In this post I initially planned to talk about the benefits that different opinions present to society. But I had a slight change of mind after stumbling upon a brilliant independent short film on choice.

Black Button

Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being.

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Everyone likes having a choice, but why is it so hard to make certain decisions? People are constantly struggling with choices all their lives. From college kids to retired people, everyone has lots of difficult choices to make. Should I choose this college or that, should I major in this area or that, should I work on this project or the other one, who should I date, who should I marry, where should I go on holidays, when should I sleep, what should I eat, what car should I get, should I help this man or not, should I… the list goes on, heading towards infinity.

However, regardless of the results of the choices that we make, we must always assume responsibility for them. But what if you’re in a special situation? One similar to that in this short film… What if your choice is so wrong that assuming responsibility for it doesn’t do any good in any way? It means that you should have made made a different decision.

I want you to watch this film very carefully. When you reach -2:06 (5:00), pause, make your choice (push the button or take the key) and then vote in the poll below. My choice was to take the money.

What do you see in the above picture?

View Results

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Are you happy with your choice?…



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  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long R

    Interesting post, Armannd. Thought-provoking.

    I may sound like an altruistic bastard, but I’m speaking what I feel. I wouldn’t press that button.

    Not that I am a great man, but because it’s actually a simply decision if you put life in a bigger perspective than money. Eventually, I believe we have to answer for our deeds, directly or indirectly.

    In that perspective, doing a bad deed for money is just not worth it.

    It is also with this reason that I don’t put myself in a position where I am easily tempted by money i.e. in debt.

    I have seen with my own eyes, bright, capable individuals whose careers and future are ruined because they pressed the ‘black button’ because they were so heavily in debts.

    http://lawrencecheok.com/85/get-out-credit-card-debt.html

  • http://odinkirk.com John

    Good way to bring the conversation to the community!

    I chose the key.

    I had looked at both sides of the equation, but in the end, if I pressed a button, I would be directly responsible for the untimely death of someone, and that would ride me the rest of my life. Could I have helped people with the money? Probably. Could I have restored a life taken? No. The irreversable act of killing another would have weighed heavily on me and would have skewed anything I would later on in my life. Moreover, the guilt of the action taken to get the money would probably cause most people to blow it in a subconscious effort to “balance the books”….they need to get rid of the blood money.

    No. Even for all the good that money could offer, the cost would be way too high for me.

  • http://odinkirk.com John

    Good way to bring the conversation to the community!

    I chose the key.

    I had looked at both sides of the equation, but in the end, if I pressed a button, I would be directly responsible for the untimely death of someone, and that would ride me the rest of my life. Could I have helped people with the money? Probably. Could I have restored a life taken? No. The irreversable act of killing another would have weighed heavily on me and would have skewed anything I would later on in my life. Moreover, the guilt of the action taken to get the money would probably cause most people to blow it in a subconscious effort to “balance the books”….they need to get rid of the blood money.

    No. Even for all the good that money could offer, the cost would be way too high for me.

  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long Road

    Interesting post, Armannd. Thought-provoking.

    I may sound like an altruistic bastard, but I’m speaking what I feel. I wouldn’t press that button.

    Not that I am a great man, but because it’s actually a simply decision if you put life in a bigger perspective than money. Eventually, I believe we have to answer for our deeds, directly or indirectly.

    In that perspective, doing a bad deed for money is just not worth it.

    It is also with this reason that I don’t put myself in a position where I am easily tempted by money i.e. in debt.

    I have seen with my own eyes, bright, capable individuals whose careers and future are ruined because they pressed the ‘black button’ because they were so heavily in debts.

    http://lawrencecheok.com/85/get-out-credit-card-debt.html

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Lawrence, don’t say that you’re not a great man. If you didn’t push the button for the reason you said, you have at least one quality that great men have!

    However, my decision was wrong only because I didn’t have all the critical information from the start. Here’s why.
    Consider a mother and two babies trapped in a fire. In this scenario, the mother has two options:
    1. Drop one baby in order to rescue the other one (and herself).
    2. Keep both babies and die together with them.
    Which decision is correct? The first one, that involved killing one of the babies. The second option would have involved killing both babies and committing suicide – far worse.

    So the way I rationalized the movie situation was this: I kill one random man in the world and get $10,000,000.00 for it. Then, with the money, I would be able to *save* not one or two, but hundreds of lives. It would have been a rather fair deal I think.
    The only problem: I couldn’t save anyone and I doomed myself in the process. The reason for this being the lack of information regarding the context.

    There are many catches with this film, one of them being that pushing the button is not necessarily a bad deed in itself.

  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long R

    Amazing perspective Armannd!

    If that’s the case, then I say only one thing truly matters; it’s not the action, but our motivation. The deed itself can be judged subjectively, but our ourselves (and God) truly know if our intention is good or not.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Lawrence, don’t say that you’re not a great man. If you didn’t push the button for the reason you said, you have at least one quality that great men have!

