One Question, Three Answers

daniel on Nov 5th 2006

I. Preamble

This is a survey-type thing. The basic concept is simple: I’m asking questions that require answers in groups of three. If the questions don’t lend themselves to the triad, as most of them will not, I ask you to persevere anyhow. Note that this is not a multiple choice quiz, nor are there any “right” answers per se. Intead, much like most of life, there are either smart answers, or stupid answers. In any case, I hope you enjoy these questions, and more than that, I hope they provide you some insight into yourself, and give you something to chew on.

II. Questions

Name the three greatest figures in all of human history:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three who have done the most harm:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three greatest known religious figures:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three greatest politicians of the twentieth century:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three greatest pop-culture figures or groups of the last seventy years:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three most important organisations in operation today:
1.
2.
3.

Name your three favourite classical composers (define what classical means for yourself):
1.
2.
3.

Name the three top tragedies of history, modern or ancient:
1.
2.
3.

Name three movies that resonated with you (not movies you simply enjoyed):
1.
2.
3.

Name three books you consider must-reads:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three philosophers you consider most influential on today’s society (religious figures included):
1.
2.
3.

Name the three most fundimental human rights:
1.
2.
3.

Name three areas of the world you would least like to live (excluding uninhabitable areas such as Antartica and the Sahara):
1.
2.
3.

Name three wars, other than the two World Wars, you see as world-changing:
1.
2.
3.

Name the three greatest inventions of all time:
1.
2.
3.

Name three conveniences without which your life as you know it would change (excluding electricity, public utilities, and automobiles):
1.
2.
3.

Name the three most important people in your life (human, alive, and not religious figures):
1.
2.
3.

Name three historical figures you’d like to meet in person (excluding Jesus and Einstein):
1.
2.
3.

Name three people you consider to be the funniest people alive:
1.
2.
3.

If you had absolute power for three days over the entire US governmental structure, what three things would you change or modify:
1.
2.
3.

Name your three most profound experiences:
1.
2.
3.

Name three philosophies that you despise:
1.
2.
3.

III: Postscript

Be honest.

Filed in main | 16 responses so far

16 Responses to “One Question, Three Answers”

  1. # Laurson 06 Nov 2006 at 12:13 am

    LIKE I have time to do this :P

    But I’ll copy and paste it into a wooooord document and one day get to it..

  2. # Rogeron 06 Nov 2006 at 7:43 am

    I don’t keep up with…events…past or present, so I don’t know the answers to most of those questions though they are subjective.

    Also, you don’t normally answer questions, so why should we?

  3. # danielon 06 Nov 2006 at 7:46 am

    That’s one way to live, I suppose.

    Wait, what, I don’t answer questions?

    d

  4. # Rogeron 07 Nov 2006 at 9:15 am

    It’s not that I don’t intentionally keep up with events. It just seems I have other things to do most of the time. I’ve also notices that I live a more happy, stress-free life than those of my friends who keep up with current events.

  5. # ::K::on 09 Nov 2006 at 9:25 am

    i am in love with your survey. and i will respond some time in the next two weeks, on the condition that that there are at least three other filled-out surveys posted as responses, one of them being yours.

  6. # danielon 09 Nov 2006 at 9:34 am

    Kevin, I wrote this survey by asking myself this question: “What are some questions about history and culture I can’t answer?” It turned out that needed three answers to make the question difficult; I’ve spent some time on this each day for the last week, but it turns out every time I do, I change at least one of my answers due to reading about something new and different. It’s frustratingly rewarding.

    d

  7. # danielon 09 Nov 2006 at 9:35 am

    I would be very interested in your answers.

    d

  8. # links for 2006-11-09 | Naked & Ashamedon 09 Nov 2006 at 10:33 am

    [...] One Question, Three Answers The best historical/cultural/religious survey ever written by me. (tags: survey history religion culture)    [...]

