• andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun
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    1 year ago

    Pretty sure there’s a base case when you run out of people to tie to the tracks. A naive log2 of 8 billion is only 33 decisions.

    • FarceMultiplier@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Except, given finite resources, the tracks would run out before having enough space for 8 billion tied-up people.

      • tetraodon@feddit.it
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        1 year ago

        There are 1.3 million km of railroads in the world. At 200km/h, a trolley could travel them in little over 270 days.

        Rearrange them in a circle and, providing everyone is cooperating for the sake of philosophy, there’s plenty of time to tie 8 billion people to the rails and run them over.

    • Funderpants @lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Yes, say there are 2^33 people for illustrations sake, by 33 decisions you (the first puller) are guaranteed to be dead too. At 32 it’s 50/50, the odds increase as the decisions get made. From a self preservation standpoint the best thing you can do to minimize your personal risk is pull the lever. It also happens to kill the fewest other people.

      The only out is nobody pulls the lever.