Evil Mad Genius has infected you and three other with a deadly poison. He’s giving you an antidote but only enough for three people. These are the people you have to choose from:
An 89yo man (of average health for an 89yo.)
A 42yo smoker.
A 9yo with cancer who only has 12 months to live. [Note: Since this is an impossible hypothetical, I’ll wave the magic wand and say cancer kid WILL die in 12 months. No chance of beating it.]
And of course you.
So who gets to die today?
89 year old goes. He’s had his run.
The old man. He’s had a full life and his family had many years with him. The kid will die anyway, but that extra year will mean a lot to his family. The smoker may have a filthy habit, but it’s his damn business and he likely has people that depend on him.
I’d imagine the average health of a 89 yo man is not great. He’s had a good run, off he goes.
Jeesh, I need to start proofreading! :smack:
If nothing can change the 12-mo fate, I’d bump the kid. The smoker could change, the old man live for another 15-20 years. (My grandma died just short of her 108th) And I could do …something important?
89yo man: “Damn, and I was *about *to tell everybody about how I’d just figured out the cure for cancer AND the meaning of life!”
Last I checked, deciding whether or not other people die wasn’t actually on my job description. I chose me.
At the risk of continuing my reputation as a kid hater, I would also bump the kid. We know for a fact he has no future; the 89 year old could live healthily for many more years.
From my own experience of how time speeds up as you age, I wouldn’t be surprised if a year for the 12 year old is subjectively longer than 20 years for the old guy. Heck, I’m just in my thirties, and I sometimes have to look out the window to check which season we’re in now.
I’d ask each of them if they wanted to volunteer, then bump off the 89 year old anyway.
I wanna say the old man, but you might actually be doing the kid a favor by letting him die. Suffering through a year of cancer treatments until you die doesn’t seem like much of a life.
change my vote to old man from kid…
Meanwhile, Grandpas all across the internet are giving a collective “Fuck you!” to the posters of the Dope.
I take a dose to save myself then give the other two doses of cure to the remaining three people and let them sort it out. It is no longer my problem it is now theirs.
They and any God they have can sort it out. My obligation to survive has been met and I am under no further responsibility with regard to the next decision to be made.
Just because you are presented with a problem does not mean that you have to pick it up and own it. Doing nothing is often the correct answer.
That’s a tough question, but ultimately I don’t believe I have any right to choose who among them will die. So I take all three doses of the antidote myself.
Unfortunately the poll seems to be missing that option.
The 89-yr-old has a life expectancy under 5 years, which is 1/18 of his life. The kid has 1/12 more of his life left to live.
That’s without even considering novelty, which I think is significant. The 89-yr-old has done most of what he’s ever likely to do. The 12-yr-old has a lot of new things in store.
I’m assuming it isn’t a year of hell, which might be the case, but I doubt that’s the OP’s intention.
For the record: at 56, while there’s a lot of things I still want to do and have never done, I’ve done all the things that are important to me. If I were to die tomorrow, I’d rather people celebrate all the great things I got a chance to do than to mourn the few I didn’t.
How do you give two things to three people?
I see, you set it on the table, and leave it to the quickest of them, or for chance to answer.
In any case, you made a choice, and whoever dies, it’s a result of your choice not to choose. You can dodge responsibility, but you can’t escape it.
Draw lots. I can’t judge the values of other people lives.
Since I am forced to choose, I think the only fair choice is myself.