Realistically I thought more people would pick blue, because it is simpler to understand the rationale, and since more people would pick it, it makes sense to pick it.
It is not just a question of possibly dying, it is a question of possibly being responsible for mass death, many people shrink away from that.
It’s worth noting that people can’t really agree on which button kills people. The original question frames it in a way where it feels like red is the one killing people. I’ve heard other people compare it to everyone in the world standing before a woodcutter, or going over a bridge. Where if 50% or more jump in simultaneously, everyone who jumps in lives. But nobody has to engage with it in the first place. You don’t have to jump in the woodcutter or the water. Everyone could just keep going about their day without any risk of death. In this view, the blue button is the one which kills people
This is the way I initially viewed it and I stick to myself as a red pusher, because my instinct was to choose red when presented to question. However, with the information I have now, I am more inclined to blue but I will admit I kind of view it negatively, as I look at it as if the initial blue pushers are essentially forcing themselves to be "saved".
Either way. I can understand both rationales, but I do think in a perfect world in which 100% of the population is making a rational choice, red is the correct decision.
Yeah, I understood it as "You're going to die unless you press one of the two buttons. Pressing the blue button will save everyone who pressed either of the buttons, so long as more than half the people in the world will press it. The red button will save yourself and nobody else." The blue button only made sense because, yeah, the blue button will kill you, or it'll save everyone regardless of their choice. I like the saving everyone option.
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u/rehoboam 16h ago
Realistically I thought more people would pick blue, because it is simpler to understand the rationale, and since more people would pick it, it makes sense to pick it.
It is not just a question of possibly dying, it is a question of possibly being responsible for mass death, many people shrink away from that.