  9. # danielon 10 Nov 2006 at 5:53 pm

    Here you all go:

    Name the three greatest figures in all of human history:
    1. Emperor Pacal of the Mayans
    2. Caesar Augustus
    3. Alexander the Great (it’s in his name, duh)

    Name the three who have done the most harm:
    1. Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Victor (Wilhelm II of Germany)
    2. Josef Stalin
    3. Adolph Hitler

    Name the three greatest known religious figures:
    1. Jesus
    2. Mohamed
    3. Buddha

    Name the three greatest politicians of the twentieth century:
    1. Winston Churchill
    2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
    3. John George Diefenbaker (this man was absolutely fascinating, and an amazing orator)

    Name the three greatest pop-culture figures or groups of the last seventy years:
    1. The Beatles
    2. Nirvana
    3. Radiohead

    Name the three most important organisations in operation today:
    1. The Federal Government of the United States
    2. The United Nations
    3. NATO

    Name your three favourite classical composers (define what classical means for yourself):
    1. Modest Mussorgsky
    2. Steve Reich
    3. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Name the three top tragedies of history, modern or ancient:
    1. The Sack of Rome
    2. The Holocaust
    3. The Great Leap Forward

    Name three movies that resonated with you (not movies you simply enjoyed):
    1. Fight Club
    2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    3. Citizen Kane

    Name three books you consider must-reads:
    1. The Bible
    2. The Malazan Book of the Fallen [series]
    3. The Prince of Nothing [series]

    Name the three philosophers you consider most influential on today’s society (religious figures included):
    1. Nietzsche
    2. Kant
    3. Sartre

    Name the three most fundamental human rights:
    1. Right to Free Speech
    2. Right to Privacy
    3. Right to Free Assembly

    Name three areas of the world you would least like to live (excluding uninhabitable areas such as Antarctica and the Sahara):
    1. Sudan
    2. North Korea
    3. Iraq

    Name three wars, other than the two World Wars, you see as world-changing:
    1. Korean War
    2. United States Civil War
    3.

    Name the three greatest inventions of all time:
    1. Electricity
    2. The printing press
    3. The internet

    Name three conveniences without which your life as you know it would change (excluding electricity, public utilities, and automobiles):
    1. The internet
    2. Refrigeration
    3. MP3s

    Name the three most important people in your life (human, alive, and not religious figures):
    1. My mother
    2. Laura
    3. Nick

    Name three historical figures you’d like to meet in person (excluding Jesus and Einstein):
    1. Julius Caesar
    2. Queen Victoria
    3. Abraham

    Name three people you consider to be the funniest people alive:
    1. Paul Merton
    2. Julian Clary
    3. Ross Noble

    If you had absolute power for three days over the entire US governmental structure, what three things would you change or modify:
    1. Change the senate from direct vote to state vote.
    2. Extend presidential and legislative terms to 7 years.
    3. Legislate the right to privacy, including manditory judicial oversight of wiretaps by anonymous judicial panel.

    Name your three most profound experiences:
    1. Becoming a Christian.
    2. Staying in Florida when I was ten.
    3. Moving out of my parent’s house.

    Name three philosophies that you despise:
    1. Marxism
    2. Fundimentalism
    3. Fascism

  10. # Geof F. Morrison 10 Nov 2006 at 6:57 pm

    Your third war should have been the French Revolution—it showed that a marginally-free people could overthrow a monarch. I think the French Revolution did more to end traditional monarchies in Europe than anything else.

  11. # danielon 10 Nov 2006 at 10:14 pm

    I didn’t even notice that I hadn’t thought up a third one for that. Darnit! I’m not so sure I agree with the two I picked in any case :)

    d

  12. # Chris Hubbson 11 Nov 2006 at 10:26 am

    Your changes to the US government, at least 1 and 2, are right on. #3 is a bit reactionary, methinks, but then, that’s OK.

  13. # danielon 11 Nov 2006 at 10:30 am

    Thanks :) I think the first two issues have been brewing for a long time, in that states rights are severely under-represented on a federal level, and that four year terms give too little time to actual governance while wrapping it in the cloak of re-election.

    As for number three, it’s reactionary, but I think it covers a lot of forward-looking ground.

    d

  14. # Rogeron 11 Nov 2006 at 1:43 pm

    If I don’t stop reading this post and its comments, I’m going to have to try to answer. Then my ignorance will finally be exposed to all. :(

  15. # Chris Hubbson 12 Nov 2006 at 5:25 pm

    You’re aware, of course, that the States originally did elect the senators? Sadly, they messed that up with a constitutional amendment back a century or so ago. I think I’d be interested in a seven-year term as long as it was a single term. Hmmm… bears thinking about.

  16. # links for 2006-11-11 | GFMorris.comon 16 Jul 2010 at 10:47 pm

    [...] One Question, Three Answers | Naked & Ashamed (tags: gfmorris_comment) [...]