Red Button or Blue Button?

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If 50% or more 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?

There are two buttons in front of you.

If you press one, you will survive
If you press the other one, you will die unless at least 50% of people select it

When you re-word it that way, the choice of the red button seems obvious

However I would choose the blue button because I don't want anyone to die and I assume that the majority of the world would choose blue

Quote: Wizard

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If 50% or more 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?
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At my stage of life, I am more interested in saving the lives of my children and grandchildren. Additionally, the thought of surviving when in some way I was responsible for the death of half the world’s population is not palatable. It’s a no brainer for me. Blue button.

I'd vote red.

You push red because there is zero risk. For this reason, most smart people will push red.

Those who think 6:5 BJ is a good deal will push blue, and be gone!

If everyone presses Red everyone survives.

But the danger is that not everyone will press Red.

And then the danger becomes if not more than 50% press Blue.

Those are the facts. How it pans out, is...unclear and becomes an almost epistemological question.

Quote: Wizard

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If 50% or more 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?
link to original post

The correct answer is not to engage with contrived questions designed to elicit a certain response in order to brainwash you into thinking a certain way. Especially when presented without the original source and political bias.

The original post was made on Reddit on April 20th, 2023, by user Deadshot3, but its current wave of popularity comes from Tim Urban on x, a buddy of Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro.

You are supposed to choose red. It is similar to the game-theoretic reasoning use to promote mutually assured destruction, over-simplification of conflict resolution decided to make people think being selfish and immoral is the optimal solution. Almost nobody involved with game theory, conflict resolution or military strategy actually thinks like this any more. Didn't work out for Hitler obviously.

Quote: MDawg

How it pans out, is...unclear and becomes an almost epistemological question.
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This page sites a survey of almost 100,000 votes. 57.9% voted blue.

Watching the landing party phaser a bunch of insane people attacking them.
Original Star Trek on PlutoTV - S1E29 Operation Annihilate.

Quote: MDawg

How it pans out, is...unclear
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Not unclear at all, Blue is currently winning 3-2 on this forum :D

Quote: Wizard

Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If 50% or more 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?
link to original post

I always keep searching for the white button choice and I never give up