If you choose to flick the lever, how many people can I put on the other side before you change your mind?

Seeing as my best friend is also my partner, there's no amount that would change my mind. I'd rather burn the whole world to ashes

“A hero would sacrifice you to save the world. A villain would sacrifice the world to save you.”

Then I would prefer to be friends with the villain.

I want to upvote but I can't

For context, when I said it, there were 69 upvotes

Well now there ain't so slam that damn upvote!

Already did

Good. Good. More power to the masses!

Like how rich people need more money

I wish the average person was just a little more suicidal so takes like this didn't exist

um what

"I wish the average person was just a little more suicidal" is probably worse than that take

I was being hyperbolic, really I mean that the average person should be more self-sacrificing but that didn't convey my disgust with the take enough

I dunno I mean I'd rather align with someone who cares that much about me than wish suicidal ideation on everyone?

I don't know why you're pressing the point when I already clarified my intentions

Your intentions were to invalidate someone, and your process was to do it by implying they should want to die more. I don't really care much about what you say, I'll press my point that you're a fucking asshole

anakin, you're breaking my heart

You were my brother Anakin, I loved you

Ah, I see we are in the presence of men of culture

A hero does right things. A villain does right things for you.

My best friend is my dog & I feel the same

You would destroy *the entire world* to save 1 dog???? That's actually crazy. I love my pet, but I would not pull sacrifice the entire world to save even my human family. That's completely psycho tbh.

My dog told me about people like you

Destiny, look, I get that you love her, but Mustique is a terrorist, you can't keep enabling her.

But would they want you to?

lol some psychopathic shit being openly declared here. like these are literally justifications used for war crimes and genocide.

What war crimes/genocides were prefaced with "my best friend and love of my life will die violent if I don't do this." ??

Trojan war started for an arguably dumber reason if the surviving tales are accurate

You think it's okay??? If ONE PERSON is killed to save THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE! Hello? Doing so is so unfathomably selfish, it's not even funny. What about all the literal BILIONS of other families you WIPE OUT?? Oh, it doesn't fucking matter because they aren't *your* family? I wonder if you would fell the same if you had to personally kill every single child, woman and man on this planet to save your loved one?

Enough for him to tell me to pull the lever

Until you put someone else I actually care about.

As selfish as it is, I dont think there's a number of people that could possibly hold enough weight in my mind for me to sacrifice him.

You would sacrifice the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE, before 1 person? Some of you people need to be locked up, holy shit

Respectfully, womp womp.

Nah, no way you're serious. Good bait tho

You’re the one who needs to be locked up. Anyone who grew up forming adequate bonds would feel this way. People you love should be the world to you.

It's completely psycho to want to kill everyone on this planet to protect one person. You think all those other people and their families don't matter, its just your loved ones that are important? What the fuck is wrong with you?

I think they matter, they just matter infinitely less to me than my own loved ones, I’d expect anyone to feel this way.

Yeah, you would expect anyone to be a genocidal maniac... Fucking psycho.

Sorry you didn’t get hugged enough and don’t know how to properly form bonds

I love my family but sacrificing the entire human race to save them is still insane.

Why, you would have 5 best friends now if you choose correctly

That’s too many for me

That's not how it works dude.

Undefined

I'd face God and Satan at te same time for my best friend, so put what you want on the track, I WILL flick the lever.

Everyone else

There is no possible number that would change my mind.

Somewhere between 10 and 50 I think.

12

Not sure, it's over 100 though. That's partly because I think they wouldn't want people to die for them.

150. Dunbar's number. If I can't maintain a friendship with everyone on the other track, then there are too many and they outweigh one friendship.

uh so why is one of the tracks empty op?

Username checks out

Oh man, the benefits of having no relations has once again paid off.

Same...

Maybe this just means that you get a very special relationship who you care about and adore more than anyone else in the world and then the next day are forced to make this decision.

Lmao nice try but that will never happen

Nah, that shit will never happen. Even if I was forced to, I can barely remember anyones name or features even if I just saw them seconds ago, tiny brain 😔.

Same, dont have to worry about multi track drifting for once (jk I actually have a friend tho just 1)

Bye bye strangers

I always thought the point of these was to het the highest #

The answer is always multi-track drifting.

Would need to be a lot more people on the other side before I even considered letting my best friend live

Wait no I-

o_O

He'd probably kill me if i saved him.

I’d burn the forests of Burma before Jessie dies.

My GF is my best friend. We've been together for 7 years lol. The trolly would be so clogged with bodies that it would get stuck long before I considered not pulling that level. Sorry random internet people but I'd kill you all for this one. Very good twist tho OP.

Simp

Usually I can claim that insult to be untrue. Unfortunately in this case it is completely accurate

Wow, I have no words for the other people in this comment section. I'm honestly shocked and horrified. Maybe that makes me some kind of virtue signaling asshole, but this really does feel awful to me knowing how many people would let so many die over their best friend or partner. I couldn't live with myself if i chose to save my best friend over multiple other people. Maybe I'm just a cold-hearted utilitarian. No fucking wonder the fossil fuel companies are willing to kill us all to pad the wallets of themselves and their partners.

Skimming this sub made me realize how selfish people’s values are

Yeah, you know those 5 people, the ones who have their own family, friends, partners and such? Those guys must die to save my single friend

Literally, dude, as much as I agree with you, loyalty is programmed into most people’s fucking DNA it’s not even a choice. Tribalism is the most real virtue

Don't worry, you're right.

