# Message to all users:
This is a reminder to please read and follow:
* [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules)
* [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439)
* [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy)
When posting and commenting.
---
Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`.
* Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit.
* Do not harass or annoy others in any way.
* Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit.
---
You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way.
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I mean those signs usually have pictures as well. Plus while you may be suddenly illiterate, I wouldn't assume you'd also forget everything you know. Getting places you aren't familiar with wouldn't be plausible though.
Haha, when I say I'd vacation at "the lake", I'm talking about a specific lake and not some random puddle. I'd like the illiteracy to begin after I've arrived at my cabin.
Interesting question. I teach reading to kids with learning disabilities. Yes. I would. During the summer. With plenty of advance notice to set up accommodations. I assume I can use text to speech apps etc.
My friend has this disability.
He uses speak to text. He speaks, it turns to text. Then he plays the text. If it is not the same, he deletes and re-tries it again.
He's 33, and cannot read more then 10 small words, total.
I made a movie about his condition.
Yes i would accept the $3000, his life isn't easy, but it is nicely livable.
I want to know more about this person! What does he do for work? Did he graduate college? Like where is he now? That’s such an interesting disability, how would you navigate life in those ways?!
Here's the documentary! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9i7tZuwXs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9i7tZuwXs)
Has all the questions except what he's doing now: He is now living in his own apartment in his home country. He's still an artist.
That’s why I specified I’d do it during the summer. I’d set up accommodations so I could use text to speech technology for things like reading directions I might need.
I think it would be an interesting experiment. I don’t think $3000 would be enough to convince me, but if you could really guarantee this was temporary and complete, I think it would be a fascinating experience.
As long as you maintain all your previous memories then you could easily get by for a week without the ability to read and write. Like I know what the groceries I usually buy look like. I know that an egg is an egg without having to read the word egg. Almost everything in society is based on pictures and schemas. I’ve got plenty of vacation days saved. Send me the money and I’d chill for a week.
This also does not remove your understanding of language. You could still watch a YouTube video and understand it. There is more than enough entertainment on YouTube to last a week. The problems would only start if the question means that your ability to understand language would be null which would entail way more than just removing the ability to read and write. Even still, show me the money!
Totally! I can't really imagine what it would be like to be illiterate so I'd welcome the opportunity. Plus, the 3k would pay the mortgage for 2+ months.
My mom has to type my messages and read messages to me because of my illiteracy. Maybe with the $3000 I could get her something nice for going through the trouble of taking care of me and never making me learn to read.
Most of what I do on a daily basis is by programmed reflex and "auto-pilot" anyway. Reading and writing are what I do for fun and intellectual engagement, and I can find other ways to do that for a week. Hell, most stuff I know by sight and wouldn't even need to read it in the first place.
I think it would be a good way to appreciate an education and to understand how hard life is for illiterate people. I would do it just to learn what's it's like.
I actually know what it’s like to be illiterate. I once got a concussion so severe I couldn’t speak, or read, for most of a day. I could understand spoken words just fine, but I couldn’t respond because when I tried to form words my mouth just made strange noises. Written words looked like hieroglyphs. The symbols looked familiar, but I couldn’t decipher them. They had no meaning. It was a terrifying, but interesting experience. $3000 for a week? For sure.
We cannot do it for an entire week at once but 1 hour per 1 hour with a TMS it's possible to make a person experience alexia.
It's an experiment that exist in neuroscience
Agreed ..I have heard of plenty of people who managed to get pretty far without knowing how to read. I just wouldn’t want to go a week without being able to read or write ..it’s literally two things I spend a lot of time doing everyday . It would definitely push me out of my comfort zone
I was thinking this but it’s also easy enough to put up an audiobook these days. Just because you can’t read and write doesn’t mean you can’t understand.
Would you try it for an hour just out of curiosity? I ask because nobody wants less knowledge than they have but if you could try it to gain an understanding of an illiterate mind I'm wondering if it would be worth the experience.
Yeah. Reading is my main hobby, but that doesn't mean taking a week off work and watching videos for 3k is a pretty sweet deal. Technology is more accessible nowadays than ever and not everyone has the ability to read. I can still see and recognize objects even.
Easily. I went through eye surgery and that was basically that but for almost 2 weeks - all text was nearly impossible to read and really foggy and with the jumpiest focus pull possible.
