The Box - what would you do?

[Graham Kennedy]

The people running the scam still have to do something to kill the person.

No, they don't. They may have set it up that way in building the box, but the whole point of the scenario is that it's the person pushing the button who is the one killing. The box is essentially no different from a gun; the responsibility lies with the person who uses it, not the person who constructed it.

[Graham Kennedy]

I get the concept. I push the button.

We're not trying to change that answer. We are simply stopping you from side stepping the issue by claiming that it's the people running the scam that are causing the death. The whole point is it's not. The question is basically are you going to be an assassin, would you kill someone for money. I the answer is yes, then the rest is just quibbling about the price.

It reminds me of an old joke. A man asks a woman if she would have sex with him for $1m dollars. She says yet. He then asks what about $1. She says what do you think I am a whore. His reply is we have already decided what you are now we are just arguing over price.

Allegedly that was a true story with Winston Churchill asking the question.

[Laughing Man]

I'd probably push the button for a grand, but i won't tell them that, haggle for a bit, maybe 2 million?

if anything it'd make your last days n earth interesting, get someone to follow you around with a camera, maybe make a movie about it?

[shran]

Would yoube able to push the button multiple times? Would other people beside you get to push te button?

As more people gt access to it, it gets more dangerous.
And let's not mention the inflation and tax problems associated.

[Tsukiyumi]

IRS: "Where'd this million dollars come from, exactly?"

You: "Magic box."

*cell door slams shut*

[Tyyr]

No, you still don't get it. People do not go out and kill them. It's a supernatural box, I think provided by the devil (at least that's implied in the trailers). It's not a matter of if you press this button we will kill someone it's you press it and someone will die, right now, because you did it.

No Ian, I got it and I said as much. Now you're the first person to indicate there is anything supernatural about this. If you wanna say it's magic great, but at no point was that ever said or even implied in Graham's scenario.

We're not trying to change that answer. We are simply stopping you from side stepping the issue by claiming that it's the people running the scam that are causing the death. The whole point is it's not. The question is basically are you going to be an assassin, would you kill someone for money. I the answer is yes, then the rest is just quibbling about the price.

I wasn't trying to side step it Ian, again, I said as much in the very post you quoted. Mostly I was pointing out some of the practical issues in the set up and the legal repercussions there of. Now if the local atheists wanna start say, "The devil did it," that's fine. I've already pointed out that I push the button regardless.

No, they don't. They may have set it up that way in building the box, but the whole point of the scenario is that it's the person pushing the button who is the one killing. The box is essentially no different from a gun; the responsibility lies with the person who uses it, not the person who constructed it.

Well if you want to now make this a hyper advanced group that can build a box that randomly kills someone by pushing it, or blame it on the devil, ok. I can't argue with a magic box. I was pointing out the practical issues in a scenario like this, that namely in today's world the button can't do the killing without the people offering it doing something to the victim.

And again, like I've said from my first post, I push the button regardless of the supernatural gymnastics ya wanna pull.

[Graham Kennedy]

I don't know that the box is supernatural or magic. But it's beside the point; the aim of the scenario is that it's the act of pushing the button that causes the death, so the decision is to become rich at the cost of being responsible for the death of a stranger. How the box works is really irrelevant.

[Tsukiyumi]

...How the box works is really irrelevant.

Exactly.

[Lighthawk]

Most likely I'd toss the box in the trash, but not out of any morality, but out of pure skeptisism. And even if I believed I would get the money, I doubt I'd take out of concern of the IRS coming to shove an audit up my ass.

Now assuming said individuals in charge of the box managed to convince me that the deal was on the level, that I'd get the money and no one would question where it came from, and that I would not suffer any future consenquences related to my use of the box*...I can't really answer honestly. I've never been in a position to take a life. Hell, I've never even been in a fight. I have no idea what I'd do.

* I would treat this situation the same as finding a magic lamp with a genie. Any wish I'd make I would make in as much detail as humanly possible to avoid getting screwed by a loop hole. I wouldn't touch this box until and unless the indivduals providing it could thoroughly and completely convince me that there would be no consenquences to myself or anyone I knew, EVER. Seeing how unlikely that would be, I doubt the moral side of this would ever be an issue for me.

[shran]

How great is the chance that you die when you push the button?

[Tyyr]

Given that you know yourself, probably not good.

[Mark]

Do any of us REALLY know ourselves?


By the way, how does the money get delivered? One lump cash sum? Tracable wire transfer? Non sequencial, small denomination bills????

[Granitehewer]

its actually primarily based on a richard matheson (''i am legend'' etc) book

[IanKennedy]

No, you still don't get it. People do not go out and kill them. It's a supernatural box, I think provided by the devil (at least that's implied in the trailers). It's not a matter of if you press this button we will kill someone it's you press it and someone will die, right now, because you did it.

No Ian, I got it and I said as much. Now you're the first person to indicate there is anything supernatural about this. If you wanna say it's magic great, but at no point was that ever said or even implied in Graham's scenario.

We're not trying to change that answer. We are simply stopping you from side stepping the issue by claiming that it's the people running the scam that are causing the death. The whole point is it's not. The question is basically are you going to be an assassin, would you kill someone for money. I the answer is yes, then the rest is just quibbling about the price.

I wasn't trying to side step it Ian, again, I said as much in the very post you quoted. Mostly I was pointing out some of the practical issues in the set up and the legal repercussions there of. Now if the local atheists wanna start say, "The devil did it," that's fine. I've already pointed out that I push the button regardless.

No, they don't. They may have set it up that way in building the box, but the whole point of the scenario is that it's the person pushing the button who is the one killing. The box is essentially no different from a gun; the responsibility lies with the person who uses it, not the person who constructed it.

Well if you want to now make this a hyper advanced group that can build a box that randomly kills someone by pushing it, or blame it on the devil, ok. I can't argue with a magic box. I was pointing out the practical issues in a scenario like this, that namely in today's world the button can't do the killing without the people offering it doing something to the victim.

And again, like I've said from my first post, I push the button regardless of the supernatural gymnastics ya wanna pull.

Which is fine, as I clearly said. It just makes you an assassin, or at least a potential one. All that's left is to argue about the price.

As for buttons can't kill people without intervention from others, yes they can. They could easily be rigged to a high powered rifle and pointed at any densely populated area, such as a crowd of people entering or leaving a football stadium. Face it the box and a button is only different from a gun, a trigger and a blindfold in it's configuration, the effect is the same. The blindfold stops you seeing who you've killed.

[Tyyr]

That's not a sure fire way to kill someone though. In fact the odds are very good you wouldn't kill someone in that set up. If you want a certain kill you're going to have to do better.