R&E Political Discussion

R&E Political Discussion - Spring 2026
[ R&E Political Discussion - Spring 2026 ]

Red button out blue button?

Posted by Arwen on May 1, 2026, 10:18 am

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If more than 50% of people press the blue button, everyone survives. If less than 50% of people press the blue button, only people who pressed the red button survive. Which button would you press?

What if you're colorblind?

Posted by Cheap Seats Shaman *= on May 2, 2026, 9:02 am, in reply to "Red button out blue button?"

🤔

Ask someone who pushed the red button to help you make the right choice.

Posted by Arwen on May 2, 2026, 10:27 am, in reply to "What if you're colorblind?"

In the interest of full disclosure, I would choose the red button.

Posted by Arwen on May 1, 2026, 1:02 pm, in reply to "Red button out blue button?"

I refuse to put my survival in the hands of voters who lack critical thinking skills.

Selfish? I don’t think so.

The blue-button pushers are imposing an obligation on everyone else: They are needlessly placing themselves in harm's way and counting on enough other people making a risky gamble to save them. This becomes more obvious if you word the question slightly differently: If you press the red button, you live, but if you press the blue button, you die unless 51 percent of people press the blue button.

Exact same scenario.

But one would need logic and reasoning skills to process it.

It's the obvious choice (game theory...).

Posted by 7:77 on May 2, 2026, 7:38 am, in reply to "In the interest of full disclosure, I would choose the red button."

Agreed. It is the obvious choice.

Posted by Arwen on May 2, 2026, 10:25 am, in reply to "It's the obvious choice (game theory...)."

Another way of looking at it is to consider the options of taking two paths through the jungle. One is perfectly safe and you are guaranteed to survive the journey. (Red button). The other path has quicksand and your survival will depend on people with similar lack of logic and reasoning skills to save you. (Blue button)

I prefer not to put my survival in the hands of people incapable of critical thought.

Re: It's the obvious choice (game theory...).

Posted by Otto Kleinberg on May 2, 2026, 8:49 am, in reply to "It's the obvious choice (game theory...)."

There would be no reason to push red unless you are a self-centered individual.

Everyone pushes blue and everyone is safe.

There is literally no reason to push blue, actually. To wit:

Posted by 7:77 on May 2, 2026, 12:04 pm, in reply to "Re: It's the obvious choice (game theory...)."

Pushing red guarantees survival.

This is not just a matter of individual survival, either. It's also a matter in which "calculus of least harm" ethics dictates the choice. Because it's simple to figure out that pushing red guarantees a person's individual safety, human nature dictates that the overwhelming number of people who figure that out will push red. This number will be a near-certain majority, since as I said, the choice's ramifications are simple to figure out. There is virtually no chance that blue will be the majority. Thus the "least harm" scenario that actually has some likelihood of occurring is for as many people to choose red as possible, reducing the number of dead.

Nope

Posted by Otto Kleinberg on May 1, 2026, 1:14 pm, in reply to "In the interest of full disclosure, I would choose the red button."

You are a self-centered narcissist trying to push your rhetoric on more intelligent people.

Oh, dear Scalise. I didn’t mean to set you off.

Posted by Arwen on May 1, 2026, 1:27 pm, in reply to "Nope"

But a self-centered narcissist would brag about how big his pickup is or how if I had his money, I could throw mine away. He might even brag about wining “bigly”

The last thing that self-centered narcissists care about is logic and reasoning. They cling to misogyny, vulgarity, and name calling.

Shouldn’t you be at a May Day protest?

Re: Oh, dear Scalise. I didn’t mean to set you off.

Posted by Otto Kleinberg on May 1, 2026, 3:45 pm, in reply to "Oh, dear Scalise. I didn’t mean to set you off."

It’s obvious your disposition is very weak. You also troll for conflict.

Bottom line: you are a loser.

You are a victim of your own lack of critical thinking skills, Mike.

Posted by Arwen on May 2, 2026, 10:29 am, in reply to "Re: Oh, dear Scalise. I didn’t mean to set you off."

Don’t blame me that you chose poorly.

I don't lack critical thinking skills

Posted by Otto Kleinberg on May 3, 2026, 4:50 am, in reply to "You are a victim of your own lack of critical thinking skills, Mike."

There are "Ethical considerations" that are involved in your puzzle. They refer to the principles that guide conduct to ensure fairness, transparency, and respect for all parties involved. They involve evaluating the moral implications of decisions.

In my opinion there would be no reason to press red to ensure my well being at the expense of others lives. I don't roll that way.

7:77 wrote, "Thus the "least harm" scenario that actually has some likelihood of occurring is for as many people to choose red as possible, reducing the number of dead."

You two are self-centered low life trash without any morals or respect for others lives. Shame on you!

Great example in support of my theory, Scalise.

Posted by Arwen on May 3, 2026, 6:48 am, in reply to "I don't lack critical thinking skills"

You go find some AI generated gobbledygook, print it, and then resort to your usual logical fallacies including ad hominem attacks thinking that it represents “critical thinking.”

So predictable…

Re: Red button out blue button?

Posted by Otto Kleinberg on May 1, 2026, 10:30 am, in reply to "Red button out blue button?"

I would push the blue button.

« Back to index

[ R&E Political Discussion - Spring 2026 ]