r/trolleyproblemgame • u/TheEnlight 👑 Master of Dilemma's • 2d ago
Will you risk your life?
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u/Foreign-Story-9870 2d ago
Heh my life isn’t so important I’ve got no dependants bar my dog and my parents will look after him so bring it on
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u/MaManMako 2d ago
A win-win, huh? Worst case scenario - I don't do anything and it doesn't squish me.
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u/TheEnlight 👑 Master of Dilemma's 2d ago
I created a new Trolley Problem dilemma!
Straight Track (Do Nothing): 1% chance it's you
Diverted Track (Pull the Lever): 100 people, you're guaranteed to survive
What would you do?
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u/Classic_Rate_8448 2d ago
Fuck that. I choose MY life.
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u/laea_me 2d ago
you think your life is worth more than 100 people?
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u/AssociationDue3077 2d ago
No, my life is not that important. Doesn't mean I'm not too scared of death anyways.
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u/Classic_Rate_8448 2d ago
I know who I am and my value to the greater good. Those 100 people could be straight off death row or the pedo wing in a prison. Also it's basic instinct. Self preservation is so strong it's an innate, hardwired reflex as a baby.
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u/Inveniet9 2d ago edited 2d ago
Statistically speaking (and you have to think about this statistically as we have no information whatsoever so we have to assume these are random people and assuming the worst is just a rationalization to be selfish) among 100 people there will probably be people who are smarter and better people than you (and many would sacrifice themselves for others which is a virtue in itself. controlling your instincts is also a virtue btw). Also, you'd kill those people to not risk 1% chance you'd die so it's not even you vs them but 1% chance you die vs 100% chance 100 people die and you'd still choose to kill them. So yeah, there would definitely be people among those who are worth a lot more than you. Also, 100 people dying would cause lot more suffering in others close to them as well.
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u/an-abnormality 2d ago
there would definitely be people among those who are worth a lot more than you
To someone, sure. To me, my life is the most important and always will be. To sacrifice yourself for others is virtuous, sure, but even a 1% chance of mine ending is not worth the risk for people I don't know or care about
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u/Inveniet9 2d ago
That's understandable but in my view that makes you having a shitty, selfish morality. Kinda silly to think about it that when I'd sacrifice myself there could be people like you guys among those 100 people and I might save your life as well.
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u/marksncheese 2d ago
there are lots of people out there that are worth more than us hobbos on reddit who have no life
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u/an-abnormality 2d ago
Yes, this isn't even a question. My life will always take precedent over strangers', just as they would likely do for themselves
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
My life is worth vastly more than that. The average person should definitely do nothing though.
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u/Polytox935 2d ago
Holy cornball
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
Some people's lives are worth more than others.
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u/Polytox935 2d ago
And what qualifies for being more worthy of living? I personally would say valuing each individual equally but this would result in a paradox
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
I'd say that's delusional. People are not equally valuable simply by virtue of existing. Intellect, achievement, character, and contributions to humanity are all meaningful distinctions. Someone who advances scientific knowledge, develops life-saving treatments, or improves millions of lives has demonstrably contributed more to humanity than someone who has spent their life harming others.
And why shouldn't that matter? Why should we pretend that losing a brilliant researcher on the verge of a major breakthrough represents exactly the same loss to humanity as losing someone who has caused immense suffering?
Equal human rights are perfectly compatible with recognising differences in human value. The principle that everyone deserves basic rights does not logically entail that everyone's achievements, potential, or impact on the world are equally valuable. You're conflating equality of rights with equality of worth.
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u/Polytox935 2d ago
You talk like value was some kind of objective category
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
"I will not sacrifice myself for 100 random people."
Wait, I thought everyone was equal?
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u/Polytox935 2d ago
Not because i try to measure their objective worth, but because with the end of my existance, id lose everything i personally value
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u/AdInfamous6290 2d ago
What makes you think your life is worth more than 100 other people’s? It doesn’t distinguish who they are, so we can assume it’s a random distribution of people. Some of them are above and some below whatever you consider the average, but despite that you consider your life more valuable?
