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Active: 1775 users

Hypothetical Question

Blogs > teh.pwnerer
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teh.pwnerer
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
Canada110 Posts
August 27 2008 00:03 GMT
#1
A madman has you locked up in a room, and has kidnapped thousands of people in a large warehouse. He puts a button in front of you, and tells you:

"If you push the button, 2000 people die. If you do not push the button, 2001 people die. You have one hour to decide."

You assume this man means business. So what do you do, and why?

(By the way I did not come up with this, I remember seeing it somewhere.)



Mass Dark Archons FTW
Hurricane
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
United States3939 Posts
August 27 2008 00:05 GMT
#2
Don't push it. It gives you longer to think of a way to stop it, also with the chance of him bluffing, not pushing is definitely the best choice because it buys you more time for something to happen to stop it.
RIP CHARLIEMURPHY 11/25/10 NEVER FORGET | Hurricane#1183 @ B.net
YPang
Profile Blog Joined April 2007
United States4024 Posts
August 27 2008 00:09 GMT
#3
can it be 2000 or 2001 ill babies?
sMi.Gladstone | BW: B high| SC2: gold T_T
ilovezil
Profile Blog Joined August 2006
United States4143 Posts
August 27 2008 00:18 GMT
#4
On August 27 2008 09:05 Hurricane wrote:
Don't push it. It gives you longer to think of a way to stop it, also with the chance of him bluffing, not pushing is definitely the best choice because it buys you more time for something to happen to stop it.


I agree with what you're saying, but the problem becomes more complicated since there are so many unknown variables. Assuming that the man is as dangerous as he seems, he's most likely capable of pulling something within the one hour, so you might not have as long a time as you think. Plus, there are always the bizzare possibilities such as there's a certain timing to when to push the button to limit casualties. I don't know though, I might be missing something within the information presented, but that's all I can immediately come up with.
Lemonwalrus
Profile Blog Joined August 2006
United States5465 Posts
August 27 2008 00:22 GMT
#5
I think the difference between 2001 and 2000 is small enough (very harsh, I know) that I could better live with myself if 2001 deaths were caused by my inaction than if 2000 deaths were caused by an action I made when I had a choice not to. This is all, of course, assuming that there is no way to cheat the system. However, given different numbers/situations, I could see myself changing my mind.
Caller
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
Poland8075 Posts
August 27 2008 00:25 GMT
#6
kick him in the nuts
take button
shove down throat

GG

in all seriousness, I would probably not press the button, because I would guess he is bluffing as he has no way to do so.
Watch me fail at Paradox: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=397564
Raithed
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
China7078 Posts
August 27 2008 00:26 GMT
#7
try to get out.
ketomai
Profile Joined June 2007
United States2789 Posts
August 27 2008 00:26 GMT
#8
Well, when I first read it, it sounded like a threat (IF YOU DON"T PRESS IT YOU"LL DIE TOO, hence the 2001). But, if that isn't the case, I'd wait, and then I'd not press it at the chance that he's bluffing.
Pervect
Profile Joined June 2007
1280 Posts
August 27 2008 00:32 GMT
#9
A. Flip a coin. Best of three. If you don't have a coin, flip the button. If it presses itself when it lands, then awesome.
B. Complain of a faulty button and ask to contact his manager.
C. Masturbate.
D. All of the above.

This is what the SAT's trained you for, choose wisely.
Lemonwalrus
Profile Blog Joined August 2006
United States5465 Posts
August 27 2008 00:32 GMT
#10
Semi-related, this reminded me of this video.
XCetron
Profile Joined November 2006
5226 Posts
August 27 2008 00:33 GMT
#11
I do nothing, I dont believe in helding somebody responsible for lack of action.
kleenexboxman
Profile Joined March 2008
United States2 Posts
August 27 2008 00:37 GMT
#12
No deal
thoraxe
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
United States1449 Posts
August 27 2008 00:44 GMT
#13
you should specify the room, cuz I could get out through the window or something.
Obama singing "Kick Ass" Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghFBt-fXmw&feature=player_embedde
CapO
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
United States1615 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-08-27 00:47:00
August 27 2008 00:46 GMT
#14
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 yay!
SNSD fan
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
August 27 2008 00:49 GMT
#15
If I know for a fact that there's no way around the situation, then I will press the button at the very end of the hour.
Dromar
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States2145 Posts
August 27 2008 00:50 GMT
#16
On August 27 2008 09:05 Hurricane wrote:
Don't push it. It gives you longer to think of a way to stop it, also with the chance of him bluffing, not pushing is definitely the best choice because it buys you more time for something to happen to stop it.


That's true. If there's even a tiny chance he's bluffing/has a heart attack/you all get saved or whatever, you've got a higher EV. Either way, if you choose to push the button, don't do it until the last possible moment to maximize the chance that something interferes.

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.
prOxi.swAMi
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Australia3091 Posts
August 27 2008 00:51 GMT
#17
Do nothing of course.
Oh no
CapO
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
United States1615 Posts
August 27 2008 00:52 GMT
#18
i feel like this question has such an obvious answer, unless you specify something like that theres a gun on the floor that can be picked up within 5ft or w/e.
SNSD fan
FreeDoM[YA]
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
Canada855 Posts
August 27 2008 01:01 GMT
#19
I'm going to make the assumption that this room is underground, thick concrete walls, a door locked form the outside and absolutely no way to escape.. I would think about it.. alot....

I wouldn't press the button until the time is nearly up. Assuming the police are onto this I would stall for as long as possible and then probably press the button. If you think of it either way ur killing atleast 2000 people. If you don't press it 2001 will die due to your stubbornness and weak conscious, if you push it, 2000 people will die that were inevitably going to die anyway.
Grobyc
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Canada18410 Posts
August 27 2008 01:05 GMT
#20
On August 27 2008 10:01 freedom yay wrote:
I'm going to make the assumption that this room is underground, thick concrete walls, a door locked form the outside and absolutely no way to escape.. I would think about it.. alot....

I wouldn't press the button until the time is nearly up. Assuming the police are onto this I would stall for as long as possible and then probably press the button. If you think of it either way ur killing atleast 2000 people. If you don't press it 2001 will die due to your stubbornness and weak conscious, if you push it, 2000 people will die that were inevitably going to die anyway.

If you watch Godzilla backwards it's about a benevolent lizard who helps rebuild a city and then moonwalks into the ocean.
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 States24772 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 States24772 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
Australia1288 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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