To add to that thought: Before THAT person died, someone ELSE had died in the previously most painful way possible, and at some point in the future someone else will probably find an even MORE painful way to die that we can’t even imagine.
At some point it will probably reach a limit where one needs to be unusually susceptible to pain to die an even more painful death.
That’s assuming all the pain happens within a given span of time. As long as we can keep lengthening human lifespans, the length of a painful death can keep stretching out.
To be clear, I’m not happy about this thought, I’ve just thought about the worst ways to die a lot more than is healthy.
Well, the topic is horrible but since we are already at it why not just get it done with?
Would a too prolonged suffering count as a painful death if the person is not dying for most of it? Many people live with chronic pains but I wouldn’t count that.
Morbid curiosity piqued, has a person ever been spaced? (Not just vacuumed)
The closest would be the Soyuz 11 disaster. A seal on the re-entry vehicle was damaged when the capsule detached prior to re-entry. Terrible way to go I imagine.
They died in the most painful way possible so far
Oh, I’m hearing some cereal killer aspirations.
*No one is going to convince me it’s spelt any differently
Fortunately, when pain gets too extreme, it flips a breaker of sorts in your brain and you stop feeling it so much. Happens during really catastrophic trauma, presumably to keep the pain from distracting you too much from your (at that point probably necessary) fight or flight reactions.
Adrenaline is part of it, but I don’t think it’s solely responsible, as its not always present in accounts. Sometimes people can be very calm.
That’s why psychological torture is preferred by a lot of “advanced interrogators”.
Keep someone locked in the same uncomfortable position for days while you’re blasting aggressive disorienting sounds and randomly flashing blinding lights in a room with mirrors.
Once in a while, take them and do a few hours of water boarding. Make sure they’re constantly sleep deprived and can never get more than a few minutes of sleep.
Then when you do want to inflict physical pain, focus on the feet very slowly. Feet is one of the most sensitive areas. Slowly start peeling the skin or stick nails through the toes, or practice some electroshock therapy.
Honestly torture is terrifying. I recently read a long form article about it. Worst part is, our “civilized” governments still do this with some amount of regularity. Would be more civilized to put a bullet in the head.
Then think about near future where we can read thoughts (like 1984 where the “advanced interrogator” reads the protagonists mind to figure out what his greatest fear is) or even worse implant thoughts. They could implant images of you murdering your family or something. There’s a lot of potential for some horrifying stuff.
That’s why in some science fiction, see Warhammer 40K, they have technology that let you keep on feeling that pain long after you should be well and thoroughly dead. Honestly I’m not sure who’s better at it, the Imperium or the Dark Eldar.
Someone has certainly died more painfully than anyone else, but they haven’t necessarily died in the most painful way possible.
What about total cumulative pain suffered? If somebody particularly nasty managed to find a way to continuously torture a person while staying just below the threshold of complete organ failure, and the victim was artificially kept alive and suffering for several years, that would tick both your criteria at the same time
