What if football star Michael Vick was white, not black? What if Princess Di was alive, not dead?

In the recent past, Newsweek, and then ESPN, asked these seemingly popular what-if questions.

ESPN doctored a picture of Vick, who is black, to make him appear white. In this article, the author talks about if Vick would a) have been treated differently had he been white and accused of dog-fighting, b) would have been exposed to such sport had he been white, c) been a football player with any success, among other questions.

Newsweek revealed that Di, if not dead, would love Kate Middleton. And she would have an iPod.

The one photo was doctored to change one’s skin color and, in the other, to pull someone from the grave. Vick’s image stoked talk of race and sports, which is much needed. The image shocked. So did its meaning.

But what of the photo of Princess Di? This, too, caused controversy. Big surprise. Di has always done that.

For Newsweek, it seems, this image and story was to make money. To sell big.

But was there a deeper meaning not just to the Di story, but to the whole use of the “what-if?” Why is the hypothetical an approach that seems to spark thought, debate, or even the marketplace?

What do we, as a culture, gain from thinking about what isn’t, but would could be?

Someone may have answered this, and I’d love to see what they’ve said.

Until then… thoughts?