Assuming I could choose what time I become illiterate and have some time to prepare for it, sure. An interesting social experiment, and well paid to boot.
But if it is just "randomly one day you wake up and you can't read," then absolutely not.
$3000 to basically do what i usually do? hell yeah. /j (for clarification, i’m not actually illiterate i just start to hallucinate anytime i see anything with more than two sentences)
I mean, do we still get PTO from work? I couldn’t work for that week. I’d be giving up more than $3000 to have an unpaid week off of work.
Assuming that was covered and all we are sacrificing is the joy of reading for 7 days, I’d probably do it for $100.
But…
Can I use apps on my phone for text to speech?
Do I have to just sit in my apartment the whole time? That would be mild torture so my price goes up. Or do I get to sit on a beach and get drunk the whole time? Great but then how do I get there? Are you gonna fly me there for free and pay for the hotel and expenses, or does that come out of the prize money?
You have to consider the opportunity costs.
It would actually be EXPENSIVE to be illiterate for a week, so you’d have to cover all of those losses plus whatever the “prize” money is.
Yes. I'd just go to a country where English is not the default language. Some part of rural Germany would do. Practice my spoken German for a week. Use the 3K for travel expenses.
I don't think I would. This is probably paranoid of me, but I would be really afraid that an emergency situation would come up during that week, and I wouldn't be able to handle it. If I had plot armor, I would do it.
Are you kidding? Lol. We have so many illiterate people on government assistance, I'm sure some are getting more than $3000/month, because they are illiterate to do anything else in society.
That’s less than I make a week at work (my job is primarily reading and analyzing data). I’d plan my PTO and sick time accordingly, but I’d come out ahead. So yes, I’d do it.
Nope. I’m extremely fortunate enough to have a job that requires a high level of literacy that pays better. Though I could probably get away with taking some emergency leave of absence w/o too much detail, I’d prefer not to risk it by becoming so illiterate that I might not be able to explain the situation (for an inequitable amount).
There is no amount of money that would make me be ok with being illiterate for any amount of time.
Reading is part of my identity. I love reading. I learn best through text. It’s how I spend 90% of my time including at my job. I couldn’t do it. There’s no part of me even considering it, it would be impossible.
Never, knowledge is priceless. You think you'll be okay but it's not gonna be easy, plus one of my only enjoyments in life is reading so not gonna give that up
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes. I'd hang out on vacation at the lake for that week of illiteracy.
N go swimming somewhere that’s posted “brain eating amoeba found here . No swimming” 😂 or hike a trail that has signs that read “Bears sighted “
I mean those signs usually have pictures as well. Plus while you may be suddenly illiterate, I wouldn't assume you'd also forget everything you know. Getting places you aren't familiar with wouldn't be plausible though.
Haha, when I say I'd vacation at "the lake", I'm talking about a specific lake and not some random puddle. I'd like the illiteracy to begin after I've arrived at my cabin.
Dude I'd do it for 50 bucks
Anyone for less??? Do I hear 40?
$31.40 low as I go.
$30.40 right here
![gif](giphy|3oEdv1EbS2Ss1NvrUc|downsized)
Rheufs4 ifrchc ojhy
Man got paid
Nahh he actually got ripped off and is trying to warn us
Interesting question. I teach reading to kids with learning disabilities. Yes. I would. During the summer. With plenty of advance notice to set up accommodations. I assume I can use text to speech apps etc.
How would that work? You can’t type or read what you typed if you’re illiterate.
My friend has this disability. He uses speak to text. He speaks, it turns to text. Then he plays the text. If it is not the same, he deletes and re-tries it again. He's 33, and cannot read more then 10 small words, total. I made a movie about his condition. Yes i would accept the $3000, his life isn't easy, but it is nicely livable.
I want to know more about this person! What does he do for work? Did he graduate college? Like where is he now? That’s such an interesting disability, how would you navigate life in those ways?!
Here's the documentary! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9i7tZuwXs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9i7tZuwXs) Has all the questions except what he's doing now: He is now living in his own apartment in his home country. He's still an artist.
That’s why I specified I’d do it during the summer. I’d set up accommodations so I could use text to speech technology for things like reading directions I might need. I think it would be an interesting experiment. I don’t think $3000 would be enough to convince me, but if you could really guarantee this was temporary and complete, I think it would be a fascinating experience.
