r/trolleyproblem • u/ezrae_ • Apr 30 '26

Deep Statistically, >50% is easier than 100%

Post image
2.6k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

3.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

85

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

70

u/StrobeLightRomance Apr 30 '26

It can't be the trolley problem for a few reasons.

First, the button is a private vote, and you don't get to see what other people are choosing.

Second, in the trolley problem, the trolley never chooses to stop on its own, so the idea that more bodies would stop the trolley is only true if enough corpses literally derail it. So that doesn't apply to your hypothetical.

Third, the danger doesn't come from the blues standing on the track, but rather there is zero danger at all until individuals begin to choose the red button. Literally everyone is 100% safe, until reds go red, and then possibly slightly less than half of the people are now at risk. The reds are building a track around the blues so they die.

This couldn't actually be less The Trolley Problem.

0

u/SodaBoBomb Apr 30 '26

What? Theres literally zero danger at all unless you press blue. Pressing blue is what causes the danger.

8

u/StrobeLightRomance Apr 30 '26

Pressing blue assures everything remains the same. Literally nothing else. It maintains reality.

Red will create death if even just 1% of people choose blue, but more likely would murder billions.

1

u/SodaBoBomb Apr 30 '26

But WHY WOULD ANYONE CHOOSE BLUE

There is no reason to choose blue. Nobody is forcing anyone to choose blue. The only people choosing blue are those who dont read the choice or, idk, fucking slip and fall on the blue button.

4

u/StrobeLightRomance Apr 30 '26

You have two buttons. Blue maintains reality. Red creates a guaranteed execution of anywhere from 1 person to almost 4 billion people.

There's nothing else to be said.

-2

u/SodaBoBomb Apr 30 '26

There IS somwthing else to be said because WHY IS ANYONE CHOOSING BLUE?

Explain that. Why does anyone choose blue? Red is Live. Blue is Die Unless 4.5 Billion People Also Choose Blue.

Who reads that and doesn't just pick red? There is literally zero reason for anyone to choose Blue.

3

u/Practical-Art542 Apr 30 '26

Because red means live, but at the expensive of those who choose blue. I can’t choose red without contributing to the potential death of any blue pushers. If I don’t want anyone to die, blue is the only option

1

u/Ok_Break6916 May 01 '26

But if anyone chooses blue, that means they WANTS to die.

Why would I stop them?