Invisibility or the Power to Fly?

The BBC recently published an article on scientific achievements in “cloaking” a three-dimensional object by making it invisible from all angles. This reminded me of an interesting This American Life episode from years back about superpowers. In it, writer John Hodgman conducts a survey in which he asks which would you pick: the power of flight or invisibility? Harry Potter, for example, can do both and does so effectively. Harry’s adept abilities on the broomstick allows him to soar through the Quidditch stadium, maneuver past a dragon, and escape from Voldemort. Harry uses his invisibility cloak to evade the school’s professors, free Buckbeak and Sirius, sneak into Gringots (the wizard’s bank), and steal books from the restricted section of the library. Both powers amaze and awe us because they not only further the series’ plot line and adventure in fascinating and brilliant ways, but fulfill our own dreams and fantasies of possessing such desirous capabilities.

Hodgman found that muggles’ responses to the question of flight or invisibility established some clear trends. First, no matter which power people choose, they never use it to help others, but only to better their own position in life. Flying means the ability to fly up to 10,000 miles an hour at 100,000 feet without effort and perfectly comfortably. Those with flying powers answered that they would fly all over the world to see friends and tour fantastic new places or just have fun. Invisibility means the power to become transparent at will including your clothing. Those with invisibility would use it to steal clothing, sneak into movie theaters, cheat on an exam, or sneak into the girls’ locker room and mosey over to the showers. Why not clear the streets of murderers and restore justice to all? They explain that without other powers, such as great strength, they wouldn’t actually be much help at all. However, no one has super strength (of the Mr. Incredible/Superman flavor) and no one has the power of seeing through objects (unless it’s a window). But that does not mean that the person with a super power like flying or invisibility would not be able to do something good? Is it legitimate to excuse a lack of justified use of a strength by the presence of a weakness? Perhaps a person with strong public speaking skills lacks a clear understanding of the economy. Does that mean he should not run for public office and try to affect change and perhaps hire a good economic advisor? Perhaps a person with amazing math skills lacks any understanding of grammar. Does that mean she should not apply to graduate school and ask for help editing her personal statements?

Second, Hodgman observes that those who choose flying have options, freedoms, and adventure. They want to be with people, want to help others. Those who chose invisibility would spy, become vengeful, commit fraud, violate the law, and eventually become completely depressed and lose meaning in life. Hodgman believes that these two superpowers speak to two different human nerves: one that is obvious and one that is hidden. The person who flies has nothing to hide and the one who is invisible wants to hide. I finally asked myself seriously, What would I choose? Both. Why? Because I don’t like playing by the rules. But seriously, if you could fly undetected, you wouldn’t need a visa to enter a country to see it. Okay, more seriously, because all of us contain elements of both. All of us sometimes need to hide and other times crave opportunities for being visible. But more importantly, I actually would pick neither: I would pick the ability to both know the skills I need to accomplish my dreams and the people I need to help me get there.

By: Naomi Scheinerman

(Photo by Nikky Stephen under a Creative Commons license)