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Hypothetical Question - Page 2

Blogs > teh.pwnerer
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Prev 1 2 All
MeriaDoKk
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
Chile1726 Posts
August 27 2008 01:10 GMT
#21
try to take a nap
Ghost151
Profile Joined May 2008
United States290 Posts
August 27 2008 01:16 GMT
#22
push the button, so i can save one person at least, otherwise they are all dead? what kind of question is this? lol, unless there's like a way to persuade the guy in an hour to free everybody


But I assume the intent of the question is to ask "would you kill 2000 people to save 2001 people?" As if you should carry some heavy burden for pressing the button. In that respect, my answer is press the button, easy.


you all make too many assumptions. We don't know how many people in total are in the room, we don't know if the 2001st person is yourself or not. We don't know whether there are only 2k people in the room and #2001 is yourself, if there are 2001 people in the room and you could potentially save 1 of them, if there are 2000 people in the room and by pressing the button you save yourself, or if there are far more people in the room that would bear witness to you murdering 2000 people by your action or 2001 by your inaction. It's too vague to come to conclusions like those that are quoted.

From what we are given in the OP all we know is either 2000 or 2001 people *will* die whether you act or not. The question being asked is what value does one human life (regardless of whose it is) hold for you?

BTW my decision is to press it. Either way 2000 people are fucked, and you might as well do your best to save one (even if human beings for the most part don't derserve it) And strictly speaking, refusing to press the button is an act in itself, so yes you kill people either way in my view...better it be 2000 than one more.
fuck art its a competition if you dont get pissed off when you lose you dont care enough - Idra, on the "art" of RTS games.
Swarmy
Profile Joined July 2008
Canada70 Posts
August 27 2008 01:28 GMT
#23
This is like a stupid version of "The trolley problem".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Nitrogen
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States5345 Posts
August 27 2008 01:32 GMT
#24
i'd wait a bit then press the button...
UNFUCK YOURSELF
FR4CT4L
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Australia697 Posts
August 27 2008 01:49 GMT
#25
If this was in a movie the "one" person would be you. So upon pressing the button the madman would let you go and have a talk about human self preservation since he knew you where hoping that one person was yourself. Then in a public announcement he would reveal that he had kidnapped the families of 800 special forces commando's and would show you mercilessly pressing the button which makes them go boom!

Then you true fight for survival against 800 pissed off special forces commandos begins.

Either that or the person you save is 95 or something.

I'd probably press the button.
Veni, vidi, vici!
GoldenSun
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
21 Posts
August 27 2008 02:05 GMT
#26
Press the button and think about Schrödinger's cat's experiment. That way you'd think the people in the warehouse are all in a limbo state between death and living thus you don't have to feel guilty about killing them.
skyglow1
Profile Blog Joined April 2005
New Zealand3962 Posts
August 27 2008 02:12 GMT
#27
On August 27 2008 11:05 GoldenSun wrote:
Press the button and think about Schrödinger's cat's experiment. That way you'd think the people in the warehouse are all in a limbo state between death and living thus you don't have to feel guilty about killing them.


Hahaha awesome!
ShmotZ
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States581 Posts
August 27 2008 02:23 GMT
#28
no, i will not have the death of 2000 be by my hand.

by sheer guilt that i stripped 2000 people from there lives would probably lead myself to suicide myself making it 2001 either way.
Ah, computer dating. It's like pimping, but you rarely have to use the phrase "upside your head." - Bender
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24767 Posts
August 27 2008 02:31 GMT
#29
I'd demand a method to arrange for all 4001 people to be killed.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
CapO
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
United States1615 Posts
August 27 2008 02:33 GMT
#30
On August 27 2008 11:23 ShmotZ wrote:
no, i will not have the death of 2000 be by my hand.

by sheer guilt that i stripped 2000 people from there lives would probably lead myself to suicide myself making it 2001 either way.


emo n00b!
SNSD fan
TeNken.1
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States226 Posts
August 27 2008 03:14 GMT
#31
This reminds me of the scene in dark knight with the two boats...I would either not do anything, or whip out my invisible snes controller and micro battle him to the death.
"The G-Don is the official family hitman."
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24767 Posts
August 27 2008 03:20 GMT
#32
On August 27 2008 12:14 TeNken.1 wrote:
This reminds me of the scene in dark knight with the two boats...I would either not do anything, or whip out my invisible snes controller and micro battle him to the death.

Yeah I immediately thought of this and half-assumed this blog was inspired by that scene. However, it's very difficult to say what you would do in that situation.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
raiame
Profile Joined December 2007
United States421 Posts
August 27 2008 03:45 GMT
#33
When I first read it, I thought to push the button. I had read it to mean that the 2000 people were a subset of the 2001 people, so if I pressed the button, then one of the 2001 would be saved. If the 2000 people are different from the 2001, then I don't think I'd be able to press the button, knowing that I had chosen to kill some people who weren't going to be killed if I didn't do anything.
BottleAbuser
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
Korea (South)1888 Posts
August 27 2008 03:48 GMT
#34
Assuming no other outcomes than what this person proposes, push the goddamn button. Fuck all this inaction and action bullshit - you are controlling the outcome, and inaction is a choice too.

Then again, fuck this kind of hypothetical situation - there's always another way. "Die trying" is always available.
Compilers are like boyfriends, you miss a period and they go crazy on you.
doubleupgradeobbies!
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Australia1250 Posts
August 27 2008 04:22 GMT
#35
On August 27 2008 11:31 micronesia wrote:
I'd demand a method to arrange for all 4001 people to be killed.


Damn right, the world is overpopulated anyway.

Assuming you are not one of either the 2000 or 2001

the more people that die the better.

In which case don't press the button until he tells you that the 2001 people are dead, then press it to see if another 2000 then get to die :D
MSL, 2003-2011, RIP. OSL, 2000-2012, RIP. Proleague, 2003-2012, RIP. And then there was none... Even good things must come to an end.
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