Thought experiment.

This one is a little dark but there is a silver lining, so indulge me. I'm particularly interested in Juras answer, I think he knows the answer, and there is an answer, you'll understand when I explain it, but I'd encourage anyone with an idea to share it.

Here is the scenario.
You and one other person are tasked with watching over one hundred people in an open space, when one of you sleeps the other is standing guard. You have to make sure none of them escape. There are no fences or barricades to keep them inside, you have one gun and one bullet. The prisoners know that you only have one bullet. You have access to other items, but you cant build a prison, you can't tie them up or restrain them in any way, and you cant buy more bullets.

How do you ensure no one escapes?

Remember there are no wrong answers, if you think you have an idea please share it, once we've talked about it a bit either myself or Jura will tell you the answer.

I put the kettle on and start updating my CV.

You don't have to try and answer it if you don't want to. This is a real question with a real answer.

That was a real answer.  I’ve been given a job to do without the tools and resources to do it.  Fuck this job.

You do have the tools and resources to do the job you're just not thinking about it correctly.

You said there were no wrong answers.

My answer is that this “prison” is completely inadequate.  Any attempt to contain an escape puts my life in danger.  I’m not working under these conditions.

OK your answer is that you cant figure it out. That's fine.

Sorry you don’t like my answer.  I’ll check back to see what you think is the “correct” answer.

This may or may not be possible. Are they Japanese soldiers? Then no chance. Demoralized German soldiers? Meh.

The best shot (PNI) is to establish clear boundaries. A well defined line around the "camp". The first to cross the line gets shot.

Sorry you don’t like my answer.  I’ll check back to see what you think is the “correct” answer.

I didn't make this up myself.
Its a real question with a real answer.

The best shot (PNI) is to establish clear boundaries. A well defined line around the "camp". The first to cross the line gets shot.

Excellent.
That's a real answer and you're on the right track to solving the problem. Although they aren't soldiers, they are unarmed prisoners.

That will work for a little while, but eventually a group of prisoners will make a run for it together, maybe all one hundred will agree to run for it at the same time, reducing their chances of getting shot to one in one hundred, which most people would take.

How do you stop the prisoners from organising in a group and making a run for it at the same time?

How do you stop the prisoners from organising in a group and making a run for it at the same time?

Play sesame street?

This may be the limit of my contribution.

Quote from: disputeone on September 18, 2025, 02:17:23 AM

How do you stop the prisoners from organising in a group and making a run for it at the same time?

Play sesame street?

This may be the limit of my contribution.

That's fine you solved half of it.
Have a think about it and maybe you'll have an answer tomorrow.

I'd shoot the sleeping guard and run off with the prisoners. FUCK THE SYSTEM!

I'd shoot the sleeping guard and run off with the prisoners. FUCK THE SYSTEM!

But then for the purposes of the thought experiment you failed your task. It's more about human psychology than anything else. I was nearly certain that you'd been asked this question before and knew the answer.

I'll let our American friends have a few guesses before I tell you the answer.

You pick a small girl child from the group, sit it next to you and say if you leave the child dies.

Although that wouldn't work as they would just lynch you the fuck to death, I'm still leaving with the group and shooting the dumbass that gave me one bullet.

I'll let our American friends have a few guesses before I tell you the answer.

Sorry dude.

They are overpaid and overthoughtexperimented.

You pick a small girl child from the group, sit it next to you and say if you leave the child dies.

Wow that's dark.
You'll find out of a group of one hundred people there will be at least one (probably much more) that value their lives over the child's life, and decide to run and allow you to shoot the child. In your scenario the group would probably reason that the lives of ninety nine outweigh the life of one and just walk away.

Good attempt tho.

You pick a small girl child from the group, sit it next to you and say if you leave the child dies.

Out of any random group of 100 people, there are probably 10 who have psychological disorders that prevent them having emotional empathy, even for a child.

Quote from: Jura-Glenlivet II on September 18, 2025, 03:04:54 AM

You pick a small girl child from the group, sit it next to you and say if you leave the child dies.

Out of any random group of 100 people, there are probably 10 who have psychological disorders that prevent them having emotional empathy, even for a child.

You're pretty bright. I think you can figure this out with a bit more time.

Wow that's dark.
You'll find out of a group of one hundred people there will be at least one (probably much more) that value their lives over the child's life,

Australians then.

what are the other items?
Cos if it includes 500 wolverines, some stakes and chain, I might have a plan.

Quote from: disputeone on September 18, 2025, 03:21:43 AM

Wow that's dark.
You'll find out of a group of one hundred people there will be at least one (probably much more) that value their lives over the child's life,

Australians then.

what are the other items?
Cos if it includes 500 wolverines, some stakes and chain, I might have a plan.

I already said you cant restrain the prisoners. I didn't mention wolvaccines, but there is only one person with one gun and one bullet guarding the prisoners at one time, you cant get more guns or more weapons. Or explosives, explosives are a weapon.

Apart from that get creative.

What are we now?  Reddit?

I'll let our American friends have a few guesses before I tell you the answer.

We started off with "Remember there are no wrong answers" now we are told there has been a bunch of wrong answers and there is a correct one, which we will soon be told.

The idea of thought experiments is to create a hypothetical that helps elucidate aspects of logic, morality, physics etc.  To highlight inevitable compromises, internal contradictions or impossibilities.

