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Forrest has been so generous and awesome with answering questions from searchers. Now it is his turn! He has requested one to be asked of you all and he is curious and keen to learn the answers.

It is as follows:

If you could know everything there is to know about one subject, which subject would you choose, and why? Give it some thought before you answer. f

 

 

219 Comments

  1. For me it’s energy. I would say Medicine, but without plentiful energy having 100 Billion healthy people on the planet would be an environmental disaster as we mine and extract every last ounce of hydrocarbons stored in the Earth.
    But I’m sure I’d regret this choice once an illness affects my family or I, but sometimes the greater good requires sacrifices and out weighs my own selfish needs. (but I sure would be rich in the meantime)

    Shawn

  3. From a human point of view, there is no one subject that I would want to everything about. I would rather know a lot about many subjects. I believe this would make me the most useful I could be.

    From a spiritual point of view, I would like to be able to look at everything from God’s point of view. The more I have learned to do this, it gives me a better perspective of all things.

    Humans tend to look at things from the here and now point of view. God looks at things from an eternal perspective.

    SpecialKLR

  7. The one subject I would like to know all about would be science. I could then cure all world hunger and diseases and with doing just those two things – perhaps end all wars. Peace would prevail, and Art would flourish. The outer space questions would be answered. The oceans would be clean and sea shells would return to our shores. There would be no more animals on the endangered species list. The actual premise of the question prompts one to think that there is an ending to knowledge – and that would never happen as the earth and universe are constantly changing and evolving but what a wonderful dream it is. Thanks Forrest and Jenny.

    inthechaseto

  10. The subject of “After Life”….is there one, does our conscience live on, is there another physical one, where does our energy go, can I do something here and now to influence my after life, is there a spirituality to it??
    I would like to somehow study this subject and know all about it…….Thank you Forrest for asking a question that pushes the leading edge of thought forward……..

    macfinn

  13. A great question to ponder and, as there is no “only one” correct answer, I will give it a go. Like Jamie before I would like to know everything about “me”. Not trying to be selfish at all, but my quest would be to know “every” blood relative who came before me and how they lived their lives.

    In knowing all there is to know, I would open doors to history from the perspective of those who made choices and made it possible for me to exist. Imagine if you could go back forever in your family tree and, in doing so, see life during each of those generations. It would touch on not only wars, illness, hardships, social interactions, etc. but even back as far as you can go. I could even learn about dinosaurs!

    This journey for the treasure has given me a chance to learn about myself and grow. That is a gift in itself. As always, thank you Forrest.

    Elementary

  17. Good Grief Fenn; couldn’t you have started out with a simpler question. Like which dog has the cutest puppies, or how deep is a hole.

    Certainly curing all diseases would be wonderful for our sick relatives and friends and would stop much suffering of human kind. Would that make us fatter, lazier, and more reckless than we already are? Is old age a disease?

    Knowing everything about Nuclear Fusion or Superconductivity would solve our power problems. Knowing everything about Cosmology would answer the question of our origins. Knowing everything about Quantum Mechanics would solve problems we don’t even know we have. Of course knowing everything about all these things would do us no good unless we leave this rock. Mother Nature is going to annihilate us like she has 99.9% of the species that have inhabited this world. So that would put Astrophysics right up there at the top of things to know.

    Knowing everything about anything could end up being a great burden. What if you knew the answer and no one would listen or understand what you were saying?. You may end up a goofy old guy standing on a street corner holding a sign that says, “The End Is Ever Drawing Neigh”.

    Goofy_Old_Guy

    2. Goofy,

      You have opened my thoughts in the pass, maybe you can help me again. I see the comment from Fenn differently then some others . or am I just reading into it way too much?

      “Look what you could do if you knew how to cure every disease?”f

      I see this as both a question and a statement of thought, at the same time or…”Look, IF you knew how to cure every disease, what could you do?”

      Or another way of saying it….” If you could cure every disease, what would be the cause and effect, of you doing so?”

      yeah yeah I know…But Seeker that is not what he said…You need to keep it simple, Right?

      Maybe I’m trying to analyze and think too deep. maybe you can help me out again? thanks.

