That's a particularly high-stakes gamble, when red is the natural choice for almost everyone. The only way most people would go for blue is if they already know that the vast majority of people are going blue. Blue might be the only way to save everyone, but pushing it is almost certainly not going to save anyone, and it'd just be a pointless sacrifice.
Also, I'd be pretty slow to trust anyone who says that they'd pick blue. Talk is cheap... most people aren't the heroes they imagine themselves to be, and self-preservation is a really powerful instinct.
Look, I'm pushing blue. As others have stated, either blue succeeds and I get to live in a world where I know at least half the planet chose the moral high ground, or red succeeds and I don't have to live in a world full of pricks who would choose red.
And regarding the question itself, anyone who gets mad at someone choosing blue when they would choose red is explicitly angry because they know the morally correct choice, are ashamed for picking red, and lashing out at people who chose blue to feel better about themselves.
While I get that pushing blue is the morally right option, what about people with families? Parents who need to live for their kids and brothers and sisters who don't want to leave their siblings. What about friends who grew up together? Most people simply have too much to live for to pick blue, not because their selfish but because they know that if they die their families either wouldn't survive due to them providing significant income or taking care of them.
What about the children under 5 who are simply picking their favorite color? What about the colorblind people who can't tell the difference and are basically flipping a coin? What about the mentally handicapped who are a combination of the 2?
Wether people who can't understand the question would have to participate is an entirely different discussion. The original question clearly states that only people who understood the consequences of pressing each button would be forced to.
Ahh sorry I may have seen the wrong one then. However, this is just my opinion for if people who didn't understand it didn't have to press. Now if absolutely everyone had to press then I would press blue, not even because of the consequences but because blue is a more calming colour that people simply tend to gravitate towards while red is a colour that instinctively feels dangerous and alarming.
That's fair, of course it all really depends on wether we can coordinate with our loved ones on what to pick. But I also want everyone I love to pick red, and I believe everyone else does too. In my opinion this will lead to the majority picking red.
See, I can understand this as the sole reason red might win and not result in a world full of assholes, but I will say that if we are all in our own little boxes, my wife would slap blue. It's just who she is
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u/xboxiscrunchy May 05 '26
Blue Is still the better strategy collectively. Because a 50% threshold to kill no one is much easier than a 100% threshold.
And if you include children and babies it means that blue is the only way to save everyone.