This seems to be something in line with the practical application of human psychology instead.    I'm going to say the answer d1 has in mind is something along the lines of telling everyone the first person to rebel will be shot and nobody wants to get shot so nobody rebels and they carry on standing around in this open field.  Yadda yadda.

Of course when you get into it, the state of mind of the prisoners becomes important.  If they are all serving full lifetimes in this "prison" then the guard is fucked - anyone on their own trying to guard a super max prison full of violent offenders (with little to live for) is going to get killed pretty quick, even with a full clip.  Especially when the the contractors have, literally, cut corners and not put any walls up.

On the other hand there a plenty of "open" prisons where the guards don't have any guns or bullets and the prisoners (assessed to be suitable) don't try to escape because it is the rational thing for them to do.

I'm going to say the answer d1 has in mind is something along the lines of telling everyone the first person to rebel will be shot and nobody wants to get shot so nobody rebels and they carry on standing around in this open field.  Yadda yadda.

You're missing the point and Torve already solved as much.

See.

That will work for a little while, but eventually a group of prisoners will make a run for it together, maybe all one hundred will agree to run for it at the same time, reducing their chances of getting shot to one in one hundred, which most people would take.

How do you stop the prisoners from organising in a group and making a run for it at the same time?

You can figure this out Jimmy.

I should have said that there aren't any "bad" answers. My apologies.

I know! You play them endless clips of Tucker and they all sit down and lose the will to live.

I know! You play them endless clips of Tucker and they all sit down and lose the will to live.

I think republicans hate Tucker nearly as much as you do at this point, but no. When Torve was so quick to solve half the puzzle I thought we would get there pretty fast after that.

This one is a little dark but there is a silver lining, so indulge me. I'm particularly interested in Juras answer, I think he knows the answer, and there is an answer, you'll understand when I explain it, but I'd encourage anyone with an idea to share it.

Here is the scenario.
You and one other person are tasked with watching over one hundred people in an open space, when one of you sleeps the other is standing guard. You have to make sure none of them escape. There are no fences or barricades to keep them inside, you have one gun and one bullet. The prisoners know that you only have one bullet. You have access to other items, but you cant build a prison, you can't tie them up or restrain them in any way, and you cant buy more bullets.

How do you ensure no one escapes?

Remember there are no wrong answers, if you think you have an idea please share it, once we've talked about it a bit either myself or Jura will tell you the answer.

Easy. You do what round Earthers and big government has always done. You convince them either that there are dangerous animals outside the area (e.g. "here be dragons" and tales of dangerous expeditions) or that leaving is a waste of time, because they'll be back again (e.g. RE being fully circular in all directions vs just east or west, or what I was told by a member of a cult who had left only to return). 

Every single one of them will decide it is pointless to leave. Now if you had about ten thousand people or more, one of them might be a true explorer and set out anyway, knowing that they might die or just go in a circle. But the two guards will say to the rest, "See? He never came back because he was eaten."

Easy. You do what round Earthers and big government has always done. You convince them either that there are monsters outside the area (e.g. "here be dragons" and tales of dangerous expeditions) or that leaving is a waste of time, because they'll be back again (e.g. RE being fully circular in all directions vs just east or west, or what I was told by a member of a cult who had left only to return).

Every single one of them will decide it is pointless to leave.

Brilliant, that isn't the accepted answer but its one I didn't even consider. That's what I meant when I (should have said) there are no bad answers. This is actually much more like 4chan than reddit where we crowdfund ideas until the best ideas win.


Let's say for the purposes of this thought experiment that these prisoners are adults who don't believe in monsters. What you're describing would absolutely work, but it would take more time than you have and you'd need to do it to children. The movie "The Village" explored this concept in some depth.

I should have said that there aren't any "bad" answers. My apologies.

Having now googled this and skimmed the inevitable hundreds of pages of reddit threads, I will disagree.  There is probably an infinite variety of bad answers.   What there isn't is a "good" answer.   Everything involves making presumptions that aren't detailed in the original scenario. 

The one I liked best was "Just shoot one, they don't know you only have one bullet".  Of course this presumes they don't know you only have one bullet.  I'm going to say that the prisoners might be looking at this prison, with no walls, and starting to question their jailers' competency.    They might just start thinking you have no bullets as, you know, it doesn't look like a lot of resources have been committed to this operation.

Anyway, if you have your own super clever "solution" to this that for some reason isn't on a reddit thread, then just tell us.

I already stated the prisoners know you have one bullet.

Bulma made an excellent point and made me think. Trying to google this is like using a walkthrough to beat a Zelda game, it takes all the fun out of it.

There is an accepted answer and we are pretty close to it. Torve solved the first part, all we need to do is figure out how to stop the prisoners from working together to try and escape.

I'll tell you the answer tomorrow.
However if you're so desperate to know now then I can send you a PM with the answer, but where's the fun in that? Its like beating the water temple in Ocarina of Time while you watch a youtube video of someone beating it. I figured it out myself. It took me longer to beat that temple than the rest of the game combined, but the feeling of figuring it out and beating it was fantastic.

I wrote out the answer for you. Its ready to go, if you want it then I can send it to you by PM but please don't spoil it for others. I'm going to go and watch cartoons on my new TV shortly.