Life's Great Mysteries - Could you be friends with a clone of yourself?

My curious mind never rests. This is a fascinating question, right? If somehow there could instantly be an exact copy of you, could that person become your good friend? I know... a clone is really the same thing as an identical twin, and twins develop many personality (and even physical) differences during their lifetimes. But I'm talking about the common science fiction concept of creating a copy that is identical to you as you are right now. Same memories, same experiences, same everything.

First, there are reasonable arguments for and against creating a copy of yourself. First, assuming your copy is willing, you could accomplish a lot more with two than with one. Some people might think: I wouldn’t have to go to work! Well, that’s probably wrong. Remember, your clone is just like you, so your clone also doesn’t want to go to work. You might have to establish an agreement where you alternate days with your clone… which does mean you would only have to go to work half the time. But then you’d have to spend a lot of time each day briefing each other on what you accomplished that day at work so you wouldn’t get totally confused the next morning when you get there. And you would have to share one salary!

It might benefit you to observe yourself from an outside perspective (not just in a mirror). You could watch your clone’s mannerisms, gestures, facial expressions, allowing you to recognize and change your annoying habits. I’m sure there is a lot we could learn about ourselves… from ourselves.

There are also some pretty serious negative consequences. If a copy of you suddenly appears, which one of you actually owns your house and other property? Which of you really loves your spouse and all your friends? Would your spouse have to choose one of you? With only one job, you now have two people to feed and clothe. The new person would need their own social security number, health insurance, driver’s license, and bank accounts. Uh-oh, I’m going down a deep rabbit hole with this.

So, back to the original Great Mystery… could you and your clone be friends? A tough question. It forces us to ask: Knowing exactly who I am, would I be willing to hang around with myself for fun? Different people might answer this differently. Trish and I are best friends partly because we are different. When I am feeling quiet and contemplative, she talks and fills the gaps. Sometimes, it’s the other way around. I tend to be impulsive to a fault, while she plans and considers consequences. If two people are exactly the same, could they really be friends? After all, we spend every waking hour with ourselves already. Could we really tolerate another copy of ourselves? I suppose we would laugh at the same jokes and enjoy the same TV shows. But I think the similarities would become tiresome.

However, here’s how I think it could work. I could send my clone off on his own, to have his own experiences, say, for a year. Then, when he comes back, his experiences would have changed him enough, and my experiences would change me enough, that we would no longer be identical, and we would then have things to talk about.

Of course, the problem is, he would be me. He would not want to leave his wife, his home, his family any more than I would. *Sigh* No... this just wouldn't work at all. I do NOT want a copy of myself!