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This year. Having near omniscience about recent events would have so many useful applications.
My stock predictions would be crazy accurate if I could observe what decision makers were planning but had not yet implemented or were still in the process of implementing.
Depending on the timing of when this ability takes affect, I might be able to also place wagers on events, like awards shows, that have already been decided but not yet announced.
My ability to solve crimes by observing how they were committed and what happened to the evidence would propel me to Sherlock Holmesian level of noteriety.
I am also sure plenty of influencial people would be willing to do favors for me in exchange for my silence on some of their various recent activities.
Those aren't even the imaginative ideas.
OP's rules were "You can skip around in time and space within your chosen year, but not affect anything." So you couldn't go back in time to place wagers to collect today. Your changes in the past would not affect the present.
Maybe I want clear enough, so allow me to expand.
Some events, like the cited example of award shows, have their outcomes decided on before they are announced. If I gain this ability after that the decision is made but before the outcome is announced, then I could place a wager on it now without impacting anything in the past. This is where the "depending on the timing" qualifier comes into play and why I said "already decided but not yet announced".
The only way I can think of arguing against this is that OPs words were "not affect anything" (emphasis mine). OP does not state that you can't have an effect specifically on the past. OP says you can't affect anything.
You would be using knowledge you didn't have to affect your future.
You would go out and memorize every crime detail and business decision? Spending this gift on a mix of corporate meetings and bearing witness to all the horrible immoral things people do to each other.
What you gain except easy acces to wealth and popularity? Things we know that do not cause happiness.
Wealth absolutely causes happiness
The ability would be see back to any year. I could just look back at any specific event within the year. I wouldn't need to memorize anything if I can just observe it.
I already consider myself a fairly happy individual. I would be pursuing financial independence, not happiness. Besides, why would I assume that the acquisition of knowledge would have an impact on my emotional state.
Yeah i read the prompt as "You lose the power once you go back to normal time" I can see your plan makes more sense if you imagine it as encountering things which spark an opportunity if you could see something specific in 2024, however the power of it being recent would diminish over time.