If You Could Redo Your Life, What Age Would You Start?

[Ideologue]

Ultimately, yes, but I doubt I could have much effect on Robert Stack's outstanding vocal performance as Ultra Magnus recorded in 1985 or the 1991 decision of a Middle Eastern dictator to invade a neighboring country.

My belief is that social and political systems are very robust, in the short term, to butterfly effects.  Now, if I went back fifty years (I suppose through physical time travel), my differing actions would change the entire genetic makeup of half the population of the United States, if not the world, and we'd have different personalities involved in politics, although perhaps the underlying social movements would remain relatively unchanged.*  But I would certainly be unlikely to change 1960s counterculture or the failure of our efforts in Vietnam.

*Fun fact: this is why all those dumb movies and books that think that only "overt" actions can change the past are fucking retarded.

[Syt]

Age 19, right after school and military service.

Instead of going the public administration route that put me inadvertedly on the path of accounting that I've "enjoyed" for the past 12 years, I should have gone to university, though I wasn't sure what to inscribe (probably history or literature), and aying for it would have been very hard, even with state support.

But overall, my current life isn't *that* bad.

[Ideologue]

Of course: history and literature, the age-old paths to success...

[Syt]

Of course: history and literature, the age-old paths to success...

At least I would be miserable with something I'm interested in.

[fhdz]

Somewhere, Noam Chomsky's pants have become a dairy factory.

[DontSayBanana]

I can't imagine anything more isolating that being a 36 year old trapped in a child's body.  Adults aren't going to be your friend - too creepy.  Other kids aren't going to have anything in common with you.

Seriously.  See Alia Atreides for a wonderful example.

[Lettow77]

 Seventh grade would be a great time to begin, but then again, I have no memory to re-live my home life.  I don't think I have the energy, but post-home life its too late to effect meaningful desirable change.

Wait, that's not true- freshman year of college I could've made an important, different choice. So I guess i'll go with that.

[Ideologue]

I can't imagine anything more isolating that being a 36 year old trapped in a child's body.  Adults aren't going to be your friend - too creepy.  Other kids aren't going to have anything in common with you.

I think the worst part would be nicotine withdrawal.

It'd be interesting to experience a collapse of sexual desire, though.

I can imagine not having kid friends wouldn't be so bad.  Little children (one's own excepted) are obnoxious.  At the high school level, I think one might just come off as rather mature.

And I can think of plenty more isolating experiences.  I mean, you've seen Castaway right?  And how about gaol?

[Viking]

rather than buy apple shares,

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904494.html

leverage yourself to the hilt go all in on shorting the major bankrupcies of our time, presumably a much better "investment".. 

[The Larch]

At almost any point between late high school and college, I guess. Childhood is nice but as a memory, I have no particular interest in reliving it. Late teenage and early adulthood would be far more interesting moments to start applying my new found wisdom. I'd no doubt use most of it to get into more girls' panties than I did.

[Brazen]

I can pretty much pick the exact date. Age 17, I wouldn't have sacrificed my studies for boys and booze had I known how easy both are to come across later in life. I'd have taken the Oxbridge exams, gone to Cambridge (my school was a feeder school) and met and divorced someone rich. Or become a spy.

[Octavian]

I first read the topic as "if you could Pedo your life, what age would you start...

[Sheilbh]

17.  Largely the same reasons as Brazen.  The only reason I'd go younger would be to not give up musical instruments

[Grey Fox]

1955

[dps]

The day after my stepfather died, I guess.  Anything before that, I'd probably kill him myself.