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The Trolley Problem in Real Life

Vsauce · documentary · Watch on YouTube

Philosophy & ethicsPsychology & human behavior

What it is

Vsauce's Michael Stevens stages a realistic version of the trolley problem with unsuspecting subjects who believe they must decide a life-or-death outcome. The Mind Field episode compares what people say they would do with what they actually do.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as a worthwhile real-world experiment whenever trolley problems or moral dilemmas come up.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “The video is well worth a watch”

    Vsauce stages a real trolley switch scenario with unsuspecting subjects

    wongarsu, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “Hypothetical Judgment versus Real-Life Behavior in Trolley-Style Moral Dilemmas”

  2. “It's not 100% perfect but it is still an amazing test.”

    Real-life trolley problem experiment

    Sceptique, 2022-07 · Recommendation · in “Absurd Trolley Problems”

  3. “Vsauce did a video about it worth watching[0]”

    Vsauce on a real-life trolley problem

    Imustaskforhelp, 2026-04 · Recommendation · in “Sam Altman's home targeted in second attack”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: moral psychology, ethics, experiment, mind field, decision making

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