Re: Standards of Behaviour

On Thu, 24 May 2007, Russell Wallace wrote:
> My favorite answer (character is from a mining town and knows something
about 
> machinery): "I push the switch to the halfway point, thereby derailing
the 
> cart so it doesn't hit anyone."

The answer there, also knowing something about trains, is that you wind up

with a derailed train, quite possibly travelling down the tracks sideways 
or with flipping cars and covering enough of a swatch that you'll likely 
kill all six people.  And that, of course, goes back to my point about 
people making utilitarian decisions without all of the facts or perfect 
knowledge of how their choices will play out.

John Morrow