Which minor power?

[iaeolan]

Post you reasons for which one you voted for!
Classic question, if you were given the 'power' of your choice, and lets pretend the means of getting it are not all powerful, which would you choose? Let us remember that many things would not be practical in everyday life. One would not expect to do battle with other 'super beings' or whatnot.

Here are what they do:
Telekinesis - The ability to manipulate physical objects with thought. Think of it as mental projections of your hands with twice the average strength. Limited to line of sight. Requires concentration which is variable to the size of the force you are trying to exert. When exerting a force, all bodily muscles contract with a variable force to the load, therefore causes physical fatigue.

Ability to fly - You hover at will and can go in any direction you please. Controlled mentally, but does not cause mental strain or distract from other thoughts, yet does cause fatigue after extended use. Same basic effects as walking or running, with the same side effects (tiredness and soreness over time, repetitive use increases stamina, etc). Top speed of 30 mph (~50 km/h) as a sprint. Height confines are simply that of your own capacity. (Would not want to fly to high for lack of oxegen or too long to high for risk of falling from fatigue)

Read surface thoughts - Allows you to concentrate on a target and read their surface thoughts. You can not probe deeper, manipulate, or project thoughts onto target. Requires the concentration of reading a book or watching a television program. Can read thoughts of 'intelligent' animals, but not nessisarily communicate or understand what it is they are thinking.

Telepathic Communication - Allows you to think of a being you have encountered before and project a voice to that being. If that being then concentrates on a return message, it is conveyed to you. Does not convey actual thoughts, but simply a voice, therefore someone who does not speak your language or is not human may not understand what you are trying to communicate.

Natural Healing - Your body heals wounds and recovers from illness twice as fast as normal. Does not regenerate tissue, but does increase the effectiveness, longevity, and durability of body tissue.

Peak Physique - Increases you athletic ability to that just below the top atheletes of today. This includes strength, speed, and endurance. One retains their original appearance.

That is all I care to think of at the moment which are not overly absurd (like mind control or shapeshifting).
Feel free to post what others you would find more useful. Nothing crazy and please try to be fair and balance it.

 

[Luciola]

I've actually had this discussion over lunch before and my answer remains the same, Telekinesis. Of the ones you listed I think that it would be the most useful / versitile. I make the argument that you could use it to fly if you had to, but speed and mobility would be severly limited of course.

 

[Yally]

I choose flight, simply because I already have 6. I only want it for the showey-effect. It would also be usable in many unique ways if you think about it.

 

[iaeolan]

I've actually had this discussion over lunch before and my answer remains the same, Telekinesis. Of the ones you listed I think that it would be the most useful / vesitile. I make the argument that you could use it to fly if you had to, but speed and mobility would be severly limited of course.

I myself favor telekinesis and flying. Whilst telek combines increased strength with that of flying (lift yourself up w/ your mind), it would come at a cost of concentration and fatigue. One can surely hold half of their body weight for a fair amount of time when you fatigue throughout your entire body instead of just your arms (from lifting) or legs (from carrying), the main thing which detours me from it is the concentration involved. One would have to actively think about what they are doing while flying and experiencing this continuous fatigue.

This is why I choose flying.

 

[Bernat]

My vote goes to Natural Healing. I always liked Wolverine, Iksars and Trolls (of any kind). Of course it's not regeneration, but similar .

 

[Foma]

For all the married folks in particular; for all men in general: Read Surface Thoughts. Useful, sure, and not too unrealistic. I mean, nobody can truly *understand* a woman, but at least you can make a stab at it with this.
-------
-Married 20 years

 

[Garluk]

For all the married folks in particular; for all men in general: Read Surface Thoughts. Useful, sure, and not too unrealistic. I mean, nobody can truly *understand* a woman, but at least you can make a stab at it with this.
-------
-Married 20 years

One of my all-time favorite movie lines comes from "As Good as it Gets".

Fawning Female Fan: How do you write your female characters so well?
Famous Author played by Jack Nicholson: I just think like a man then take away reason and personal responsibility.

