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What's an unscientific opinion that you firmly hold? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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[–] 33 points 10 months ago (4 children)

That's not a problem. It is just an exercise in reading. Two possibilities remain. In one, you kill 1 person. In the other, you kill 3 persons. (the empty track "exists" only if you do not use it).

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Correct, IMO. But right now, before you make the decision.... The machine has already made its prediction. The track either has people on it, or it doesn't. Changing your mind now will not change that. If you are so sure of that decision, then the machine must have put no people on Track B. So now if you do pull the lever, no one gets killed! So why don't you?

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    What is "now"? Seems you have more than one "nows" - or your variation makes no sense.

    That machine decides before you in time, but after you in logic - otherwise it would not be a perfect prediction. So you can never decide for an empty track.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago

    Yup, that's the premise. It's just an annoying thought experiment. Your actions physically can't change the past, but somehow they still do, because the past was decided based on a perfect prediction of your actions. I was just playing devil's advocate. I agree with your answer 100%.

    "Now" is the moment where you decide whether to pull the lever. As is conventional in trolley problems, this moment can last anywhere from 2 seconds to hundreds of years :)

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