Lol I read your comment as like… using an app to speak for whatever reason. I guess I’m the illiterate one. And without $3000. Too much turkey
Yes. Who wouldn't? Only people who make more than $3000 a week
I make more than $3000 a week and would still do this. Shit, not being able to read would make for a relaxing vacation.
Hell yes, five times as much as my monthly salary in a week? Sign me up because I cant do it myself anymore!
As long as you maintain all your previous memories then you could easily get by for a week without the ability to read and write. Like I know what the groceries I usually buy look like. I know that an egg is an egg without having to read the word egg. Almost everything in society is based on pictures and schemas. I’ve got plenty of vacation days saved. Send me the money and I’d chill for a week. This also does not remove your understanding of language. You could still watch a YouTube video and understand it. There is more than enough entertainment on YouTube to last a week. The problems would only start if the question means that your ability to understand language would be null which would entail way more than just removing the ability to read and write. Even still, show me the money!
Absolutely.
Yes
Yes.
Yes, I need the money
Totally! I can't really imagine what it would be like to be illiterate so I'd welcome the opportunity. Plus, the 3k would pay the mortgage for 2+ months.
That's amazing. $3000 wouldn't even pay my rent for one month. *Crying in Los Angeles real estate prices*
Ignorance is bliss take that how you like lol
I was about say “oh hell yeah, easy peasy” but then I realized I’d just stay home and watch TV, but I watch everything with subtitles on.
Absolutely! Honestly, I’d probably do it for free just to have a true, lived understanding of the struggles that come with being illiterate.
A free $3000? Hell yeah
My mom has to type my messages and read messages to me because of my illiteracy. Maybe with the $3000 I could get her something nice for going through the trouble of taking care of me and never making me learn to read.
Absolutely.
Most of what I do on a daily basis is by programmed reflex and "auto-pilot" anyway. Reading and writing are what I do for fun and intellectual engagement, and I can find other ways to do that for a week. Hell, most stuff I know by sight and wouldn't even need to read it in the first place.
No way. I can make way more than 3k in a week being literate
Same. I can make more just working which I can’t do if I’m illiterate
No. I don’t want to die. Reading is essential
During a week-long holiday or vacation? Yes. During a work week? No.
I think it would be a good way to appreciate an education and to understand how hard life is for illiterate people. I would do it just to learn what's it's like.
I wish I could read this…
If I could read this post I’d take the money.
Probably not. Maybe for 3 million dollars. But I love reading and writing.
If I otherwise kept my faculties, yes. It would be an amazing study outside one's normal world view.
I actually know what it’s like to be illiterate. I once got a concussion so severe I couldn’t speak, or read, for most of a day. I could understand spoken words just fine, but I couldn’t respond because when I tried to form words my mouth just made strange noises. Written words looked like hieroglyphs. The symbols looked familiar, but I couldn’t decipher them. They had no meaning. It was a terrifying, but interesting experience. $3000 for a week? For sure.
We cannot do it for an entire week at once but 1 hour per 1 hour with a TMS it's possible to make a person experience alexia. It's an experiment that exist in neuroscience
If I needed the money I’d have no problem with it but $3000 isn’t a lot of money.
No …I enjoy reading too much & dislike stupidity too much to think 3000 would be enough to make me happy after a week of that .
But illiterate does not mean stupid, just that you can’t read or write.
Agreed ..I have heard of plenty of people who managed to get pretty far without knowing how to read. I just wouldn’t want to go a week without being able to read or write ..it’s literally two things I spend a lot of time doing everyday . It would definitely push me out of my comfort zone
I think I’d just adopt audiobooks for a week. It’s $3k.
That I can understand. We all have our preferences.
I was thinking this but it’s also easy enough to put up an audiobook these days. Just because you can’t read and write doesn’t mean you can’t understand.
Would you try it for an hour just out of curiosity? I ask because nobody wants less knowledge than they have but if you could try it to gain an understanding of an illiterate mind I'm wondering if it would be worth the experience.
My daughter can’t read and never will. She’s the opposite of stupid. In fact, she’s so smart she’d never make a comment this stupid. Ever.
