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Besides the obvious answer of making money, or rather, how would you do it as an 8 year old? What else would you do?

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[-] threeonefour@piefed.ca 7 points 1 month ago

Honestly, I think that would suck quite a bit. I would have the intelligence and experience of an adult trapped in the body of an 8 year old and dependent on my parents. I wouldn't be able to live independently for years. It would also be difficult to speak and act like an 8 year old. I have a university degree and an 8 year old with university level education would probably make me some weird child prodigy. Not only would I be dependent on my parents, but everyone would be pushing for me to be some genius by the time I'm an adult. I'd eventually grow up to be a huge disappointment. So really I'd kind of just be reliving the past!

The only saving grace is that I might be able to make some money off investing in tech companies and crypto before their drastic increase in value. At least I wouldn't need to work my entire life.

[-] d00phy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Totally agree. At first, they’d think you’re a genius, but you’d only be a genius as an 8 yo. Unless you kept progressing and getting smarter, eventually your age would catch up to your intelligence and you’d just be… well you.

Also, being 8 with the memories and experience of an adult would probably keep us from doing all the dumbass shit we did as kids. Some of it could’ve killed is, but I’m betting most of it was pretty rad at the time.

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

At first, they’d think you’re a genius, but you’d only be a genius as an 8 yo. Unless you kept progressing and getting smarter, eventually your age would catch up to your intelligence and you’d just be… well you.

That's literally what happened to me in high school.

[-] aramis87@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago

Am I eight years old now in 2025, or eight years old way back then?

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Back then, I assume. Being 8 today with the knowledge you have now would be fucking terrifying and mostly hopeless.

[-] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 month ago
1985.
It's 4 years before my first D&D game.
3 years before I pick up a guitar.
10 years before I start snowboarding.
20 years before I convince my republican parents there's a better way. 
Suddenly I am fluent in several languages, as if by magic.
I have a grasp on global politics and the knowledge of what's to come.
What do I do?
Play.
All day.
I swim. I run. I bike. I draw. I skate. I be. 

And I plot. 
[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Go see Star Wars in the theater again. :)

[-] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

Does my depression also go back in time?

[-] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

If it's part of your mind, unfortunately.

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I'd have a serious conversation with my parents about the less obvious symptoms of ADD. (It didn't have an H back then)

Besides that, I often wonder what I would do when I meet my ex wife. Avoiding her would save me trouble down the road, but then my three amazing kids would never exist and if the reset happened tomorrow, I'd have so many unanswered questions of whatever happened to them in that other timeline.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

Yeah, super weird. As an 8 year old, my future wife would be 3...

[-] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Ok, so now you got me wondering how creepy it is to start dating in junior high with adult brains.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

First, I would convince some of those old crazy ass mercenaries that my uncle used to hang out with that Donald Trump touched me. This would be in 1992. Then I'd work my ass off mowing lawns and doing chores and saving every bit of money I could, invest in apple and other big stocks that I could get as they came out before they hit big, id sell them and invest in Tesla before Elon could get in on it, and Bitcoin. Id use my wealth to invest in solar so that it takes off earlier. Create a Superfund to counter lobbyists like the dark roofing lobby. What a completely asinine thing. Just switch to making white roofing materials? Use my wealth and power to become president, reverse citizens United and bring back a 90% tax on the wealthiest people. (Yes, Including myself.) Boom. World saved.

[-] Iunnrais@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

How would you make that claim believable? Did you have access to Trump (or rather, did he ever have access to you)? It’s a nice plan, but saying it without plausibility sounds like a one way ticket to not being believed about this or anything else ever…

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My uncle worked for a publishing company that published all kinds of magazines including guns n ammo, and some other more specific one for mercs though I can't remember the name. And I've met a LOT of those psychos back then. It doesn't really take much more than an accusation to get them going from 0-100. But yeah my grandparents had money and took us on big, expensive trips about every 6 months. 3x to NYC, 3X fishing trips to Alaska, 2X trips to Norway/Sweden, 2x to London, 1x to Paris, Berlin, new Orleans, Grand canyon, Everglades etc. More than enough for those whackos. Honestly, exposure to those guys is probably a big part in why I joined the army before I grew more as a person and learned empathy.

Edit: as a young kid I remember hearing conversations about things such as "best thing to decapitate someone with" and "funniest death" that's not who I wanted to be when I joined the army or anything, but I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to save people who couldn't save themselves, and had delusional ideals that we were the good guys and I could save good people by hurting bad people. It wasn't about idolizing those people, I knew they were crazy even when I was a kid. Just an explanation that it wasn't about some fucked up fantasy or something.

[-] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Immediately begin my global takeover. 1983 would never know what was about to happen. By 1990, the world would be mine.

[-] zonnewin@feddit.nl 2 points 1 month ago

Why 8? I'd be really dependent on my parents again, and it would be impossible to explain my sudden precociousness and knowledge of the future.

Anyway, I'd try to work out and get stronger, and stand up to my bullies. I'd have some choice words for their sorry asses.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 1 month ago

Just kill myself and prevent the worst of it.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 month ago

The real question, I guess, would be how to strike out on my own as a literal child. School was repetitive the first time, and my home life was pretty mid as well.

Funny story, I think I actually had enough savings at that point to live on for a month or two. I was a weird kid.

[-] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago

Go to the library a lot. Learn and master the art of lock picking. Make more friends at school (networking). Wear crocs way before they’re cool.

[-] helmet91@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Hold on! Can I still do some research before this happens?

One thing I'd do for sure is, transfer to a different primary school. A better one. I just don't know which one, not even now.

Anyway, a 166 MHz Celeron CPU and 32 MB of RAM aren't very performant, most likely I won't do anything insane with it. I won't be able to write Rust applications, as a Rust compiler wouldn't exist yet. Also, my HTML5 knowledge wouldn't be usable either. I'd have to descend to XHTML strict standard, and CSS will be a pain in the ass once again.

I'm just realizing, I wouldn't be able to do much with my current knowledge.

Education and hard work, these are the two things I'd pursue at all costs. One of the biggest fuck-up of my life was at age 6, but it could be still corrected at age 8.

[-] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

I'd spend a lot of its mourning that I'd never be able to replicate my daughter as she is now. I could time it right to get the right egg, but how many wanks, exactly, and when did I have? How could I possibly even guarantee the right sperm even if I manage to secure the same payload?

Probably instead just ride the bitcoin wave hard as hell and start my own game dev company.

Also I'd be better equipped towards mad anxiety disorder. That shit absolutely ruined my life and it took about 3 years before I realised something was actually wrong.

[-] myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

Convince my parents to put all their money in some fruit company about apples.

[-] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Gosh, I don't even know. To be back in that traumatizing household?

I wouldn't make it very long, I don't think.

Maybe I'd steal some money and run away to a different country before 9/11 makes everything harder.

[-] Chozo@fedia.io 1 points 1 month ago

I'd predict 9/11 five years early. Nobody would believe me. How would a kid this young even know these words I'm saying? What can an 8 year old possibly know about Al Queda and the Taliban? How did he even hear about these organizations in the first place, they'd ask. His parents must leave the TV tuned to the news all day, they'd say. What an active imagination this young man has.

I think I'd end up creating my own 11.22.63 scenario.

this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
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