Superpowers

I have been enjoying listening to podcasts lately, including "This American Life," an hour-long podcast which is broken up into "acts". Each act is focused on a common theme, but tells a different story or perspective.

Yesterday, I listened to an episode in which each act focused on superheroes or superpowers. Here is the description of Act 1 "Invisible Man vs. Hawkman: "John Hodgman conducts an informal survey in which he asks the age-old question: Which is better: The power of flight or the power of invisibility? He finds that how you answer tells a lot about what kind of person you are. And also, no matter which power people choose, they never use it to fight crime. (14 minutes)"

As I listened to the survey and the responses, I found myself asking the same question. Which superpower would I choose?

I've never had a desire to have a superpower. Though, when I was younger, I used to wrinkle up my nose and wish that I could make my bedroom magically clean itself--the way Samantha could on the television series "Bewitched"--never actually believing that it would work.

However, I have had many dreams over the years when I "fly". I never fly in the way that Superman does. The best way to describe it is like swimming in the air. I jump up, and instead of falling down I keep gliding for a while, using my arms to propel me forward. After about the time that I would have run out of air if I had been swimming, I gentle glide back to the ground. Then I can jump back up and start gliding, swim-flying through the air again. These dreams are never very exciting, but the movement always feels peaceful and natural.

So, which superpower would I choose? Flying. It would be exciting to have a birds-eye view whenever I wished. And think of all the traveling I could do!

Then the interviewer started asking whether we would use our superpower for good. After all, that is what superheroes do--use their powers to fight crime. I felt selfish then, never thinking of helping others. Could I do amazing things with the power of flight even if I didn't have extra strength? I decided that I would use my ability to fly to rescue children in abusive situations. Perhaps I would get involved in an organization like Operation Underground Railroad. I liked the idea of flying scared and hurting children out of the bad and offering them some kind of comfort.

I found this survey so interesting I brought it up with Ryan this morning before school. Which superpower would he choose? "Easy. Invisibility." Why? "Because then I could hide from people." He could also sneak snacks while I taught piano lessons and stay home from school. I look forward to asking Todd about his superpower preference.

I recognize that this survey was done for entertainment and without any official research to back it up. However, the discussion made me think (and that's always a good thing). The host concluded that people who chose flight were more confident. Often those who chose invisibility felt they had something to hide and were more likely to use their superpower for questionable activities (Sorry, Ryan!). I appreciated the comments of one man who, as he talked out his answer, recognized that for him invisibility would "lead him down a dark path." And for that reason, he changed his answer to flight.

I often wish, after listening to a podcast that I find interesting, that I could find someone else who enjoyed listening to and talking about the same things. I like having the back-and-forth dialogue. You never know where the conversation is going to go, and when done with the right person, the exchange can be uplifting and encouraging. On that note, I welcome your thoughts. What superpower would you choose?


P.S. Todd's great response: "I Flight, I guess. I don't know. Neither. I'm fine the way I am." Love this!

Anne's inspiring response (keep in mind that I only gave her the question, not the discussion that came after): Right away, Anne chose invisibility. She went on to describe how she would use this power for good. She explained that she wouldn't choose flight, because without extra strength she didn't feel she would be able to accomplish very much good. With invisibility she could act as a spy and expose corruption. I'm proud to say that my best friend has the heart of a superhero!