      Seeker

      1. Well Seeker, there’s only one fellow that can answer your question. He might tell you it doesn’t matter what he meant, it only matters what you think he meant.

        To me it’s a subject that is close to Fenn. He has dealt with a serous disease in his own life. The older we get the more funerals of loved ones and friends we get to attend. If we cured all diseases those loved ones and friends would most likely still be here with us.

        Looking at the big philosophical picture; curing all disease would mean it’s going to get really crowded really fast on our little planet and may lead to the annihilation of the human race by our own hands. One could get into all kinds of philosophical discussions on the subject.

        As you know I’m a simple guy……to me it’s a simple wish by one of us old guys to stay around a little longer and have our friends and loved ones with us.

        Goofy_Old_Guy

  18. I would like to understand the why and how of mans development from our beginning that led us to governed by the thoughts/concepts in our heads over the needs of ourselves and others. I think such knowledge might lead us to less strife, wars, and despair. Maybe we could find a way out of our heads and stop fighting about being “right” in our politics, religion, and other beliefs.

    Raven

  19. Cosmology — the study of the cosmos—, is the study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe. Includes, Physical cosmology is the scholarly and scientific study of the origin, evolution, large-scale structures and dynamics, and ultimate fate of the universe, as well as the scientific laws that govern these realities. AND Religious cosmology (or mythological cosmology) is a body of beliefs based on the historical, mythological, religious, and esoteric literature and traditions of creation and eschatology.

    -Humans are deeply inquisitive and love to know the answers to things, and have been actively staring at the sky looking for answers for a very long time. Unfortunately, knowing these ultimate answers would be very dangerous and very unlikely one could share them all unless you wanted to end up persecuted. You would probably be labeled as a heretic with your life in constant danger or you will end up locked up in the depths of some military facility with a think tank of scientists drilling you for answers 24/7. Maybe just knowing some is better.

    INFINITIES – BY BEVERLY ANNA FARRAND

    The nocturnal sky with its luminous points of light
    Spinning infinitely in the blackness of night
    What is this wondrous universe of ours?
    With billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars?

    I fly up to the moon and out past Mars
    Past Jupiter and Pluto, then on to the stars
    Past Orion’s belt and the Pleiades
    Beyond the Milky Way to the galaxies

    The earth has long since vanished from my view
    The sun has withered to a drop of morning dew
    And our galaxy has become a distant speck of light
    Now fading completely from my sight

    With each leap in scale my heart stands still
    To fathom how the infinitely large, withers to nil
    As galactic clusters become a small dim light
    There is still no end in sight

    I fall back to earth to where I stand
    And start another journey into my hand
    Through the pores of my skin,
    To the cells below and the atoms within

    Each dot grows as I descend in scale
    Revealing another world as I pierce the veil
    Smaller and smaller without end
    To eternity I descend

    Infinitely large, infinitely small
    We will never find an end to it all
    For creation is not found in the tiniest part
    It is the structure that is at matter’s heart

    So seek not the end of size
    Nor the universe’s birth or demise
    For where all creation must reside
    Is in how the space divides!

    The ancient symbols hold the key
    To the sacred geometry
    Two pyramids within a ring
    Can divide to create everything

    Infinite fractals with infinite spin
    Create the shape of Yang and Yin
    David’s star is a pyramid up and down
    Where the conscious feedback loop is found

    Sixty-four tetrahedron’s form the greatest stability
    And match the I Ching’s grid of reality
    What the ancients knew so long ago
    Was how matter ebbed and flowed

    All the universe is on a spinning keel
    From the tiniest particles to a galactic wheel
    What force could play such a role?
    If not the gravitational pull of a dynamic black hole?

