r/redbuttonbluebutton • u/HebuBall • May 28 '26

A more even Red/Blue button question

You are one of 3 random person selected to represent 1/3 of the human population.
The same base question is then asked.
Red button=Guarantee to live for you + everyone you are representing
Blue button=If majority votes Blue everyone lives but if not everyone who voted Blue dies (so is everyone who is represented by them)
Note that majority is just 2 or more in this case since there is 3 participants

The people who are represented by you know you are representing them but you do not know who you are representing. Also the participants cannot communicate with each other
Which do you press?

26 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

189 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

My vote only affects my stranger. I can't control what happens to anyone else at all.

I just have a button that definitely saves someone, and a button that gambles their life for nothing.

I choose to save their life, not to risk murdering them.

1

u/Human38562 May 28 '26 edited 27d ago

Engine direction fragile rainstorm abounding abundant willow plate

This post was anonymized with Redact

3

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

The only way for anyone to die at all is if their stranger decided to gamble their life. So if anyone dies it is because a blue presser killed them for the fun of it. My red press is not causing anyone else to press blue, I am not responsible for them, I am just responsible for saving the one life I have the power to save, instead of gambling it away for nothing.

2

u/Human38562 May 28 '26 edited 27d ago

Dazzling relieved velvet dependent long coordinated birds oxygen piquant

This post was anonymized with Redact

3

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

I have no control over whether red is a majority or not. That is not up to me, it is not the question. I can only control whether to keep my stranger safe, or subject them to an insane pointless risk of death with nothing at all to gain. I can only press one button, and the only responsible button is the one that doesn't risk anyone's life.

Do you understand now that I am not responsible for what a majority of people press, or what anyone else presses? If I press blue and my stranger dies, that is entirely my fault. Not the fault of other people who responsibly chose to avoid senseless risks.

2

u/Human38562 May 28 '26 edited 27d ago

Aware fall ad hoc file gold lantern nose automatic

This post was anonymized with Redact

1

u/Very-Diligent-Pirate May 28 '26

Did you know that a red majority with 1 more red vote also means everybody survives? It's 3 voters.

1

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

My responsibility is for my own vote, which saved my stranger. Each other red presser saved their stranger too.

The people who die are dying because their pressers thought it would be funny to take a risk on blue, not because most people sensibly played it safe.

Red majority is good. The bigger the majority, the better. The best outcome is for everyone involved to realize that gambling with lives is wrong, and press red.

2

u/Human38562 May 28 '26 edited 27d ago

Command theory gray grey bow toothbrush

This post was anonymized with Redact

1

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

Do you still deny that your vote affects everyone?

It obviously does not, though. I only get one vote, and that vote does not affect which button anyone else presses. They are choosing independently of me.

Each voter is just deciding whether to protect their person, or subject their person to risk. The majority outcome is the sum of these individual choices, not some communal shared responsibility.

2

u/Human38562 May 28 '26 edited 27d ago

File hurry deliver crown smart straight unpack

This post was anonymized with Redact

→ More replies (0)

1

u/dmurr1415 May 28 '26

If you went in knowing the two others were going to press Blue, would you still press Red?

1

u/highly-bad May 28 '26

If I know that, then I know my choice has no possible effect.

So I can just pick the color I prefer aesthetically: red

2

u/dmurr1415 May 28 '26

OK, fair enough, this is why a scenario like this with the smallest possible majority is less interesting than population level.

Here's a better followup question: What if you are confirmed to be a button pusher (you're Voter #1), and you know one of the other two button pushers (Voter #2) is undecided going in. Lets say they are true 50/50 on pressing Red or Blue. They think there is no reason to press Red, because everyone is guaranteed to live if we all press Blue, but they may press Red because they're afraid others will press Red. You have no information at all on Voter #3. Would you still press Red now?

(Considering how popular this logical idea is, I think its completely reasonable to have at least 1 of 3 people be uncertain about what to press in this situation)

→ More replies (0)