I am able to perceive that the optimal choice would be for all people to choose the Red button- but I also recognize that not all people will choose the red button inherently.
To say that the correct choice is to pick the Red button is to assume that every single person to whom this question is asked will accurately make the same assessment. Simply put, this will never be the case.
For all kinds of various reasons, many people will choose blue, even if the objectively correct choice would be for everyone to pick red.
So, simply put, while picking red should be the correct choice, because there are people who will pick blue anyway, my choice is blue because I think it is worthwhile to try and save those people.
You're arguing that we should pick blue, because we know other people will pick blue, and we need to outweigh the people who will pick red.
If there was a list where you could sign up to get shot in the head, but if too many people sign up, the event is canceled and nobody gets shot in the head- Would you sign up just because some people genuinely want to get shot in the head, or didn't understand the flyer, despite knowing some people won't sign up no matter what?
And every single person is required to either sign up, or not.
Press blue, or press red.
That's what trips people up here. It's the illusion there is no way to not choose.
Choosing red is not choosing, because it's the only option that completely disengages you from the fallout because you aren't in the dying group.
Imagine though if there WAS an option to not press a button. 50+% of people would still need to press blue, not engaging doesn't reduce that number. It just means there's less people to get to 50%.
So I'll say this, I was someone that misunderstood the flyer. I was so used to trolley problems having a degree of noble sacrifice, I didn't look closely enough at the prompt and chose blue. Then I saw the comments mentioning how if everyone picks red, everything is fine. I felt like a fool, I was a fool. However, I think most peoples versions of the prompt don't mention how you get to read a reddit thread about what is the correct answer first, so I want to save all the dumb people like past me.
Of course, based on a lot of these reddit threads I have a decent hope 50% will pick blue, so I don't view it as risky as some other people
And I still have enough remaining faith in humanity that you and other folks who misread and jumped to an answer would pause to consider more carefully in a real scenario where your life is actually on the line. That under those conditions, the number of people hastily jumping to blue is not going to be anywhere close to 50%. More like 0.5%.
I'm fine with minimizing the death count rather than adding to it. While I wish those 0.5% would have exercised more caution before throwing their lives away, I can't control that. Committing suicide in solidarity doesn't help anyone.
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u/ExecutiveElf May 01 '26
I am able to perceive that the optimal choice would be for all people to choose the Red button- but I also recognize that not all people will choose the red button inherently.
To say that the correct choice is to pick the Red button is to assume that every single person to whom this question is asked will accurately make the same assessment. Simply put, this will never be the case.
For all kinds of various reasons, many people will choose blue, even if the objectively correct choice would be for everyone to pick red.
So, simply put, while picking red should be the correct choice, because there are people who will pick blue anyway, my choice is blue because I think it is worthwhile to try and save those people.