this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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Would you curiosity win? Or would the fear of death win?

spoilerIf you've watched Avatar, I'm talking about city like Ba Sing Se, but IRL.

top 47 comments
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[–] 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 12 hours ago

Nice try, raider. I'm staying in the vault.

[–] orize@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 12 hours ago

I think there are too many factors to account for to give a good answer.

But realistically: If the walled city was stable (relative to what I knowz I can only compare things to what I know and have experienced) and my life was alright or better then or course I would stay. If I had kids in that city I would probably stay.

If it was a shitty life inside those walls, of course I would find a way to stealthily leave.

[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 13 points 9 hours ago (2 children)
[–] randomcruft@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 9 hours ago

I thought the same thing!!

[–] ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 hours ago

Yeah, had the same thought. Attacking on Titan, Eren vibe.

[–] Freshparsnip@lemm.ee 12 points 12 hours ago

I'd suspect there's something I'm not being told but I wouldn't be brave enough to find out

[–] TK420@lemmy.world 11 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It’s called New Jersey since those people can’t pump their own gas, they can’t venture into the rest of America haha.

[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, they could. They would just have to take a bus lol

[–] TK420@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

That’s funny

[–] anendlessmarch@reddthat.com 9 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Honestly, no. I’m a creature of comfort. And with time I’ve come to believe that ignorance truly is bliss. Less you know, happier you are.

[–] HexadecimalSky@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Same, I've learned the hard way ignorance is bliss. If I am content I wouldn't try. What's the saying "As long as someone has hope, they have everything to lose" or something.

[–] wanderwisley@lemm.ee 8 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Depends on if the colossal Titan and armored Titan breaks through the wall. And I become radicalized at the sight of my mother being eaten that forces me to bring about the downfall of all humanity.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 hours ago

"I want to kill all titans!"

ended up trying to annihilate most of humanity

[–] sga@lemmings.world 2 points 5 hours ago

*80% of humanity

[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io 7 points 11 hours ago

I'm not moving out of my Fallout Vault, unless Overseer approves or Water Chip fails.

[–] ShadowRam@fedia.io 7 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

depends on how difficult it is to leave?

If you look at space.

We are on a walled sphere, and my entire life I've been told I can't survive in space.

Would I visit space? Sure.. but I can't get there.

[–] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 2 points 9 hours ago

"walled sphere"...

Right, right...

Ice wall around the flat circle maybe... But I've been told I can't find out anyway, too dangerous.

[–] NABDad@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago

Shit. There are no walls keeping me in, and no one is telling me the world outside is dangerous, but I barely ever leave anyway. When I do leave, it's only to a small handful of relatively close places where I feel comfortable.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

I’d probably go insane from living around that many humans. Normal cities are awful for me, I can’t imagine being in one I can never leave.

[–] MTK@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago

Depends on how small or hard/easy life is there. I would argue that there is a sweet spot where if life is just hard enough to keep you busy but comfortable enough to keep you satisfied, most would never care. Too hard and there will be those who would take the risk, too comfortable and there would be those who would seek it out.

Personally if I lived my exact same life but in that city, I would go out at least once.

[–] Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world 5 points 12 hours ago

All it takes is for leadership to slip up one time to start questioning everything else they told you. Like learning the tooth fairy doesn't exist, casting doubt on the easter bunny and Santa Claus - except there's incentives for belief. Would I go on with the charade while harbouring doubts? Escape entirely? Depends.

At the very least I'd carve a glory hole in the wall.

[–] 667@lemmy.radio 5 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

This is the plot of The Village by M Night Shyamalan. Good movie.

[–] AmidFuror@fedia.io 1 points 10 hours ago

I would leave if I had to get medicine. And was blind.

[–] singletona@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

I am disabled and unable to drive thus holding a proper job is difficult.

i've been on an effective island with 'visits' to 'the outside' on rare occasions and largely when picking up things from lowes or family functions.

What you ask is not a hypothetical for me.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

Depends if there were dumb lumbering giants outside that would eat me, 'Attack on Titan' style.

~This~ ~comment~ ~is~ ~licensed~ ~under~ ~CC~ ~BY-NC-SA~ ~4.0~

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Depends on how the city is run. If it's anything like Paranoia's Alpha Complex, I'd probably die before even getting the chance to think about doing anything treasonous like that

[–] singletona@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Shit, I'm the fifth clone in the batch.

Wha'd the four before me do?

[–] Godnroc@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago

Assuming I'm the same person I am today, then I would probably want to know more. "Dangerous" isn't a cause it's an effect; I want to know why it's dangerous. Then I want to know what can be done to change that.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

For sure. I'd volunteer to be the first person on Venus knowing it would be a death sentence.

At least you'd be remembered forever 🫡

[–] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 hours ago

It depends on a number of factors.

How thorough is the isolation/how “high” are the walls? Can I perceive the world outside the walls in any way?

How good is the propaganda?

Do I have anything to lose other than my life? Do I have a community I care about within the city? A family? Children?

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 3 points 12 hours ago

I thought you might have been thinking about Transformers One.

If everything I need is in the city, I wouldn't leave. I would only leave if pushed to.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 10 hours ago

I have always questioned authority, so I would probably sneak out but not go very far.

[–] ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

Curiosity definitely. I love to travel and I’ve gone to places that were fairly dangerous. No active war zones, thankfully, or places with incurable disease outbreaks or anything like that. But I’m less bothered by risk than almost anyone I know.

[–] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 2 points 11 hours ago

I would probably go to test it if at all possible, especially if there is a way to come back.

In real live I already immigrated 3 times to a different country and before I had kids I was even dreaming about going to Mars even if it would have been om a one way ticket.

[–] inlandempire@jlai.lu 2 points 11 hours ago

It's not illegal to just jump off the earth into space, but we've been told it's dangerous out there and we can't breathe and it's too cold blah blah blah

But I'm pretty happy down there so I don't feel the need to meet with the Vortigaunts past the artificial black veil our government created to isolate us from the intergalactic gerontocracy

[–] Majorllama@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

As soon as I had the chance.

I have a real problem with authority and being told what I can and cannot do.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Like they're gonna let me stay in the city.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Nah, I'd probably believe it, unless things inside the city were so bad I had some reason to doubt.

[–] KingJalopy@lemm.ee 0 points 9 hours ago

There is no war in (that avatar city I can't remember)

[–] pan0wski@infosec.pub 1 points 9 hours ago

No. I like to avoid risk.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

Are the people saying it is dangerous saying why it is dangerous or being vague about it? Are they honest and trustworthy about the things inside the city or are they unreliable liars?

If it is a vague, unspecified threat from unreliable people then I'm certainly going out. If there are details and the people are otherwise trustworthy I'm staying in.

If they are untrustworthy or trustworthy but vague, it would come down to whether there is a reason to go outside other than finding out if they are lying.

[–] scytale@lemm.ee 1 points 10 hours ago

Likely not, especially if it’s the same regular life where I have lots of responsibilities and have to work to live.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 1 points 10 hours ago

The person that you are now is not the person that you would be if you grew up in that situation.

That me is a stranger to this me I have no basis to guess what that stranger might do.

[–] gimmelemmy@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Considering that I ended up getting banished from my personal bubble, I'm betying that I would have ended up on the outside of that wall anyway, so yeah!

[–] HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone 1 points 6 hours ago

I'm too american to listen to what I'm told. I'm gonna get eaten by the titans, sorry everyone

[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml -1 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

We talking about Gaza or Pyongyang?