    A black hole at the center of all that spins
    Is where matter ends and soul begins
    Moving infinitely between the two
    A double torus in an infinite loop

    From the quiescent potential of pure energy
    To the manifestation of material reality
    We are tied to the Source from every atom and cell
    Constantly moving in and out of the creative well

    The key to heavens door
    Need not be hidden any more
    The hole is the whole, is the Holy place
    With omniscient energy to embrace

    With each breath I expel
    I see the transparency of this mortal shell
    Dare we not forget where we trod
    For everywhere is the face of God

    Steve

    1. Steve, thank you for posting Beverly Anna Farrand’s poem. It holds the answer to a personal question of mine… why am I content in the face of so many unanswered important questions? Because with faith I see God’s presence in our known and unknown world, and I trust Him. Sometimes it pays to be simple minded.

      lia

      1. -After figuring that cosmology would be my answer, I recalled some of the points of the relative infinite expansiveness the poem highlighted and such. I have not pondered such things as deeply prior to beginning my personal quest for the TC (which has seemed to become more and more a quest of self-discovery in the process). I believe that if one were to dive deep into knowing any single subject, they will find themselves discovering much more about themselves along the way.

        -It is almost like this was planned from the very beginning, lol, dang it, did I just get ensnared by FF again?

        Steve

  21. From the point of view of being happy, then a choice would be to know the depths of the Self. But intellectual curiosity would dictate a choice of the ‘Theory of Everything’, which touches on Cosmology, Quantum Physics, General Relativity, String Theory, etc. Maybe these topics are intertwined and indistinguishable on some level. Does anyone have a clue?

    Bill H

  23. I love the question that is giving to us but I fell there is alittle subterfuge in the question to test people, I know I’m going to get blasted for this but hear me out, The political thing to say is peace, love and harmony but the Homo Sapien in me says just go with your gut. Be true your statements and yourself and pick your answer true and fair even though it’s not a popular choice. Happy Holidays

    William

  24. Not that I wasn’t being honest in my first answer… But at this exact point in time I would like to know everything there is about The Thrill of the Chase Treasure hunt… I would like to find the chest so I can meet Forrest then have him tell me about everything in the chest and why it is there… Then he can tell me what to do with it. Because, I would have no idea!!!

    spallies

  26. I would have to say the Ocean. It is so interesting to me, it is so close, yet so far away. There is so much to learn yet about the ocean. How deep is it (really), what all lives down in those deep canyons, etc. Space is interesting to me too, but the fact that the ocean is so close to us, yet still such a mystery is tantalizing to me.

    Angel

  27. Forrest – My subject is STILL:

    Forrest Fenn

    And when I am finished learning ALL there is to know about you,…I will FINALLY be able to locate the Bronze Chest,…and I will then write your memoir (sorry, Dal),…including the story of TTOTC,…and then produce and direct the film,…based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book,…which will win the Academy Award for Best Picture,…and then EVERYONE will know how wonderful you are,…and not just us Chasers.

    But I like history, too. 🙂

    E*

    2. Forrest – And if you get any rotten emails,…about me being a Brown Noser (aka. “home of Brown”),…in the Spirit of the Holidays,…I give you Randolph:

      http://jimmythejock.hubpages.com/hub/Randolph-The-Brown-Nosed-Reindeer

      Randolph had a special talent that set him apart from the others, Randolf was a natural flying reindeer, When he was in the air he was the most wonderful sight that you had ever seen, he had grace, he had such skill and he could fly at supersonic speed and he was also a fantastic stunt flyer, he could loop the loop then go into a figure of eight and do summer saults and a whole lot more, but when Rudolph was being Bullied by the other reindeer, Randolph came into a class of his own his bombing skills were second to none.

      E*

    3. E* as long as you are dreaming, write me into your dream as your side kick to all that fun. I dont mind playing second fiddle a bit, and I only want one token from f’s treasure. But I do get to meet him with you and scout the movie locations. Let’s write snow skiing and camping under the stars into the script. I know all the best spots in Wyo and a few in Mt. You will also need me along to tell you when to stop talking on set. Got that?

      No brown nosing here, just simple begging for the emerald ring and some fun.

      lia

      1. lia – OK,…you get to be that person who yells, “Quiet on the set!”,…as long as we get to scout Big Sky, Montana,…as our first location for the skiing scenes (since I have already spent lots of time in Jackson Hole, WY):

        http://www.powderhounds.com/USA/Montana/BigSky.aspx

        Unfortunately,…the Emerald Ring has already been promised to my “Wilson”,…who helped me get through a particularly trying time:

        http://static.rogerebert.com/redactor_assets/pictures/far-flung-correspondents/the-pursuit-of-powerlessness/Cast_Away_tom_beard_campfire.jpg

        Maybe he could roll in for the campfire scene under the stars?

