[Poll] Social Experiment

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by lychee, Nov 7, 2017.

Tags:
?

Do you push the button that mildly benefits you but significantly harms another person?

  1. Yes, I would push the button

    50 vote(s)
    32.1%
  2. No, I would not push the button

    106 vote(s)
    67.9%
  1. lychee

    lychee [- slightly morbid fruit -] ❀[ 恋爱? ]❀

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2017
    Messages:
    2,156
    Likes Received:
    5,407
    Reading List:
    Link
    Let's say you are presented with the following opportunity:

    A government researcher gives you a button that if you choose to press, it will:
    • Instantly give you $100 in cash.
    • Take away $1000 from some random person living in your country who is at a less fortunate economic status than you.
    Whether you push the button or not is completely anonymous. No one will ever know if you pushed it or not, and you are guaranteed no repercussions against you as a single individual. You will also have no way of knowing which specific person you harmed.

    Do you push the button? Discuss.

    Supplementary questions:
    • Does the monetary amount of reward/harm matter? At what point would the sum large/small enough to change your decision?
    • If you were allowed to push the button multiple times, which would benefit you additively and harm the same person repetitively until the victim went bankrupt, how many times would you push the button? If you decided to stop at a certain point, why did you stop pushing and not sooner?
    • Are their situations in real life that this thought experiment could be used as an analogy for?
    • How do you think most people in real life would act, when presented with this situation?
    • If everyone in your country was given the opportunity to push this button, what would happen? Is there any solution to this problem (apart from eliminating the button itself)?
     
  2. elengee

    elengee Daoist Ninefaps

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2016
    Messages:
    13,488
    Likes Received:
    25,896
    Reading List:
    Link
    Most people would, as long as you don't have to see the person, empathize with the person or see the effects of the choice. Stealing from a granny on welfare, while looking her in the face or a bank making a whole group of people's money disappear while seeing them as nothing but a statistic. It's easy to see which would come more naturally.

    p.s. If you're into these sort of questions , look up the 'prisoner's dilemma'.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2017
  3. Warger

    Warger Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2016
    Messages:
    146
    Likes Received:
    228
    Reading List:
    Link
    If it were like a trillion dollars verses 10 dollars i'd do it and just offset the damage through charity. I'd still feel massively guilty though. Otherwise no.
     
    AMissingLinguist likes this.
  4. Johnnycabra

    Johnnycabra Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2016
    Messages:
    700
    Likes Received:
    532
    Reading List:
    Link
    yes i would. also, that is the premise of The Box if i recall but the monatery gain is much more at the expense of a "random" persons life.
     
    AMissingLinguist and Slayer713 like this.
  5. Mookey

    Mookey Notice me senpai~~~ >_<!!

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2016
    Messages:
    259
    Likes Received:
    284
    Reading List:
    Link
    100$ to 1000$, no, I would not press the button, as the amount of guilt it will incur will feel too much for the amount of benefit. Personally, I feel like any amount above 2000$ might tempt me to press it, and above 10000$ I will press immediately.
    Others might press it at lower or higher ranges, b/c too little and the amount of guilt is little since the othee person will only lose a small amount; too large and the amount seems ludicrous, and thus unbelievable and easier to press.
     
    readerz and Astaroth like this.
  6. Dizzcity

    Dizzcity Watching generations of fans rise and fall away

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2015
    Messages:
    916
    Likes Received:
    894
    Reading List:
    Link
    I would ask the question: What does the government researcher want me to do? And why?
     
  7. AwwGasm

    AwwGasm Knows some things.

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2016
    Messages:
    463
    Likes Received:
    501
    Reading List:
    Link
    Being able to push the button indefinitely is a flaw - I'd just push till everyone was broke and from there on free gains.
     
  8. Fossil

    Fossil 「Spooky」「Scary」「Skeleton」

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2016
    Messages:
    3,566
    Likes Received:
    19,341
    Reading List:
    Link
    If it was completely random, then sure. But it’s someone who’s less fortunate than me, which means that someone can be seriously harmed by that.
     
