Obligatory https://neal.fun/absurd-trolley-problems/
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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I didn’t know this existed lol, I love it
This is true to the original intent of the trolley problem, which is about how our moral choices are informed by specific circumstances, rather than by moral principle. Most eager lever pullers are much more resistant to taking action regarding the master transplant surgeon, the mafia organ harvester and the stranger.
That was a lot of fun! Also nice to see the percentage of each choice.
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Our approach to climate change.
Replace the first person with corporate profits and the last person with a cliff, and you're right.
I pass it to the n+1^th^ person. We can do this forever because integers is infinite.
While integers are infinite, humans are not. Eventually the entire population of the earth would be on the tracks and nobody to flip the switch.
The entire population of the earth is already on the tracks with nobody to flip the switch, brother.
lights cigar
Do we consider intelligent aliens to be "person"? Because the universe is also infinite AFAIK
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Smart solution. Like this, no one ever gets killed but we need an infinite number of people on the switches.
Until you get to that one person that would like to end mankind way down the line.
It just takes one.
It's curious how they're selected. During the nuclear age we've had nukes in the hands of fanatics who hated the enemy, who were able to comprehend the gravity of their responsibility enough that not once did a nuclear tipped weapon get launched in error or against orders... or at all.
We're closing on eighty years without an atomic war. Not a small accomplishment. It's one of the few things that gives me hope for humanity.
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If we can travel faster than the trolley, we could adjust all switches with one person who continues to travel to the next junction before the trolley arrives!
At this point some might question why you didn't buy a nuke in order to stop the trolley
Hell of a job, but yes 😆
Horrible metaphor for life deep
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how about this. if you don't decide to kill, you get added to the rail for the next person to decide.
Them suddenly 90% of people will decide to kill!
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Now that is a new take on it.
I feel the same. That one is, indeed, a new dilemma, instead or just a joke or simple variation.
I find it more likely that there is at least one person down the line that will pull the lever than that there is absolutely no-one for infinite people in line (ignoring real population limits) that will pull the lever.
Given that the choice is now 1 vs more than 1, the ethical choice is to pull the lever.
I found the lever puller, guys!
I know who we're putting the first one on the rails!
"Died saving 20 Quadrillion people"
Best epitaph
There's an interesting thought.
What if the limit was just a small/medium sized town?
Surely with a smaller group there must be some hope that everyone in the chain will make the right choice.
How big of a population would you need to switch from "hope everyone is good" to "I need to flip the switch, because someone is almost certain to later when more lives are (literally) on the line"
And how stressful would it be to be right at the edge of those two choices?
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How many turns until it’s the entire population of the planet?
If the people tied to the previous segments are magically moved forward to the next one, 34 turns. If not, everyone would be tied to one of the tracks at 33 turns.
Edit: forgot to add 1 to include the first lever.
I see a lever, I pull it.
Cats don't ask questions.
Like a good Boomer pass it down to the next one.
I would kill. 2X growth rate is too fast, and it is easily better 100 random people now than 200 immediately after.
What about these rules?
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The group of people in the tracks is randomized every time.
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The group always includes the person that the current decision maker loves the most.
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The choice is to kill, or to increase the number of people in the kill group by one.
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If the number of humans available reaches the population number, everyone dies.
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The list of every decision made by every decision maker is public knowledge.
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You are the first decision maker.
Hell yeah keep passing that shit until you’re at half and thanos snap that shit
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If I go with 1, it won't solve the problem. You think the sadistic fuck who set up the system won't just laugh and set it up again for someone else to play?
Pass it along. At some point the tram will break down.
This is basically what is happening in capitalism, everyone keeps pushing the problems on the guys down the line for short-term gains!
yes
I would probably give it to the next person on the line
As long as n-1 person is the next lever puller who cares.
Well, the last human will have no one to pass the problem to, and will have to kill 2^(human population - 1), which will cap to the entire population.
If you assume that each person takes at least 10 seconds to make the decision, it would take something like 2500 years for everyone currently alive to cycle through one time, at which point we'll have plenty of new people to pass the decision along to.
As long as we don't increase the human lifespan past 2500 years or fully stop reproducing, we should be okay!
Leave the switch and jump in front myself.
Is this stock market and house price!?
You have to speed up the train as fast as possible so it doesn’t look fake. People don’t matter.
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If you slide you can probably take out everyone tbh
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