    However, my decision was wrong only because I didn’t have all the critical information from the start. Here’s why.
    Consider a mother and two babies trapped in a fire. In this scenario, the mother has two options:
    1. Drop one baby in order to rescue the other one (and herself).
    2. Keep both babies and die together with them.
    Which decision is correct? The first one, that involved killing one of the babies. The second option would have involved killing both babies and committing suicide – far worse.

    So the way I rationalized the movie situation was this: I kill one random man in the world and get $10,000,000.00 for it. Then, with the money, I would be able to *save* not one or two, but hundreds of lives. It would have been a rather fair deal I think.
    The only problem: I couldn’t save anyone and I doomed myself in the process. The reason for this being the lack of information regarding the context.

    There are many catches with this film, one of them being that pushing the button is not necessarily a bad deed in itself.

  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long Road

    Amazing perspective Armannd!

    If that’s the case, then I say only one thing truly matters; it’s not the action, but our motivation. The deed itself can be judged subjectively, but our ourselves (and God) truly know if our intention is good or not.

  • Matt

    I chose the key, not from a moral standpoint, but from a logical one: If I take the money, how do I get out of the room?

  • Matt

    I chose the key, not from a moral standpoint, but from a logical one: If I take the money, how do I get out of the room?

  • http://luaclara.stumbleupon.com Lais

    This was a nice idea Armand. The question is a question we make ourselves everyday. It doesn’t involve necessarily so much money at once, or exactly the life of a human been immediately, but in the end it is the same question. Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.

    As a species we are wired to take the group we belong to in consideration, and fight our life to defend them. The problem is that the group (family) had changed to a larger concept. For that we are not wired, yet.

    Lawrence, personally I totally agree with you.

  • http://luaclara.stumbleupon.com Lais

    This was a nice idea Armand. The question is a question we make ourselves everyday. It doesn’t involve necessarily so much money at once, or exactly the life of a human been immediately, but in the end it is the same question. Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.

    As a species we are wired to take the group we belong to in consideration, and fight our life to defend them. The problem is that the group (family) had changed to a larger concept. For that we are not wired, yet.

    Lawrence, personally I totally agree with you.

  • http://odinkirk.com John

    Armand has a serious point here. Some of the most horrendous acts in history have been done “for their own good”. We can keep chasing this down the rabbit hole forever, but if you’re making help available for the taking, yet not forcing it on people, you’re doing pretty well.

    At the same time, I would advise against NOT helping using this as an excuse. Listen to your heart, and go from there.

  • http://odinkirk.com John

    Armand has a serious point here. Some of the most horrendous acts in history have been done “for their own good”. We can keep chasing this down the rabbit hole forever, but if you’re making help available for the taking, yet not forcing it on people, you’re doing pretty well.

    At the same time, I would advise against NOT helping using this as an excuse. Listen to your heart, and go from there.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Matt, I think you have a good point there. :)

    However, I figured that the door will (be) open after making the choice. He says: “if you make the right choice, you can leave here with more than you can possibly imagine.”

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Lais, this is as spot on as it can get: “Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.”

    However, there are many different nuances to it. It depends on what is defined by “helpful,” on how many are helped by it, on how many are against it, on the ratio between the two, et cetera. It’s a rather complex equation based on a simple principle.

    I do agree with you and Lawrence, just not 100%.

    And to be fully on topic, I’m not happy with my choice. :)

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Matt, I think you have a good point there. :)

    However, I figured that the door will (be) open after making the choice. He says: “if you make the right choice, you can leave here with more than you can possibly imagine.”

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    Lais, this is as spot on as it can get: “Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.”

    However, there are many different nuances to it. It depends on what is defined by “helpful,” on how many are helped by it, on how many are against it, on the ratio between the two, et cetera. It’s a rather complex equation based on a simple principle.

    I do agree with you and Lawrence, just not 100%.

    And to be fully on topic, I’m not happy with my choice. :)

  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long R

    Haha Armannd, looks like you have sparked off an interesting conversation here!

    Lais, I like the way you’ve quoted “The question is a question we make ourselves everyday. It doesn’t involve necessarily so much money at once, or exactly the life of a human been immediately, but in the end it is the same question. Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.”

    Very apt and very true. Indeed, we are faced with such decisions, albeit in different capacity each day. The key or the button?

    According to the current vote results: 40% button, 60% key, I think we quite divided on this view. It tells me that the world is really a subjective place, and what is seemingly a straightforward decision is in fact not so straightforward.

  • Lawrence Cheok | A Long Long Road

    Haha Armannd, looks like you have sparked off an interesting conversation here!

