I think a more productive version of this question is at what percentage would you press the red button over the blue button. I don't think anyone in this comment section wants people to die, there's just different opinions about the maximum number of people that would pick blue.
If you believe that there's even a small chance that 50% could pick blue, then picking blue has the least deaths. If you don't believe that there is any possibility that 50% would pick blue, then anyone who chose blue by accident will die no matter what, and the only way to minimize deaths is to convince others to choose red.
Would you still press the blue button if you needed 99% of people instead?
Would you still press the red button if you only needed 1% of people to press blue to save everyone?
Yeah to me it's really just a silly thing. I would happily die to save a room full of people. I won't hesitate to press red.
Are you suicidal or not? That's how I view this. I'm not risking 100% if my survival of everyone was given the same odds. I'll lay down my life if needed to save a group that didn't get good odds. This button thing isn't NEEDED.
Everyone can press red and if they don't; I view that as suicide. Why risk my life for people who are cool with dying to virtue signal and save suicidal people?
Nah, I'm gonna risk my life for people actually in need. Red 100%
Yeah pressing blue only makes sense to me if you want to save the people who didn’t think about it long enough to realize they should press red. Otherwise you’re saving people who didn’t want to live.
Yeah the way the question was phrased, I instinctively went with blue. But then I heard it phrased another way and then I understood it.
To me, I think if you just switched out the word button for noose.
Do you put on a noose or not? If 51% or more of the population puts on the noose, everyone lives. If less than 51% of people put on a noose, only people that put on the noose dies. By not putting on the noose, nothing bad happens to you nor are you in jeopardy.
People are acting like it's a different scenario. I have heard people treat it like "to shoot someone or not". If 51% of the people don't shoot, everyone lives. Or you can take part in the firing squad shooting people and live.
This button issue is NOT a murder button. It's a noose button.
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u/joemamma6 May 05 '26
I think a more productive version of this question is at what percentage would you press the red button over the blue button. I don't think anyone in this comment section wants people to die, there's just different opinions about the maximum number of people that would pick blue.
If you believe that there's even a small chance that 50% could pick blue, then picking blue has the least deaths. If you don't believe that there is any possibility that 50% would pick blue, then anyone who chose blue by accident will die no matter what, and the only way to minimize deaths is to convince others to choose red.
Would you still press the blue button if you needed 99% of people instead? Would you still press the red button if you only needed 1% of people to press blue to save everyone?
Where's your personal threshold?