NationStates Jolt Archive

This is a little experiment, slightly related to the topic on relative vs absolute morality. Please provide motivations ;)

Background
Suppose you and some other person you do not know (lets call him Bob) have won a cash prize. The catch however is that Bob will have one chance to propose a way to split the money between the two of you. If you accept, you will get the money in the way Bob has decreed. If you refuse neither of you will receive any money. Neither of you has done anything to actually deserve more than the other.

Situation A
The prize is 100 dollars. Bob wants to keep 60 dollars himself, and give you 40. Do you accept ?

Situation B
The prize is 100 dollars. Bob wants to keep 99 dollars himself, and give you 1. Do you accept ?

Situation C
The prize is 100 million dollars. Bob wants to keep 99 million himself, and give you 1 million. Do you accept ? (remember: not accepting means you will get nothing instead of 1 million dollars)

If you do accept some offers, but not all - what is your reasoning ?

Situation A : I would accept

Situation B : I would accept

Situation C : I would accept.

I think I know where you're going with this, but in my opinion, if neither of us deserved it anyway, a dollar is still a dollar and it would be spiteful to say No just because I would get less than Bob does.

However, if Bob knows that I might decline the share he assigns to me and that in that case we both would get nothing, I think it would be in his own interest to share it evenly, wouldn't it?

Situation A : I would accept

Situation B : I would accept

Situation C : I would accept.

I think I know where you're going with this, but in my opinion, if neither of us deserved it anyway, a dollar is still a dollar and it would be spiteful to say No just because I would get less than Bob does.

However, if Bob knows that I might decline the share he assigns to me and that in that case we both would get nothing, I think it would be in his own interest to share it evenly, wouldn't it?

I agree with the second part of your reasoning but I would not accept situation B because Bob is obviously being a jerk and one dollar does not make much of a difference to me. Situation C would be the same reasoning but it would depend on my financial situation. If I needed the money I would take it. If I didn't I would tell Bob he's being a jerk and walk away.

I'm just going to suggest an amendment to the scenario.

Instead of this being a cash prize, it is the prize for a tournament.
You and Bob are both contestants for the grand final, and it is winner take all IF you don't agree to some sort of split.
Bob is more likely than you to win, as he won the last tournament, whereas you came third.

With those changes, I would take either the first or third, as either way it is a significant enough prize to recoup losses.

i would accept them all.
1) i get £40 anyway,
2) yeah, i only get £1, but its better than nothing, and i wont make good old bob lose anything,
3) i get £1,000,000!!! so what if he gets 99 million, 1 million will do me for a lifetime! i can get a decent house, car, good holidays each year, and interest if i stick it in the bank

I would accept none of them because I am a spiteful son of a bitch. Bob knows that I am a spiteful son of a bitch. So he'd better split it 50/50 or he gets nada. I would also kick Bob's skinny ass and take his wallet.

I would accept Situation A - W00T...$40!

I would not accept Situation B - What a stingy bastard, he could at least give me a ten-spot.

I would accept Situation C - It would take a much more extreme set of circumstances than this scenario for me to turn down a million dollars. :D

Accept A, B, and C.

YOu have nothing to do with winning the prize.

Any little amount, heck I'll be happy even if it's 1 Dollar. I'll go get myself a coke to celebrate his luck. This isn't a charity you know.

I'm just going to suggest an amendment to the scenario.
Instead of this being a cash prize, it is the prize for a tournament.
You and Bob are both contestants for the grand final, and it is winner take all IF you don't agree to some sort of split.
Bob is more likely than you to win, as he won the last tournament, whereas you came third.
With those changes, I would take either the first or third, as either way it is a significant enough prize to recoup losses.

Even then, you'll be a damn sore loser if you don't accept the prize just to spite Bob robbing him of his 99 dollars.

A: I would accept
B: I would accept; Surely being 1 dollar better off is better than having nothing?
C: I would not accept; With 90million dollars more than me, he can afford to have me killed, take my house, rape my women and mutilate my children, and STILL have enough money to by a really nice house. :mad:

Even then, you'll be a damn sore loser if you don't accept the prize just to spite Bob robbing him of his 99 dollars.

But isn't Bob being a "greedy pig" (couldn't resist the pun, sorry ) by claiming such an unequal share ?

This is an american game show hosted by a former MTVJ, Kennedy.

This is a little experiment, slightly related to the topic on relative vs absolute morality. Please provide motivations ;)

Background
Suppose you and some other person you do not know (lets call him Bob) have won a cash prize. The catch however is that Bob will have one chance to propose a way to split the money between the two of you. If you accept, you will get the money in the way Bob has decreed. If you refuse neither of you will receive any money. Neither of you has done anything to actually deserve more than the other.

Situation A
The prize is 100 dollars. Bob wants to keep 60 dollars himself, and give you 40. Do you accept ?
Sure. Forty dollars is forty dollars.


Situation B
The prize is 100 dollars. Bob wants to keep 99 dollars himself, and give you 1. Do you accept ?
Sure. A dollar up is better than a dollar down.


Situation C
The prize is 100 million dollars. Bob wants to keep 99 million himself, and give you 1 million. Do you accept ? (remember: not accepting means you will get nothing instead of 1 million dollars)

Sure. One Million Dollars can be invested toward the future.


If you do accept some offers, but not all - what is your reasoning ?

The money is, effectively, a 'windfall', Bob offering to share it out is Bob's choice. How much is Bob's choice-iti's really his money and I'm just helping him to collect it.

This is significantly different from money Bob earned, so it's good for me no matter how he shares it out. If he couldn't cash his pay check from WORK without sharing it out, that's an injustice of the worst sort. It's a matter of "Life Energy spent to Earn" versus "Hey, I won a drawing, ain't it neat?" There is a huge difference between them.