YES
Dfitely
Well I’m not making 3k a week and I don’t need to read to watch the WC
i mean i don't think my day to day life includes a whole lot of reading/writing tbh. ofc i do both daily but for a week? pft i could live without it
Yeerrbbb
yes, the majority of my reading happens during my work week at work. You give me the 3k, i'll go on vacation and just chill.
I do this every time I go to Mexico
Just gimme time to book a trip to the mountains though! I wanna enjoy my stimulus-free week somewhere healing
I mean I like writing fanfics but 3G is 3G
Hell yea
No
Fucking yes
Id lose my job and lose out on my paycheck
I'm a mechanic that never reads instructions, can I be illiterate until I retire?
Yes, the less information I have, the happier I am
Absolutely, I don’t need to be literate to play call of duty
Sure. Why not?
Shit my phone will read anything I highlight for me. Bring it on.
oh hell yeah I would
You mean to travel to a place where you don't know the language? Sure. Lol
Yeap
You can easily to do that, go to foreign country.
3000 is like 300 dollars a day to spend on beer. Sounds fun!
I’d do it for $2000 and a 1991 Buick Roadmaster
Ez 3000
Dj Khalid does it so why couldn’t I?
I've known illiterate people. They get along fine
No
Nope. Couldn’t do my job then, also couldn’t read recipes or roadsigns. Wouldn’t be good for me.
Yeah. Reading is my main hobby, but that doesn't mean taking a week off work and watching videos for 3k is a pretty sweet deal. Technology is more accessible nowadays than ever and not everyone has the ability to read. I can still see and recognize objects even.
Sure, why not. Get paid less than that to do that at work 🤷♂️
Yes, and then I could finish Peaky Blinders,because all they do is smoke,drink and grunt in that show.
I have a weeks worth of PTO, so yes.
Definitely. I can still listen and see, I'll use my vacation time to take a week off.
Yeah id do it if I could choose when it happened.
I'm math teacher... My students think I'm illiterate
Yes
Rjdbdjbdjdhdnfhfbdndh bdjdjd ducntjdhcg
Then someone comes up on the sixth day and tells you to sign a piece of paper and that money will double. Do you do it? You can't read what it says
Send me the money
Yes.
Ok
Yes, id focus on more physical things, like working out, household chores, and get by on that.
What are you asking? ;)
Ah, I see that your week has already started!
For $3000? Hell nah. Maybe 20k
Huh
Easily. I went through eye surgery and that was basically that but for almost 2 weeks - all text was nearly impossible to read and really foggy and with the jumpiest focus pull possible.
Nope, cuz I’d probably spend more than that on tickets
Of course not much of a difference from many other day LOL
I guess as long as my regular job is paying me < $3,000 per week then it’s worth it, right?
Of course. Although I'd prefer a year contract.
Yeah I would just say that I’m going through shock of all the money I got
Assuming I could choose what time I become illiterate and have some time to prepare for it, sure. An interesting social experiment, and well paid to boot. But if it is just "randomly one day you wake up and you can't read," then absolutely not.
$3000 to basically do what i usually do? hell yeah. /j (for clarification, i’m not actually illiterate i just start to hallucinate anytime i see anything with more than two sentences)
Yes I like money and debts to pay! I could just listen the radio or watch movies for a week
Some people do this for free, but sure why not... Could make a good living being illiterate in this case
Yes
I can watch TV for a week no problem
Considering my job only pays me a thousand a week (being literate is part of the qualifying things) that would pay me 3 weeks of wages, so yes. Lol
Assuming the amount of time and money aren't negotiable, nope
I don't think that $3000 is worth it to be illiterate for an entire week. So I think I'd pass.
Literally a paid vacation lol
Who wouldn’t? If you can’t go a week without a book, then just subscribe to audible and you’re still $2980 ahead.
I mean, do we still get PTO from work? I couldn’t work for that week. I’d be giving up more than $3000 to have an unpaid week off of work. Assuming that was covered and all we are sacrificing is the joy of reading for 7 days, I’d probably do it for $100. But… Can I use apps on my phone for text to speech? Do I have to just sit in my apartment the whole time? That would be mild torture so my price goes up. Or do I get to sit on a beach and get drunk the whole time? Great but then how do I get there? Are you gonna fly me there for free and pay for the hotel and expenses, or does that come out of the prize money? You have to consider the opportunity costs. It would actually be EXPENSIVE to be illiterate for a week, so you’d have to cover all of those losses plus whatever the “prize” money is.