        E*

        1. E* you are always fun! Thanks. Jackson Hole is too steep for my old legs and so is BSkys line peak. Yikesaramma. Whoever said 50 is the new 40 was really saying thank heavens for parabolic skis and 12 hour Aleve!
          http://www.funatiq.com/simply-funny/old-lady-skiing/

          http://bigskyresort.com/connect/photo-gallery
          I love Big Sky. Skied there last Christmas. Plenty of blue cruising. Do you know the main run-out from Andesite mountain. Years ago I was racing my brother there and a snow mobile cut in front of us clipping my ski. Threw me for a loop in the air breaking my binding and cracking my ankle. I was lucky that was all. about the emerald ring – I guess Wilson can have it. I’ll be happy with a coin if I get a ski trip out of it. I take it you are a skier. Tell me about your favorite place or run. Then tie it back to Forrests question so we’re doing the right thing on Jennys blog. She a sweetheart to host all of this.

          lia

          1. lia – Speaking of old people skiing,…I just read an article about the recent death of Louie Zamperini,… after finishing the book, “Unbroken” about him. The article said this:

            “An athlete who stayed trim his entire life, Mr. Zamperini gave up skateboarding at 81. Ten years later, he gave up skiing.”

            That makes 50 seem like you’re just getting started, right? 🙂

            I fell in love with the Rocky Mountains,…AND fell in love,…in Steamboat, Colorado,…over the Christmas Holidays,…more than 20 years ago. I will always love my memories of that place.

            I guess my REAL subject,…that I would want to know everything about, then,…would be:

            How do I live the most adventurous, fulfilling life,…without having any regrets at its end?

            I am always working on finding the answers to that one. 🙂

            E*

            1. E* agree with you… How can we best enjoy lives full of adventure steeped in powder and love for others? I hope I can still strap on the boards at 75. Steamboat holds great family memories for my husband and I. Because of their outstanding kids ski school we spent 10 spring breaks there with our sons. Fun that you fell in love at Steamboat!

              lia

  28. It doesn’t matter how we answer. It is only important that we do. It is not for fun?? How we each respond is but a brief reflection of who we are as individuals, probably more so than most of our past comments on the blogs. And it should tell him quite a bit about us. No wonder he said to give it some thought? Ahh…….. to dream!! …..Whether it’s in a graveyard looking up at the stars pondering man’s existence and our own; laying under a wagon watching gypsies dance around a fire dreaming of what could be; covering up Philidelphia with our thumbs; or perhaps wondering if New Mexico will eventually be covered completely with asphalt? 🙂 Personally, I’m still looking for that mammoth with a Paleo point in his ribs buried out there somewhere, maybe with a Conquistador still on his horse not too far away, but too far to walk………. No mysteries, just stories that haven’t been told!! For me, knowing everything about the origin and history of man only brings me to NOW and the future is left in question. I would never want to all the answers. Ever learning….. it’s what keeps us going………. And now I’m going to lunch!!

    Project Why

  29. Pre- history
    I would like to know what really happened to all the dinosaurs and how there came to be fossils discovered in the highest of peaks today. How the world was then and how it will be,maybe not it my lifetime but in the future…yeah, I know, I know, Noah’s flood,the Ice age and a huge meteo wiped everything out. But do we really know?

    Onuat

  30. My problem with suddenly knowing all there is to know about a subject is that it would remove the joy of researching the subject on my own. I have always loved finding the answers to puzzles on my own, ideally without cheating and opening the back page. So that really limits what I would want to just have poured into my brain. I did come up with something though. I also love working with my hands, so I would love to know all there is to know about sculpting. While I would then not need to discover new things in the field (unless of course the knowledge granted is only all we know so far) I could still enjoy the use of that knowledge while creating marvelous works.

    MattB

  31. Astrophysics, Star Trek style. I always loved Star Trek the next generation (TNG more than the original) because the writers were able to capture how awesome that sense of “exploring strange new worlds” would feel like…and everytime I watched the show that’s how I felt, like I had just explored someplace in space with that feeling of seeing something others never have.
    So astrophysics/aeronautics so I could build a ship and captain it to the far reaches of the universe.

