this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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Memes

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[–] lowleveldata@programming.dev 46 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I pass it to the n+1^th^ person. We can do this forever because integers is infinite.

[–] schreiblehrling 18 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Smart solution. Like this, no one ever gets killed but we need an infinite number of people on the switches.

[–] float@feddit.de 14 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Until you get to that one person that would like to end mankind way down the line.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 years ago

It just takes one.

[–] Uriel238@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 2 years ago

It's curious how they're selected. During the nuclear age we've had nukes in the hands of fanatics who hated the enemy, who were able to comprehend the gravity of their responsibility enough that not once did a nuclear tipped weapon get launched in error or against orders... or at all.

We're closing on eighty years without an atomic war. Not a small accomplishment. It's one of the few things that gives me hope for humanity.

[–] schreiblehrling 1 points 2 years ago

See? It just needs one asshole to end the world.

[–] catacomb 9 points 2 years ago (2 children)

If we can travel faster than the trolley, we could adjust all switches with one person who continues to travel to the next junction before the trolley arrives!

[–] schreiblehrling 4 points 2 years ago

Hell of a job, but yes 😆

[–] Johanno@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 2 years ago

At this point some might question why you didn't buy a nuke in order to stop the trolley

[–] LSNLDN 5 points 2 years ago

Horrible metaphor for life deep

[–] KIM_JONG_JUICEBOX 39 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Our approach to climate change.

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 years ago

Replace the first person with corporate profits and the last person with a cliff, and you're right.

[–] AnonArdvark@lemmy.fmhy.ml 28 points 2 years ago (1 children)

how about this. if you don't decide to kill, you get added to the rail for the next person to decide.

[–] erwan@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago

Them suddenly 90% of people will decide to kill!

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Now that is a new take on it.

[–] fulano@lemmy.eco.br 7 points 2 years ago

I feel the same. That one is, indeed, a new dilemma, instead or just a joke or simple variation.

[–] twelvefloatinghands@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I find it more likely that there is at least one person down the line that will pull the lever than that there is absolutely no-one for infinite people in line (ignoring real population limits) that will pull the lever.

Given that the choice is now 1 vs more than 1, the ethical choice is to pull the lever.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

There's an interesting thought.

What if the limit was just a small/medium sized town?

Surely with a smaller group there must be some hope that everyone in the chain will make the right choice.

How big of a population would you need to switch from "hope everyone is good" to "I need to flip the switch, because someone is almost certain to later when more lives are (literally) on the line"

And how stressful would it be to be right at the edge of those two choices?

[–] odium@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago

With no limits, there's always the risk of a suicidal psychopath deciding on extinction.

[–] cryoistalline@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

That person down the line is probably thinking they can pull it now and kill a lot of people or someone even farther down the line is going to pull it resulting in the death of a huge amount of people

[–] Sal@mander.xyz 14 points 2 years ago

I would kill. 2X growth rate is too fast, and it is easily better 100 random people now than 200 immediately after.

What about these rules?

  • The group of people in the tracks is randomized every time.

  • The group always includes the person that the current decision maker loves the most.

  • The choice is to kill, or to increase the number of people in the kill group by one.

  • If the number of humans available reaches the population number, everyone dies.

  • The list of every decision made by every decision maker is public knowledge.

  • You are the first decision maker.

[–] great_meh@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 2 years ago

Like a good Boomer pass it down to the next one.

[–] Deestan 10 points 2 years ago

If I go with 1, it won't solve the problem. You think the sadistic fuck who set up the system won't just laugh and set it up again for someone else to play?

Pass it along. At some point the tram will break down.

[–] animist@lemmy.one 7 points 2 years ago
[–] Tsuki 6 points 2 years ago

I would probably give it to the next person on the line

[–] biscuitsofdoom 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

As long as n-1 person is the next lever puller who cares.

[–] fulano@lemmy.eco.br 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Well, the last human will have no one to pass the problem to, and will have to kill 2^(human population - 1), which will cap to the entire population.

[–] biscuitsofdoom 1 points 2 years ago

There will always be another human both in peril and as a lever puller.

[–] Casmael@geddit.social 4 points 2 years ago

If you slide you can probably take out everyone tbh

[–] BrooklynMan@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago
[–] Vamanos@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You have to speed up the train as fast as possible so it doesn’t look fake. People don’t matter.

[–] Vamanos@lemmy.fmhy.ml 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

For anyone curious tho is a reference to op’s username driving crooner. You all know it. The driving crooner. It’s a million dollar idea

https://youtu.be/z_mESEruSJs

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 1 points 2 years ago

It's simply too good.

[–] barttier@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Kill one person and become an hero: If I double it and give it to the next person and this behaviour carries on it would need just a few people until the first guys get the power to kill every human being. In this scenario I kill one person, so no one gets the power to potentially kill 1+n persons which will eventually happen.

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