I fear the arrogance we are all at risk of, the pride that pushes us to put “I” in place of “God”. More prosaically, I fear physical pain because it risks stripping us of our dignity.
What is your greatest fear?
Question
What happens when we die?
Death & what remains
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire
The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Pigeons. One got stuck in my flat once for quite a long time and it really changed how I feel about them.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 May 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 256 →
Vick Hope
British television and radio presenter
When I was growing up, I thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger fear to contend with on a day‑to-day basis. It hasn’t proved to be a bother yet, but there’s still time.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Basketball player and author
Years ago, before I had my current manager, I was taken advantage of by people I’d trusted with my finances. That’s made me especially sensitive to the prospect of financial ruin. I’m constantly advising young athletes to be vigilant when it comes to whom you trust with your finances.
As an Italian, tinned spaghetti. As a child, I was once served it at someone’s house. It was quite frightening.
More from Hugh Skinner
View profile →I think we’re definitely gone, but I do think people leave traces everywhere from what they did in life, and live on and continue to make an impact through the ripple effect of that.
In the back of my mind I just assumed I’d be in a boyband at some point.
Like nothing’s a problem.
People singing in the street.
Snobbishness, superiority, condescension.
I’d be happier being myself younger.
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