The Lever and the Tiger

Let us suppose that you are confronted with a wall. On the other side of that wall are two separate rooms. There is a door between these two rooms. In one room is a hungry, man-eating tiger. In the second room, there may or may not be a human being.

You are presented with a lever. If you pull the lever, the door between the two rooms will open and the hungry, man-eating tiger will be able to enter the other room. If there is no human in the other room, then no life will be terminated. If there is a human in the other room, then that human will be killed by the hungry, man-eating tiger.

Therefore, if you are uncertain as to whether or not there is a living person in the other room but are given the free choice on whether or not to pull the lever, do you, in uncertainty, choose to pull the lever?

"Hateful" Comments

When you see "hateful" comments on Youtube, Twitter, a news website, or other internet webpage and want to draw conclusions about the country, consider the following:

- 500 negative comments in a nation of 300 million.

- How many of these negative comments are international in origin?

- 500 negative comments in a world of 6 billion.

- How many of these negative comments are from adults and how many are from middle schoolers?

- What is the motive for such negative comments? Trying to joke ironically? Trying to get a row out of you? Trying to make you think that a certain segment of the population is "hateful". Trying to create controversy so they can use the controversy advertise the issue/product publicly?

The virtual anonymity of the internet creates the situation in which one is uncertain as to the location, age/maturity, or motivation of anyone who posts "hateful" comments in such a public forum. This ambiguity of intent creates a vacuum that people attempt to fill with their own speculation, usually based on their own biases, presumptions, pet peeves, and worldview. Therefore, it can be easy to misjudge a situation and be deceived.

At the very least, there is the strong possibility that people who post "hateful" comments in a public forum are attempting to manipulate your emotions for personal gain. Don't give people the power to influence you in this regard.