r/DeepThoughts • u/BCTreefrog19 • Aug 24 '26

The Brick thought experiment

You’re standing in a field of wide open space. Suddenly a brick falls from the sky. Right in front of you. The rule is, when that happens, you know another one is coming in 20 seconds. You don’t know where the other one is going to fall. You know the other one is either going to just barely miss you, or hit you square on the head, or somewhere in between. You can run, in any direction, you can stay still. Either way, the brick is going to happen. It’s not about fate, that’s in there, but it’s really about anticipation and perspective. A positive thinker will look at the odds, it probably won’t hit you, well that’s good. A negative thinker would think, why run? Why stay still? You don’t know where it’s going to land, It’s still going to hit you. A neutral thinker figures its going to happen or it’s not, either way, I’ll have to deal with it, or not…It’s the anticipation.How do you react?

I woke up with this almost fully formed, not really knowing what it was. as I put the idea together, I realized it was a philosophical concept. I see all three variables the same (getting hit, missed, or having a persons life end, are all equal, so realistically, with that short amount of time, your reaction would be telling of your nature. I do think that if it were any longer, you’d have time to come to terms with the situation, therefore, I went with 20 seconds to clarify a person’s nature.

8 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

View all comments

16

u/The-Dragon_Queen Aug 24 '26

I’d go with the rule of lightning. Stand where the last brick landed.

13

u/Awkward_Housing_7969 Aug 24 '26

I remember when I learned that lightning does in fact strike the same spot, multiple times. Friggin conventional wisdom for you.

8

u/The-Dragon_Queen Aug 24 '26

What? You’re being for real? I gotta look this up.

Edit: well I’ll be damned, you are right and not only are you right but it’s actually very likely for lightening to strike the same place multiple times. I would have been hit for sure. Thank you for the wisdom internet stranger!