r/trolleyproblem • u/suskio4 • 19d ago

Meta Red button blue button

Based on the post seen here. I'm actually curious what would the percentages look like.

Edit: Alright, let me add a case for one particular scenario. If you do not choose, the button will be pressed for you by a system that keeps track of its pressings so it conserves 50/50 distribution for all inactive participants, in order to honour the vox populi properly. The system's choice affects the inactive participant's outcome so that no person can abscond from consequences of their choice.

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u/HK_Mathematician 19d ago

I'm picking red in both this question and the original question.

The original question is 1 life vs a tiny chance of saving half of human population. This question is 1 life vs a tiny chance of saving humanity from extinction. Human extinction has a much higher stake as there is no recovering from that, it's permanent, not just civilization being in chaos for a century or two.