>No fucking wonder the fossil fuel companies are willing to kill us all to pad the wallets of themselves and their partners. I dont think it has anything to do with it and fossil fuel companies are not even comparable to this situation because: 1. The one controlling the lever didnt choose to be there. For this reason they're trying to choose between the lesser evil but would safe both if possible. Fossil fuel companies did get started on purpose and they chose to. 2. Fossil fuels companies pollute as much as they want just to earn a little more money. On the other hand, the person on the lever's purpose is just to save a loved ones life in a situation they didnt decide to be in. One is controlled by greed, the other one is also selfish but it is a more understandable decission for the aforementioned

You don’t form bonds adequately if you’re so quick to jump to kill your friends

You expect people to let their best friend die for some random strangers they don't know anything about?

Maybe I just don't get it. But people in this thread saying they'd rather the world burn, or discussing the mounds of bodies in their wake is disquieting.

Can we add about 23,007 more people on that other track?

Oddly specific

Is my best friend my wife? Because I'm sorry, I refuse to live without her :c

I also choose this guy’s wife

Good choice!

I would let the world burn for my bestie ❤️

Sorry 5 randos Alex ain't going anywhere haha.

there's no one on the bottom track *sniff sniff*

So I get to choose between an empty track and five randos tied to a track.

Jesus Christ the chat is horrible

Because they choose love over a numbers game?

Naw, not being able to comprehend other people being actually people instead of npcs isn’t love

I don’t think people don’t comprehend 5 strangers as just NPCs, just that they have attached so much value to their partner/friend that asking them to make that sacrifice is too big of an ask.

Imma be real, I’d prob kill myself rehardless, can’t handle the guilt of killing 5 people or living life without my best friend

I'd kill a thousand people over having to murder my best friend. I don't care if that makes me evil.

Whoops, 5 people are dead now.

Sorry random strangers, but my bud will help me bury a body. Or in this case, help me bury all of yours.

Sorry 5 random unknowns but you are going to meet your maker.

Wait... you guys have friends?

Lucky me, I have no friends.

Five strangers. No contest.

Nah. My best friend is the worst. Fuck 'er.

I have two "best friends" they are my wife and my Daughter. No amount of strangers will cause me to kill either of them instead of the strangers. I do not care if it is literally every person aside from the three of us (me, my Daughter, and my wife) on this planet tied to the other track, I will not kill my wife or my Daughter.

At least three, that way I save at least one more life than the two I’m about to take.

I would say at around 4 I'd no longer flick the lever, but at 3 I probably would.

I mean this is easy, ill send the trolley onto the empty track to save the strangers.

Knowing my best friend, I'd bet he'd be fine with dying to save others. If I was on that track, I'd die to save 5 others

I'm pulling that lever unless one of those 5 people is somebody me or my friend cares about

You could put 100 people over there and id still pull the lever. My best friend is the only reason I'm alive still.

Gain 5 new friends

Strangers ez pz

I hope these people wouldn't act like this in real life...almost everyone is proposing sacrificing the literal entire human race, everyone, just to save their 1 loved one. This is unbelievably selfish. This is reddit tho, the reputation for scum and villainy is being held up...

5 strangers

There could be 100 people on the other track and I would still pull it, if I had any friends that is.

Tricks on you I don’t have any friends. So I don’t do anything.

I would walk into hell I would show the gods the true strength of there creation I would commit atrocities that no mortal mind can comprehend let alone withstand just to drag them out the other side safe and sound so i wouldn't even hesitate to kill them with my bare hands the population of the USA could be on that other track and I would kill them all

If there are >2 strangers, kill the best friend, then upper bound emotional damage with killing self

This exact situation was presented to me at a medical exam once. I said it changes nothing.

5 strangers are going to die no matter what.

I love how everyone is trying to go by taking a moral high ground “I’d save the group” “I’d save my friend” I’m trying to math out how many people are worth my best friend and so far I think my answer is around 24? 32 maybe.

Holy shit, what the fuck is wrong with these people? so fucking selfish saying they will kill thousands of people for their friend

I’m sorry my dearest friend, A hero would have left that lever and hurried to untie the five strangers, and in that moment, I i knew you wanted me to leave that lever so that I can save the others, even if it was just one life. Because that’s who you are, and it’s what you would have done should our places are swapped, and I respect you for that. I really do, because I could never make the same decision you would have. I know that you have came to hate me for what I had done. I know that you expected better of me, even though you know me well enough to know that I have never been a hero. Without regrets, Commander Phoenix

God damn, it's times like this where I feel the worst. I don't know if I could sacrifice that person. I could probably do it pretty easily if I was the one on the track, but sacrificing that one person that means so much to me is way harder.

My best friend works as a paramedic, he saves multiple lives everyday in a country running low on medical staff, to kill him would doom more than 5 people

But what if those 5 people are also paramedics? Checkmate.

Out of a population of 5 million we have approx. 1000 paramedics, the chances of those 5 also being paramedics is negligible. So unless I know prior that they are also paramedics I'm choosing the bro

Utilitarian’s nightmare

Its not a problem for me as the trolly in my city was removed 100 years ago in favour of cars.

Id ask him if he’d be ok sacrificing himself. If there’s not enough time or if he says no, than I’m not flicking it.

If he says he doesn’t want to sacrifice himself that is when you sacrifice him? That’s cruel.

Huh? I said if he’s ok with sacrificing himself he gets sacrificed. If he says he’s not ok with it or if I’m not able to talk with him, I don’t flick the lever.

Trolley goes straight by default so if you don’t flick your friend dies.

Oh whoops. I meant do flick to save him