 

[Wiz]

For all the married folks in particular; for all men in general: Read Surface Thoughts. Useful, sure, and not too unrealistic. I mean, nobody can truly *understand* a woman, but at least you can make a stab at it with this.
-------
-Married 20 years

I have no issues understanding women. This clichè is really stupid.

 

[Nurgock]

No offense, but I think every man has issues understanding women, infact I think women have issues understanding other women. Then again some guys dont even understand themselves.

 

[keliab]

Out of all those listed I am just sold on "Read Surface Thoughts". Now I guess I am bias due to my current job, but nevertheless it would be the most useful.

Consider the posibilites it could offer. Simply buying a car for instance. You would be able to see what the salesman is thinking and might even be able to see the lowest price and save money or by-pass the haggling.

In law enforcement ... or on the other side. Hell for that matter consider gambling / poker.

Could dating be any wasier? :lol:

Who needs to fly, move things around with their mind, or even be in top physical strenght if you have the power of knowledge. In the right hands with the right mind, you would be able to make people so respect and awe you they would move those objects, pay for the airline tickets, or beat up that silly bastard trying to mug you.

Just my 2 bits.

Keliab

 

[Foonie]

No offense, but I think every man has issues understanding women, infact I think women have issues understanding other women. Then again some guys dont even understand themselves.

I have no issues understanding women. This clichè is really stupid.

'nuf said

 

[Wiz]

No offense, but I think every man has issues understanding women, infact I think women have issues understanding other women. Then again some guys dont even understand themselves.

Or maybe you should stop projecting your inadequacies on everyone else. :hug:

 

[rab]

I'd like a tail.

 

[Wiz]

I'd like a tail.

Furry.

 

[rab]

If I wanted to fly, I could get on an airplane.

 

[iaeolan]

Out of all those listed I am just sold on "Read Surface Thoughts". Now I guess I am bias due to my current job, but nevertheless it would be the most useful.

Consider the posibilites it could offer. Simply buying a car for instance. You would be able to see what the salesman is thinking and might even be able to see the lowest price and save money or by-pass the haggling.

In law enforcement ... or on the other side. Hell for that matter consider gambling / poker.

Could dating be any wasier? :lol:

Who needs to fly, move things around with their mind, or even be in top physical strenght if you have the power of knowledge. In the right hands with the right mind, you would be able to make people so respect and awe you they would move those objects, pay for the airline tickets, or beat up that silly bastard trying to mug you.

Just my 2 bits.

Keliab

Just to clear things up... dealerships buy cars at certain prices, and theyalso fix up used cars and add in the prices there. They also add on a minimum profit, so basically you would still pay a decent amount for a car. GM's employee pricing is pretty low already.

Would be nice in law enforcement, but without any solid evidence, it's pretty worthless in court.

 

[keliab]

Would be nice in law enforcement, but without any solid evidence, it's pretty worthless in court.

You do not always need proof. Convictions are easier with no proof and a plea then with proof and the suspect saying "I didn't do it". With the simple thought of "How can I get out of this?" going through their heads, I would know to dig deeper in an investigation. If I give specifics I make bad criminals harder to catch so I won't. But let me tell you that you do NOT need proof with a confession of guilt.

"Proof is best left in the bottle."

Keliab

 

[iaeolan]

I'd have to say that would work for the retarded criminals, but noone who has any brains.

 

[rab]

retarded criminals

Kind of redundant.

 

[Puella]

I'm at a toss up between read surface thoughts and telepathic comunication, but I think I'm gonna have to come down with telepathic comunication.

This would be great, especially not requiring eye-contact or line of sight. If it required too much concentration then it would be kind of annoying, but think of something like the Lady of the woods in the fellowship of the ring did with the fellowship (I personally thought the movie makers did a great job of conveying this).

Being able to project another voice into a persons mind while saying or doing something else entirely would be pretty sweet. But, once again, if the concentration required were too much this ability would be limited to times when you were doing nothing else.