Would You Sacrifice One Person To Save Five?--Anything Goes

[userque]

Familiar with the trolley problem?
What would you do?


YouTube Link

(I posted it here [Anything Goes] because I'm relating it to the pandemic.)

[Neuronic]

Fascinating. On the surface 5 lives are greater than 1. However, what about chaos theory and ripple effects? What if the children of the one who is killed are upset, and then cause a greater loss of life through a subsequent action. We are complex organisms. For myself, I’d likely wrestle in wondering if I made the right choice the rest of my life. On the surface it seems like an easy one, but the farther you dig the deeper the choices and questions become. If I personally knew the people, it would affect my decision. If I knew the one, but not the five, I’d probably save the one because it would have more meaning to me. Evolution would likely suggest the same, save your family, versus random people. We also assume there will be a definite cause and effect if we choose an action. What if somehow the train self derails or stops by an unforeseen mechanism? Let’s be like Taco Bell and think outside the bun. Maybe we can save all 6...

[bloobs]

Familiar with the trolley problem?
What would you do?



(I posted it here [Anything Goes] because I'm relating it to the pandemic.)

Well it depends on the criteria you wish to apply to the equation. Moral, Financial/Legal, Scientific criteria:

Moral criteria - Highly qualitative. I would then have to prioritize the "worth" of each individual subjectively. Accordingly, I think my family and loved ones' lives are worth every other person in the world combined (even mine!)--but that's just me.

Financial/legal - Measurable. That's what actuaries working for insurance companies get paid the big bucks to do. They actually calculate and assign a dollar value or cost for each human life that can be "sacrificed" for the "greater good", which is survival of the company and sadly, its continuing profitability. Good ol' capitalism. From a public sector perspective, government agencies such as the FAA charged with protecting the public often set as goals thresholds of how fewer people dying year over year in accident constitute success for its mission. This figure often determines how much money they "deserve" for the next budget cycle.

Scientific - Measurable (loosely). Imagine a scenario where the survival of the human race depended on the survival of one specific person. Would murdering 5 others who present a threat or known risk to that person be worth it? If the objective is to perpetuate the entire species, then yes.

[greengrass]

I always chose the 5 people because they have a higher chance of seeing the train and warning the others to get off the track. I took the thought that they must die as a view and not a certainty. The event hasn't happened yet. Odds

[stilljammi]

I'd probably let the 5 folks die. I don't think it's just to cause harm to any individual unless they are harming me or mine. I don't believe I have the right to choose who lives and who dies. Many people think of themselves as messianic heroes in their minds, but in real life they do what everyone else does and drive right past a car accident or in some cities a dead body "i don't need to do anything, someone else had to have seen it as well!"

[Navig8tor]

What's on the train...Chlorine gas or TP?

If it's TP...single dude becomes a hood ornament.

[userque]

Very interesting answers.

Some perspectives I hadn't considered.

For me, I honestly don't know.

[Scorpio70]

If everyone eats at Taco Bell no one will be on the trolley. They may all be in the restroom.

[bloobs]

If everyone eats at Taco Bell no one will be on the trolley. They may all be in the restroom.

Scorpio keepin' it real

Hey dude, what are your May TSP plans?

[Tomanyiron]

I would not flip the switch, for two reasons: 1- That one guy has the ability to work independently, and can do the work of five people. We need more people like that. (Yeah I know, we don’t know that much about the workers, but what if that were the case?). 2- Overpopulation is causing all kinds of problems, contributing to this one we are having now. "The founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson, knew that stopping population growth was the key to protecting the environment, yet since that first Earth Day, the U.S. population has soared from 203 million to 330 million, and global population has doubled to 7.6 billion. Somewhere along the way, we stopped connecting the dots." https://capsweb.org/earthday/

Some of this is tongue in cheek, but what if you had time to investigate, and think over your decision?

[greengrass]

I would not flip the switch, for two reasons: 1- That one guy has the ability to work independently, and can do the work of five people. We need more people like that. (Yeah I know, we don’t know that much about the workers, but what if that were the case?). 2- Overpopulation is causing all kinds of problems, contributing to this one we are having now. "The founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson, knew that stopping population growth was the key to protecting the environment, yet since that first Earth Day, the U.S. population has soared from 203 million to 330 million, and global population has doubled to 7.6 billion. Somewhere along the way, we stopped connecting the dots." https://capsweb.org/earthday/

Some of this is tongue in cheek, but what if you had time to investigate, and think over your decision?

Nice, lol

[Scorpio70]

I am going to watch and see what happens with the 10 year T bond. I may dabble if we have a drop. Watching the leaders of course. Planting the garden for sure, and stacking.

[bloobs]

I am going to watch and see what happens with the 10 year T bond. I may dabble if we have a drop. Watching the leaders of course. Planting the garden for sure, and stacking.

By 10 yr T bond, do you mean the TLT?

[Scorpio70]

The ten year treasury TNX

[mjedlin66]

It's fascinating that in the past, this was realistically implausible.

And now we have to program the solution into self-driving cars.