moral/ethical dilemma

[ScottishJohn 25]

In questionable taste, but ..........................
Job application question: You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people Waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. Your best friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect man/woman you have been dreaming about all your life.
There can only be one passenger in your car and you can't return to the bus stop once you have left it (I don't know why, it's just part of this stupid question!). Which one would you choose to offer a ride?

Think before you continue reading................ ....................


This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job selection process so your future could depend on how you answer this question.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take your best friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back.
However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.
WHAT DID HE SAY?........................................................



He answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him
take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the man / woman of my dreams."

The moral of the story is that we can gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations and "Think Outside of the Box."
NB (Nobody came up with the correct answer which is, of course, to run over the old lady and put her out of her misery, sh*g the perfect man / woman silly on the bonnet of your car and then drive off with your best friend to the nearest pub to celebrate.)

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I can smell your noodles !
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[E150 0]

Oh!

[ChromeBoy 0]

In reality the way my luck has been lately I would give the keys to my friend to drive the old lady while I stayed behind with the women of my dreams, however, the women does not think I am the man of her dreams so I would be stuck by myself at the bus stop.
Screw that!
Pick up your old friend and pick up a case of beer and go on a road trip and leave behind the broad and the old lady is gonna die sooner or later anyway so let her take the bus. There used to buses because they travel in packs on greyhounds all over the country anyway!

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Option: 4) Keep driving.
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
-- she's as good as gone anyways. If she dies in the car, you'd probably be sued for it somehow.
2. Your best friend who once saved your life.
-- if it was my best friend, I would have told him/her long ago to get a job and buy a car. Blunt honesty, that's what friends are for.
3. The perfect man/woman you have been dreaming about all your life.
-- there is no such thing.

[Muenkel 0]

I would just accelerate and run through a puddle making sure they were all soaked.
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Chris

[freaksister 0]

geez we are a bunch of pessimists, aren't we? i don't think there is a right answer either...except that whoever came up with that question is an asshole. ;)
Sis
Wasting away again in Margaritaville....

[ScottishJohn 25]

LMAO, It my not be the correct answer but it's a good one.
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I can smell your noodles !
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[kmcguffee 0]

I would hand my best friend my cell phone, have him call 911 and take care of the lady while they are enroute. Pick up the woman of my dreams and go skydiving. This way the old lady is saved, your friend gets to be a hero again, and you get the chick.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

[ChromeBoy 0]

Quote

I would hand my best friend my cell phone, have him call 911 and take care of the lady while they are enroute. Pick up the woman of my dreams and go skydiving. This way the old lady is saved, your friend gets to be a hero again, and you get the chick.

That is a Hollywood Movie. That is not reality.

[kmcguffee 0]

Quote

That is a Hollywood Movie. That is not reality

oh....................If we're talking reality I would put all three in my car (it holds 5) and take them where they need to go. THEN go skydiving.
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

[ChromeBoy 0]

Quote

If we're talking reality I would put all three in my car (it holds 5) and take them where they need to go

And remember, old ladies have no teeth!

[kmcguffee 0]

Quote

And remember, old ladies have no teeth!

LOL!
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

[billvon 3,107]

OK, here's a thought experiment:
You are working on a rail line, and are near a switch on the main line. A runaway freight car comes barreling down the track. There is a crowd of 5 people on the track further down, in a place they can't escape the freight car - if it gets to them, it will kill them. Your only option is to divert the freight car on to a passing siding, where another worker is working on the track. He can't get away either; but if the freight car hits him and his tools, he will be killed but the freight car will be derailed and stop, thus saving the lives of the other 5 people.
What would you do? (And no weasel answers - no, the people can't get away and no, there's not going to be some miracle that saves them or the one worker.)
-bill von

[ChromeBoy 0]

If no miracles and no outs kill the one person instead of the 5. Makes sense to me.

[gale 0]

If you throw yourself on the tracks, can you stop the train? I think I would rather take my own life then dealing with taking anyone elses. (Negative I guess, but if someone has to die, may as well be me.)
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[hisgoofyness 0]

let it take out the 5 idiots on the track that have no business there...
the other man works on the tracks so he is where he is suppose to be
geez.. i am a jerk huh?
hisgoofyness
"you "almost" stood that up..." SV

[billvon 3,107]

>If you throw yourself on the tracks, can you stop the train?
Nope. Your only option is to throw the switch.
-bill von

[billvon 3,107]

>let it take out the 5 idiots on the track that have no business there...
They're workin on the railroad too, just further down the line.
-bill von

[gale 0]

K, well then I guess you have to kill the one guy instead of the five. What else are you going to do?
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[hisgoofyness 0]

ok so if they are workers too...
do you know what the freight car is hauling, you say if the switch is thrown it will kill the one worker but it will also derail, therefore if it is carrying hazardous or explosive cargo what are the chances of it killing the others and potentially more anyway? will it not be derailed if it hits the 5?
just a couple of thoughts
hisgoofyness
"you "almost" stood that up..." SV

[billvon 3,107]

>do you know what the freight car is hauling?
Fluffy pillows.
>will it not be derailed if it hits the 5?
It will also be derailed if it hits the 5. In one case 1 person will die, in the other case 5 people will die. In both cases the freight car will stop.
-bill von

[GrumpySmurf 0]

If you are working on the rail line, you have tools, drop them across the track, yell 'Run!' and run like an SoB.
Otherwise, if that is not an option - let the train run through and take out the 5 - harder to prove in court that you saw the train coming and could have knowingly done anything to stop it, than it is for you to flip the switch and and knowingly cause a death. Inaction causing Death is harder to prove in court (I think it would be termed Negligant Homicide, though you would simply answer with, "I never saw the train coming.") than Direct Action causing Death. (Manslaughter) *shrug*
I think this is the point of the question, would you rather stand by and watch 5 people die by no fault of your own vs. knowingly taking another persons life.

[wlie 0]

Unless everyone of those people are deaf, they'd hear something. Besides, even if I threw the switch, it'll break and not do anything. Just like in the movies.
In reality, I'd get sued for tampering. Then get charged for manslaughter because somebody'd die.
Then I'll counter sue the raildroad and the freight co. for their negligence and mental distress.

[hisgoofyness 0]

i was really trying to stay away from the legalities of the issue, and keep it morally based
but you have a point
i hate that "sue" word
hisgoofyness
"you "almost" stood that up..." SV

[Snowflake 0]

Easy send your buddy and the old lady off in the car and call a taxi for you and the hottie
"....and then the canopy opens and you float down to the ground like a multicolored snowflake"
JG
Rat# 27