# Red or Blue? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653 "2026-04-29T19:57:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/221 "2026-05-13T17:01:22Z")
So the same in these buttons. It is appropriate for me to push blue if I believe I am likely to be part of the majority doing that and to push red if I am confident most others will push red: that’s a principle that everyone could follow. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/222 "2026-05-13T17:17:48Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I am in a crowded room with one exit. Is it okay for me to get up and leave at this precise moment? Though that’s just on of the many examples of how actually these kind of Game Theory type thought experiments aren’t actually a very good model of real life human behavior. When you have these situations where people have to get out of a crowded room in an emergency they panic and act in irrational ways that neither maximize their individual benefit or the group benefit. Trying make statements about how hypothetical blue-vs-red pressers will behave or believe IRL is silly IMO. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/223 "2026-05-13T17:25:49Z")
What if _exactly_ 50% of the people press red, and 50% of the people press blue? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/224 "2026-05-13T17:30:33Z")
I think that exactly 50% of the people die. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/225 "2026-05-13T17:33:19Z")
Since otherwise WalterBishop’s phrasing would create an unresolvable situation on a tie I think we can assume an odd number of participants. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/226 "2026-05-13T17:42:01Z")
If there’s an even number of people in the world when we play this game, I volunteer to sit this one out. Actually, scratch that, I volunteer my youngest to sit this one out since I can’t trust her to pick red. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653/227 "2026-05-13T18:09:14Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > What if _exactly_ 50% of the people press red, and 50% of the people press blue? The button overlords kill everyone to settle the matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-or-blue/1029653.md?page=11)