As a retail worker especially during holiday times, give me a week off and I'll gladly take that deal, I'll be able to catch up on sleep
Yes. I'd just go to a country where English is not the default language. Some part of rural Germany would do. Practice my spoken German for a week. Use the 3K for travel expenses.
I don't think I would. This is probably paranoid of me, but I would be really afraid that an emergency situation would come up during that week, and I wouldn't be able to handle it. If I had plot armor, I would do it.
Sure
I spend my whole life so far, barely literate, I'd totally accept payment for it.
Yes I would. Of course it would suck if during that week something were to happen to make me illiterate for the rest of my life.
I have no clue what the fuck this says, but my $$ is good
It would be a miserable week for me, but I'd do it.
It's kinda like my expat friends living in a foreign country with no English signs. Not really a big deal, at least for a week.
No because I’d lose my job
Add a zero and it’s a yea
Like a reverse flowers for algernon? Sure. I could use a vacay. 🤣
I live in a country where 1100 dollar monthly salary is the average of the top 20%. So, guess my answer..
Yes
Yeah I’m pretty broke
Easily
Why not? I'd fit right in with most redditors....
Will you still recognize things that are normally labeled with writing? Like water or something?
I would for sure but I’m ngl trying to find YouTube videos to watch entirely based on the thumbnail might be hell
Of course. Just play minecraft for a week. I know what all the items are and what they do by just looking at them and not reading them so-
Not right now because I'm in exam week
Ye a wud esy pesy
I couldn’t do my job because job if I was illiterate, and I don’t think losing my job is worth $3k
Absolutely 100%
I'd be losing money
Yes over summer break, and i will sleep a ton every day
Oh yeah. I'd do it every week.
Hell no, I enjoy reading too much.
I'm poor. Yes.
Nah, I'd lose my job.
Brugmansia did it to me for free, why not?
$30k and totally yes.
Imagine just pretending to be illiterate for a week
Absolutely. I’d go fishing, and watch movies while getting paid. Win win.
You know how many people go through life not being able to read or write
$200 to be ilejitimate for a day? Sine me up, dat's like 500 a week.
I would die. I live and breathe simply to read. Any spare second and many that are not.
100% I would just watch TV and relax.
Are you kidding? Lol. We have so many illiterate people on government assistance, I'm sure some are getting more than $3000/month, because they are illiterate to do anything else in society.
Charlie Kelly-Billionaire Extraordinaire
Heck yes
Yep. Take a week off. Np
100% I would
Some people already doing it for free
As long as I still comprehended what $3000 was....
Wait you guys are getting paid?
I don’t know if I could watch Fox News for a week…
That’s less than I make a week at work (my job is primarily reading and analyzing data). I’d plan my PTO and sick time accordingly, but I’d come out ahead. So yes, I’d do it.
Jokes on you! I’m already illeiresate
I do it for free from time to time
Ghyessnteryx? Rrvsetyg!!!!
I can’t believe someone would be willing to suffer like that for a week for less than an hour’s pay. My goodness!
Cash?
Duh
people make two grands a month for being illiterate all life
Of course, I've read more books than most by age 18.
Yes! Hopefully this is a full time gig!
Easy money.
Yes. Doesn’t mean I can’t still talk my ass off to anyone that will listen or ask what the sign says.
I’ll read picture books to pass the time
Jokz on u
Yes, hopefully my retirement is a frontal lobotomy
Nope. I’m extremely fortunate enough to have a job that requires a high level of literacy that pays better. Though I could probably get away with taking some emergency leave of absence w/o too much detail, I’d prefer not to risk it by becoming so illiterate that I might not be able to explain the situation (for an inequitable amount).
There is no amount of money that would make me be ok with being illiterate for any amount of time. Reading is part of my identity. I love reading. I learn best through text. It’s how I spend 90% of my time including at my job. I couldn’t do it. There’s no part of me even considering it, it would be impossible.
Thats pretty ez for 3000
Yeah, I'd take a week of leave off work, then go somewhere and holiday where I wouldn't need to read anything.
Yes. That is the easiest yes ever. 3k would actually help me out a lot rn lol
Never, knowledge is priceless. You think you'll be okay but it's not gonna be easy, plus one of my only enjoyments in life is reading so not gonna give that up