Sunday greetings!
Gonna keep it short today and talk about something lighthearted - existential choice-making!
This past week for me included a handful of tough decisions, personally and professionally, that didn't have clear "winner" choices. In moments like these, it's always helped me to remember the trolley problem. Buckle up!
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For anyone needing a refresher, the trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics about a fictional scenario in which an onlooker has the choice to save 5 people in danger of being hit by a trolley, or by throwing a lever, can divert the trolley to kill just 1 person. (there's an interesting online trolley game here)
I use this in the real estate world all the time, especially when working with real estate developers. 👇
Now, I know that decisions like "where do you want to eat lunch?" and "should I risk running out of gas in order to save $0.03 a gallon?" are NOT existential dilemmas. But even for smaller things in life where I'm faced with two seemingly good or poor options, putting those in a trolley problem reminds me:
- Waiting and indecision won't stop the trolley
- I don't know the future, and trying to know is futile
- There will be another trolley, I'll get another chance
Maybe next time you get stuck on a tough choice, try drawing your own trolley problem for it?
Now for the lighthearted part...
I like creative jokes
There have been countless "edits" to the trolley problem, some of them funny, others really profound. Here's a few that have made me chuckle over the last few years (slightly political but get over it):
That’s it for today. Throw me any funny trolley problems you find!