College essay prompt: If you could go back in time...

What would you do to help humankind? Don't be selfish like one of my friends in his response: "I would have folded some hands in poker" but think on the broader scale. What could you have possibly had some impact in changing?

Optimistically:

• Warn people of Hurricane Katrina
• Warn people of 9/11
• Encourage research of alternative energies 10-15 years ago
• Work some magic and help prevent the Great Depression

Realistically:

• Prevent Columbine shootings

What ya got?

 

Major in something else.

In the spirit of the thread, I'd probably try to prevent Putin's rise or I'd cap Osama when he was a teenager.

 

Major in history.

In the spirit of the thread, warn New Orleans about the levees far enough ahead of Katrina to make a difference.

 

My thinking is if you took care of this one:

• Encourage research of alternative energies 10-15 years ago

You wouldn't have to worry about 9/11.

 

It's 1986, and I'm telling everybody:

Go long on Microsoft.

 

That's a great one. Because NOBODY knew a Cat 5 storm was bearing down on a city that sits below sea level. While the folks that stayed ignored hundreds of warnings, including the National Weather Service's Wrath of God warning, I'm sure they'd have listened to futureboy.

 

People ignore Hurricane Warnings all the time. It happened to my folks in Pensacola. I'm sure it happened recently in Florida.

Anyway, I'd go with Columbine shootings, too. I don't think any other news story shook me up as much as that one did. I don't know why. It just did.

 

For some reason, Virginia Tech got to me more than Columbine did. I don't know why.

 

I'm guessing he was thinking more along the lines of saying something about the levees like f_t said earlier.

 

Do we have some special powers of persuasion to go along with our ability to go back in time?

Otherwise, I see a lot of warnings just being ignored.

And good luck finding Osama . . . or telling JFK "Do NOT take this route!"

 

Well, if you make a lot of money playing stocks or betting sports, my feeling is you gain power through your new-found wealth. If so, you have persuasion in regards to warnings, etc.

 

This post made me want to find that NWS advisory.

For anyone else interested, here it is:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED
STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED
LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW
RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND
ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW
TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!