    Cammy

  33. Money. Then a world of no money could be created. Would be the greatest leap for mankind. No more poverty ill health wars lack of education etc. Then we could move to the stars……….

    People would be left to better themsleves..cough cough Based on the current human race and how pathic it is we never see anything like that………

    Rick

    Rick

  34. Is there a world of no money and no risk is needed to be wealthy?

    Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it………….

    Through the Looking-Glass, By Lewis Carroll

    Rick

  36. Know fenn has seen this world and plays in it:)

    When he bought out the garage sale. He paid for it all by a check. He could have post dated the check 6 months later sold everything and then paid for it.

    What risk what money? ……..Through the Looking-Glass,

    Wonder if fenn has higher visions?

    Like a man that digs up iron while another one makes horse shoes another watch springs ……..where value is moving from very little to leaps and bounds………..

    Happy Hoildays……….

    Rick

  37. Money??

    I would like to know how one thinks that by knowing everything about it …..WHY, not how, we would want to create a world without it? I see no difference. Money is not the problem, …..people’s desires are. Anything can replace money, valuables and necessities come in many forms, but it wouldn’t change the outcome. Mr. Fenn said he would like to “alter the gene in all Homo Sapiens that gives it the propensity to fight.” That would be a start……..

    I think saying ‘money’ only reflects another issue and speaks much about the one who said it. 🙂

    Project Why

  38. I would like to know and understand more about social anthropology. I would like to know more about quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research (field study, analysis, writing, and publishing). Learning is meant to be enjoyed and shared with others – society. Publishing has more outlets than before; it provides more audiences and participants access to quality study and discussion. Oh yes, and to know more about treasure chest retrieval and to know the true strength and bravery of my located source of brawn.

    Kathryn

  41. Now that the weightier 42 lb questions have all been asked, I’d like to know Why do people place so much stock in external looks or physical beauty? It’s the mind, soul and personality we should love. If we were each blind to what others look like our hearts would love less conditionally. Right now every guy reading this assumes I’m a dog and bitter about it. Right? truth be told I was once voted most attractive, I disliked that label, nor was it true.

    lia

  43. “If you could know everything there is to know about one subject, which subject would you choose, and why? Give it some thought before you answer. f”

    Knowing everything about one subject would entail knowing everything about every subject. So, I would just get to work, and “follow my nose” — contemplating whatever caught my interest at any moment. That’s more-or-less my daily mode, anyway, since I am retired from having to make a living.

    Overthinker

  44. Why

    Money only brings out what is already there. If your greedy it makes you more greedy. Giving it makes you more giving.

    Your buddy Nora wanted 50% or $500,000 to recover a chest for 1/2 days of work………..No thinking or hard work invovled.

    This game is weeding out the greed……….From 100,000 players down to 6000 and it will keep weeding them out.

    Mr. Fenn said he would like to “alter the gene in all Homo Sapiens that gives it the propensity to fight.” That would be a start……..

    We already have that it’s called the “Femine Gene” If you ever watch a group of girls around a pool they will all hold hands and jump in at once. Geberally women desire to get along with everyone.

    Boys on the other hand will resort to competition. Who can make the biggest splash. Who can jump the farhest.

    You have a long way to go why…………

    rick

    1. Rick, f’s philosophy seems to be that we are ‘temporary custodians’ of what we have been given and earned. Giving it away helps become more giving… But only if you hold money and possessions loosly to begin with. If the mindset is “it’s mine” then it becomes more difficult to let go of things and money.

      lia

      1. Agree with Rick. Greed breeds upon greed. It is one of 7 deadly sins (wrath, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony).

        Sloth – Many do not work upon the clues – they go on a hunch.

        Pride – They think they figured out the true psychology of ff. They boast their conclusions.

        Lust – The chest is more important than “time spent outdoors with the family” which they claim is the reason to travel. The chest is more important than the chase.

        Envy – They fear others will harm or ambush them when they retrieve the chest. They think others will kill them because of jealousy.

        Gluttony – Enough is never enough. Those with money traveled some 50 trips in 4 years. Some risked savings to gamble on becoming richer – they obviously had savings.