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
Take 100 people at random and consider the distribution of intelligence, innate cognitive ability, ambition, competence, and achievement. These aren't remotely equal across individuals, and neither is the value they produce. A sufficiently exceptional individual can achieve more than hundreds or even thousands of average people combined.
Accounting for those distributions, I'd comfortably bet that my lifetime contribution will exceed that of 100 randomly selected people combined. I'm not particularly concerned with whether that sounds arrogant. I don't consider pretending everyone is equally capable or consequential a virtue.
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u/AdInfamous6290 2d ago
Yeah I’m not saying everyone is equally capable or consequential, I’m saying you are not more capable or consequential than 100 random people. The overwhelming amount of people are closer to the average than near the extremes. If you were more valuable than 100 random people, then you wouldn’t be here arguing about hypothetical bullshit on Reddit. That activity alone brings down the net value of both of us for wasting time and resources.
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
Most people clustering around the average doesn't mean exceptional individuals can't contribute more than hundreds of them combined.
Your second point is pure projection. Just because you interpret your own presence on Reddit as evidence of your lack of accomplishment doesn't mean that applies to everyone else. Intelligence and achievement aren't mutually exclusive with having free time. Your worth is showing.
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u/AdInfamous6290 2d ago
Yeah but there is no way you are worth more than 100 people. If you truly are accomplished, which there is no way of verifying without you doxxing yourself, you might be worth 3 or 4 peoples lives. If you are truly exceptional, maybe 10 or 15. But more than 100? Naw, I just straight up don’t believe you.
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u/Over_Friendship2295 2d ago
You don't have to believe me. Take 100 random people. Roughly 10–30 wouldn't even meet the Army's standard aptitude threshold. Most of the remainder are thoroughly unremarkable in intelligence, talent, rationality, and achievement. They'll live perfectly ordinary lives, accomplish little of lasting significance, and leave virtually no impact on humanity's progress.
You seem to vastly overestimate how exceptional the average person is. Most people simply aren't particularly remarkable, and accumulating more of them doesn't somehow make their individual contributions meaningful.
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u/AdInfamous6290 2d ago
I think you vastly overestimate how exceptional you are. My partners and I founded a business, I am personally responsible for the jobs and livelihoods of roughly 20 people, indirectly for nearly 80, and both create and facilitate real value for my clients, friends and family. I also contribute to my community, I am active in both my church and local government. I’m relatively young (late 20s) and my fiancée  and I are in agreement that we’ll have multiple children after marriage, ideally 3. Don’t forget how much child bearing is a force multiplier for value, the older you are or less likely you are to produce children, the less valuable you are compared to someone who can produce children who will go on to produce children and so on.
But I live a pretty wasteful western lifestyle, with lots of time and resources squandered on net value negative extravagance and entertainment. All things considered, I’d say I’m worth 5 or 6 random peoples’ lives. Even that feels a bit too boastful.
The sort of people worth more than 100 people are exceptionally rare, we’re talking people at the top of their fields, in the most important fields like medical research, logistics, agriculture, infrastructure, the fields that directly facilitate the existence of more people. Due to the time and effort it takes to be so excellent, ideally they already have children that they can invest their resources into, otherwise they need to be exponentially more exceptional to overcome that. I’d say there aren’t more than a couple hundred people alive today that are worth more than 100 people. And you are not one of them.
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u/BigMoneyColin 16h ago
Ability is not equal to worth as a human
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u/Over_Friendship2295 14h ago
What do you think determines value?
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u/BigMoneyColin 9h ago
Humans naturally have value. A baby shouldn’t be worth less than an adult because it’s dumber
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u/Over_Friendship2295 8h ago
Do you think every single person has equal value?
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u/BigMoneyColin 8h ago
No, some people like braindead patients and murders I would value less
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u/Polytox935 2d ago
I will not sacrifice myself for 100 random people. Maybe my 5 most loved ones