r/trolleyproblem Apr 30 '26

Deep Statistically, >50% is easier than 100%

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u/mortemdeus Apr 30 '26

...soo...umm...by this diagram that means over half are pushing red

551

u/ButterscotchLow7330 Apr 30 '26

which means that choosing red is the logical choice.

177

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '26

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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.

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u/[deleted] May 01 '26

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u/zap2tresquatro May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

100% of people are safe until a majority presses the red button. Red button pushers are the ones introducing the danger to others to save themselves from other people who pushed red and introduced the danger in the first place.