u/DapperYoghurt2052

If this was a real world scenario I completely understand why any one would pick either button. I don’t care why you make your choice. Doesn’t matter to me. Not interested in that. Do your thing!

I am curious about something though that I feel like I am seeing in some of the back and forth.

This is my question:

If the problem was worded like this, do you think the problem has been inherently changed?

Every one must take a private vote by picking a red or blue button.

If less than 50% press red, then everyone lives.

If more than 50% press red, then only the people who pressed the blue button die.

THIS IS NOT FOR DISCUSSING HOW YOU WOULD VOTE IN THE REAL WORLD!

This is the argument against the claims that the most logical choice is 100% red vote:

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You know those logic problems where they ask you to pretend that everyone in the scenario is perfectly rational and uses 100% logic to find the best outcome.

If you imagine a group of people like that being presented with this problem and everyone is a perfectly rational actor and no one wants to die. Then everyone will come to the same conclusions.

100 percent vote.

Rational actors would look at the two options.

100% vote red or 100% vote blue. Both have the same outcome. How do we all pick between them when we can not discuss our votes. How did we logical ensure 100% vote and no one dying. 

If we all intend to pick the same answer, then the only way that doesn’t happen is if something out of our control can stop it.

Some one makes a mistake, some one’s button doesn’t work. Something unforeseeable must occur for us to not achieve our goal of 100% perfect vote.

If something like that occurs even once and we all decided to pick red, then the mistake dies. We do not get our goal.

If something like that occurs and we all decided to pick blue.

We still get our desired outcome. No one dies.

And we would need enough unforeseeable events to inexplicably block our blue votes by over 50% in order to not achieve our goal.

The logical choice for perfectly rational actors is 100% blue vote. 

I have yet to see someone translate the red and blue button dilemma into an accurate trolley problem. So here goes:

Everyone is magically transported and stuck alone between two train tracks. Red and Blue.

You must cross one track in order to leave.

If you cross the Blue track, then no train is activated on either track.

If more than 50% of people cross the Red track, then a train comes and kills anyone that crossed Blue.

What ever should you do?