls)

Better get there quickly. The power grid will likely go down within the week. Also, the roads are a mess.

[Van Disaster]

Probably get progressively more depressed as the functional apparatus of the entire world shut down, find a working aircraft and fly around until I managed to crash it.

[r4pt0r]

What is life without others to share it with? Were I the last person alive, I think eventual suicide is the only real option.

[Starwhip]

Of course I would probably make hundreds of time capsules. Each filled with the human genome and up-to-date encyclopedias, plus pictures and music...

What is life without others to share it with? Were I the last person alive, I think eventual suicide is the only real option.

Both of these. I think honestly, I would devote some of the rest of my days to somehow saving bits of our culture, and then eventually just end it all. I wouldn't see much of a point in life either if I was the last one left.

[Guest]

Better get there quickly. The power grid will likely go down within the week. Also, the roads are a mess.

They already are.

[Brethern]

I'd be doing exactly what I'm doing now, living each day as it comes.

[Flymetothemun]

Set up a farm with a really big house strategically located near a rail hub. Plant the crops, make sure they're stable, and travel the country and get whatever I want by rail. Eat mostly out of cans until they run out and eat what's from my farm, either fresh, canned, or in the root cellar. Go to Atlantic City, New Jersey, rip out the Boardwalk Auditorium organ while simultaneously repairing the infrastructure of it, and install it in said big house.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Flymetothemun

[RainDreamer]

Secure means of survival first, then when I can live comfortably, research and develop AI and robotics. I would be the ruler of a new world and leave behind robots that worship me as a deity later.

[Van Disaster]

What might be a more interesting thought experiment is "what would you do if you were alone on Earth for a month".