        Wrath – Probably offline and with those who do not seek the chest or want to give up searching. Online inappropriate response and “blocking” individuals.

        ff stated that he believed the chest would be found by someone carefully solving the clues and that person would simply walk up to it by following the poem – all that is needed is the poem. I believe he is correct if the person’s goal does not involve one of the above 7.

        Kathryn

  45. Well fenn:)

    Don’t see anything with a higher vision. Don’t think things should be brought together to create that higher vision.

    Have never seen any women with that psychological makeup we talked about

    Maybe in a 1000 a years……………

    Otherwise the game is all about money good times legacy and esteem issuses.

    Oh being negative will get you banned…….Oh joy:)

    Best

    Rick

    Rick

  46. Rick,

    When I read your comments, not only now, but past ones as well, a couple of statements just seem to always come to mind:

    Cool Hand Luke (1967); in which Strother Martin so eloquently said: “What we’ve got here is… failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it… well, he gets it. I don’t like it any more than you men.”

    And in another film with a ‘Maverick’, but contrasting something else, yet again representing a man’s overcoming his trials and tribulations within himself and others, I believe Clint Eastwood said, …..”A man’s got to know his limitations.”

    Which I think sums up, not only this, but the main question to begin with …..pretty well?? 🙂

    “You have a long way to go why…………” Rick

    — Yes, I probably do. But I have a short time to get there!! ……..Hey, that sounds familiar? 🙂

    Peeeeeeeeeeace

    Project Why

      1. Tesla was an unbelievable visionary and inventor for his time! One question I wonder about is why some people are blessed with extraordinary brain capacity and others not. Let’s face it smart, good looking, outgoing, and tall are proven to get individuals further along in life. Certainly the Creator has a purpose for everyone and the less complex minded folks (me) are often more content. I’m in Fenn’s game purposefully, but truthfully not to be rich and definitely not for fame. Forrest is right, contentment is the key to his poem. If you can walk away from it you are on the right path. Christmas baking beckons… enough blog for now.

        42

          1. E* it’s not what you’re looking at in the mirror, it’s what others see 🙂 that brings clarity.

            E – Tall (e – short)
            * – very attractive, shines like a star ( . – plain)
            Outgoing without a doubt – (not everyone appreciates extroverts)
            Smart – you have mastered Wickipedia! need I say more? I nick named you WickiE

            And from the text above you fell in love at a ski resort – tall marks again! I hope your significant other sees what we do. lol (btw I’m celebrating advent season by giving up looking for any clues towards solving ff’s poem. Important for me to celebrate Christ with an uncluttered heart. Simplicity and love for the king of my heart. Not participating on Dal’s blog unti January but love to chat with friends during the season.

            42

            1. 42 – My waiter asked me this morning,…if he could ask me a personal question. I said, “No,…I am very private.” He said, “Well, you just seem to be so happy to be going about alone,…to be standing on your own. I noticed.” I thanked him. And I did not marry the person I fell in love with,…in the Rockies. Looking back,…I think maybe I fell more in love with the Rockies,…than I did with that person.

              E*

              1. E* Forrest is helping a whole new generation fall in love with the Rockies! I was raised there and already had a 50 year love affair with her rugged beauty. As a native I really talk up grizzlys and sub zero temps to keep some of the frey at a distance. Please post your growling Bart pics often! My dad is just like f and gets put out if there is too much company on the river (that would be a total of 2 others) 😉 Off topic, what’s with all the juvenile poo talk on both other blogs? Can’t believe it snuck by Dal and Forrest – sounded like 12 yr old boy humor. Weird at any rate.

                42

                1. 42 – Yeah,…we like it when tourists have to fly into another airport South of here,…because planes can’t land in the weather. They have to take a bus from there,…SUCH a hassle! I am sure THAT keeps some,…that don’t LOVE it here,…as much as I do,…from coming back. That’s nice. 🙂

                  So,…you have discovered Marion,…have you? Maybe Dal and Forrest find his humor amusing? He has been posting for quite some time now,…and I usually find a way to intelligently respond. There is some GOLD in all that poo…

                  E*

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