  9. lychee

    lychee [- slightly morbid fruit -] ❀[ 恋爱? ]❀

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2017
    Messages:
    2,156
    Likes Received:
    5,407
    Reading List:
    Link
    The question is in a sense designed in a way such that the "victim" is always harmed more than the "thief" is benefited. I think this reflects reality a little bit better.

    If a thief can gain $1000 dollars when the victim loses $100.... there's no conservation of mass here, and is somewhat unrealistic.
     
  10. Noche

    Noche New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2017
    Messages:
    1,682
    Likes Received:
    4,207
    Reading List:
    Link
    Yes because its life. I struggle with my morality and that person struggles with my decision
     
  11. kamisamafreak

    kamisamafreak Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2017
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    2
    Reading List:
    Link
    This protects anyone with more money than you... Which means the less money you have before you press the button the more you are a dick to fellow people.
     
    AMissingLinguist and NewbArtist like this.
  12. Rogel17

    Rogel17 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2016
    Messages:
    253
    Likes Received:
    182
    Reading List:
    Link
    Have you watched the movie 'The Box' starring Cameron Diaz?
     
  13. Astaroth

    Astaroth empty

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2015
    Messages:
    5,393
    Likes Received:
    5,255
    Reading List:
    Link
    what can you even do with 100 dollars?
     
  14. SerraStarr

    SerraStarr Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2017
    Messages:
    59
    Likes Received:
    71
    Reading List:
    Link
    BUT that damn RED button called too meee!


    [​IMG]
     
  15. Digix

    Digix Owl-sama Follower

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2017
    Messages:
    1,191
    Likes Received:
    1,539
    Reading List:
    Link
    if I keep pressing it can I have more income then government...
     
  16. Noche

    Noche New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2017
    Messages:
    1,682
    Likes Received:
    4,207
    Reading List:
    Link
    Another two state university application
     
  17. lychee

    lychee [- slightly morbid fruit -] ❀[ 恋爱? ]❀

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2017
    Messages:
    2,156
    Likes Received:
    5,407
    Reading List:
    Link
    The unwritten part of this social experiment is that the government researcher gets to keep the $900 difference that you don't see. XD

    So in the end the government wins..........

    (JK I made this scenario up, so who knows what happens to the $900 difference......... it's not specified in the prompt xD)
     
  18. Warger

    Warger Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2016
    Messages:
    146
    Likes Received:
    228
    Reading List:
    Link
    Tch... Yeah that sounds fairer.
     
  19. DarwenGwein

    DarwenGwein Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2016
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    177
    Reading List:
    Link
    I feel about 50/50 on this question whenever it comes up, but for whatever reason the specification that the person harmed would be of “lower economic status” pushed me to 100% nope. I’m an empathetic sort, after all. Some nights I can’t sleep for hours because I remember that human trafficking is a thing and I’m not doing anything to help millions of captive people silently begging for help. I doubt I could knowingly push a stranger closer to bankruptcy.

    Monetary amount: i would be more likely to push the button if the “harm” amount was placed at some arbitrarily trivial value, like $10, but only for equal of greater compensation for me.

    Multiple presses: I’d probs only press once. I’d be too afraid of forgetting the gravity of each press if I tried it more.

    Real life analogy: first thing that pops into mind is job competition. Few know after an interview who got the job, especially when they don’t get it. This scenario might actually be crueler though; one person gets a job, and for the rest the time and money they used to get and participate in the interview is essentially wasted. That one that got the job due to having a slightly better position pushes several other slightly lower on the totem pole.

    Real life response: my go-to answer when assuming the actions of others is pessimism, so 99% would push the button.

    Country wide distribution: to be honest, I can barely keep up with Spice and Wolf, so I think that sort of simulation is beyond me d:
     
    iampsyx and AMissingLinguist like this.
  20. wonderer

    wonderer Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2017
    Messages:
    1,356
    Likes Received:
    1,051
    Reading List:
    Link
    Does this button put people into debt? or does the other person have to have more than 1000 dollars for this to work?
    EDIT: and does this button convert their assets into cash as well?
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2017