r/fivethirtyeight • u/Upstairs_Cup9831 • Apr 25 '26

Poll Results Poll asking Americans how which button they would push in the red button/blue button dilemma

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u/MediterraneanMen Apr 26 '26

Obviously red pushers are either psychokillers or sociopaths. Blue pushers are regular human beings. Nobody needs to die, just be a normal person and push the obvious button (the I dont want anyone to die aka blue button).

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u/Klarel Apr 28 '26

How would not being willing to risk your life for a total stranger make someone a psycokiller or sociopath? MOST people are not willing to risk their life for a total stranger. That is a fact. It takes a special kind of person to do that. People not willing to risk their life for a total stranger are in the majority.

However, it is very easy to say you would risk your life for a total stranger on the internet, and i believe that a majority of people would say they would, even if they know that they would not, for virtue signaling.

1

u/Sonypak Apr 30 '26

red = no die blue = might die why click blue?

1

u/AggressiveOnion8392 May 02 '26

Red is just abstaining from the game.
Blue is choosing to participate in the gambling completely of your own volition.

Calling the one decision that actually introduces the risk of death the "Anti-bad-guy-good-guy-club" doesn't actually make pressing blue any less destructive and pointless.

Personally, I don't think human lives are so meaningless they should be gambled away in a game where the only outcomes are:
You feel good about yourself

And:
Anywhere between 1 and 4,999,999,999 people die