The Lifeboat

**i3670** · 03-31-2013, 08:55 PM

Some of us are sitting in a lifeboat, let's say 50 people. We can be generous and say that there's room for 10 more people, 60 in total. Presume that us 50 see 100 people in the water asking to come aboard or to help them in another way. What would you do?

Would you:

- Take everyone into boat so that instead of 60 people in the boat there's 150 people in a boat built for 60. The boat takes in water and sinks, everyone drowns.

- Take aboard 10 more people and leave the other 90 in the water to die. You'll most probably have to defend the boat from others trying to climb aboard. Who will these 10 people be?

- Take no one aboard except the ones already on it and defend the lifeboat from the 100 people around the boat.

- Or would you give up your seat and give it to someone in the water?

**Tiger** · 03-31-2013, 09:01 PM

Probably third option. If option 2 would be chosen, the boat is full and people are trying to climb in it it will probably get overloaded, start taking in water and sink like in option 1.

**FlawlessHappiness** · 03-31-2013, 09:05 PM

Taking option 2 will trigger that everyone else, wants to be the 10 that gets onboard.
Option 1 will kill us, but in option 3 at least 50 people survive.

One problem would be that this has to be an agreement between 50 people, and if most of the people don't think option 2 through, they will probably choose that one, leaving the boat to sink...

But I can't say what i would do in that situation... It's lifethreatening yknow

**Macgyverthehero** · 03-31-2013, 09:08 PM

I think there would be a panic of everyone getting in the boat before I could decide which of those 4 options I could choose.

**Bridge** · 03-31-2013, 09:30 PM

Cute little dilemma there, but there are too many variables at play to give a straight answer.

**Tiger** · 03-31-2013, 09:33 PM

Wait...How far from land are the people?
Is it a shipwreck?
What happened?

**i3670** · 03-31-2013, 09:35 PM

(03-31-2013, 09:33 PM)Tigerwub Wrote: Wait...How far from land are the people?
Is it a shipwreck?
What happened?

There's is only a lifeboat and a sea of people. That's all you need to know.

**Tiger** · 03-31-2013, 09:43 PM

(03-31-2013, 09:35 PM)i3670 Wrote:
(03-31-2013, 09:33 PM)Tigerwub Wrote: Wait...How far from land are the people?
Is it a shipwreck?
What happened?

There's is only a lifeboat and a sea of people. That's all you need to know.

[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThj4Nvd2kNIZhI47h_s-V...ID63Ka6AmS]

**No Author** · 03-31-2013, 11:55 PM

Option 3. Because the boat won't be overloaded and 50 people will survive

**i3670** · 04-01-2013, 01:07 AM

(03-31-2013, 11:55 PM)No Author Wrote: Option 3. Because the boat won't be overloaded and 50 people will survive

But 100 would die.