    Lais, I like the way you’ve quoted “The question is a question we make ourselves everyday. It doesn’t involve necessarily so much money at once, or exactly the life of a human been immediately, but in the end it is the same question. Every time you choose to use your intelligence to built something helpful for the others you are taking the key. If you use it to take advantage of them, you are pressing the button.”

    Very apt and very true. Indeed, we are faced with such decisions, albeit in different capacity each day. The key or the button?

    According to the current vote results: 40% button, 60% key, I think we quite divided on this view. It tells me that the world is really a subjective place, and what is seemingly a straightforward decision is in fact not so straightforward.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    One important note here: Milgram’s experiment and the Stanford prison experiment. Study those and watch the film again …see that the authority figure ORDERS us to push the button and we are in a pretty “wrong” situation. Think about those two “minor” facts.

    At the moment (Dec 10, 2007) the ratio of the votes is 60-40, in favor of taking the key (220 votes). But I believe that if we were to be in Mr. Roberts’s place, only 7-8 people (tops) wouldn’t push the button.

    The power of the situation would simply take us over, regardless of what opinion we have now, on dry land.

    Let’s extrapolate and see what that means in our daily lives.

    In the day to day life, as much as we would genuinely like to take the key every time, the situation often makes us push the button. And we’re pushing it again and again and again. In fact, if there was a black button in real life, and if it was to break because of too much usage, each of us would manage to easily break it in a day or two.

    And we’re not bad people. …but it doesn’t take bad people to do wrong things.

    So, Lawrence, I don’t know if the decision to push the button would appear to be straightforward given the situation in which it must be taken.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    One important note here: Milgram’s experiment and the Stanford prison experiment. Study those and watch the film again …see that the authority figure ORDERS us to push the button and we are in a pretty “wrong” situation. Think about those two “minor” facts.

    At the moment (Dec 10, 2007) the ratio of the votes is 60-40, in favor of taking the key (220 votes). But I believe that if we were to be in Mr. Roberts’s place, only 7-8 people (tops) wouldn’t push the button.

    The power of the situation would simply take us over, regardless of what opinion we have now, on dry land.

    Let’s extrapolate and see what that means in our daily lives.

    In the day to day life, as much as we would genuinely like to take the key every time, the situation often makes us push the button. And we’re pushing it again and again and again. In fact, if there was a black button in real life, and if it was to break because of too much usage, each of us would manage to easily break it in a day or two.

    And we’re not bad people. …but it doesn’t take bad people to do wrong things.

    So, Lawrence, I don’t know if the decision to push the button would appear to be straightforward given the situation in which it must be taken.

  • Mike

    There’s alot better ways to discuss morality than an 8 minute crappy movie.

  • Mike

    There’s alot better ways to discuss morality than an 8 minute crappy movie.

  • http://leapkick.blogspot.com Mark

    “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You’re taking away everything he’s got, and everything he’s ever gonna have.”

    -Clint Eastwood, “Unforgiven” (1992)

  • http://leapkick.blogspot.com Mark

    “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You’re taking away everything he’s got, and everything he’s ever gonna have.”

    -Clint Eastwood, “Unforgiven” (1992)

  • http://www.johannilsson.nu Johan Nilsson

    For me the choice was easy – I chose the key. No way I’d be knowingly responsible for someone’s death. Pushing the button is equal to shooting someone in the head yourself, only much easier when you don’t see the actual person.

    “How much is one person worth?” – That’s the question this film is asking. Or rather, how much is your own innocence worth? Another interesting choice would be like this:

    * Press the black button, someone (random) dies.
    * Press the white button, you die.

    That’s a bit tricky. If you kill someone, you have to live with that the rest of your life, but if you die yourself you are relieved from that weight, but you’re not around to experience it. Depends on your beliefs of an after-life, I guess.

  • http://www.johannilsson.nu Johan Nilsson

    For me the choice was easy – I chose the key. No way I’d be knowingly responsible for someone’s death. Pushing the button is equal to shooting someone in the head yourself, only much easier when you don’t see the actual person.

    “How much is one person worth?” – That’s the question this film is asking. Or rather, how much is your own innocence worth? Another interesting choice would be like this:

    * Press the black button, someone (random) dies.
    * Press the white button, you die.

    That’s a bit tricky. If you kill someone, you have to live with that the rest of your life, but if you die yourself you are relieved from that weight, but you’re not around to experience it. Depends on your beliefs of an after-life, I guess.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    @Mike: You’re completely missing the point here. Try watching the movie again. And again. And again. …if you still don’t see the point, maybe it’s not for you to see.

    @Mark: Great quote that one. Killing a man is indeed “a hell of a thing.” Thanks for sharing it!

    @Johan Nilsson: The power of a situation could easily make 99% of us do very bad things…
    “How much is one person worth” is one of the question that the film is asking. But there are more…
    Did you notice how in the end, even if he is aware that he’s doomed for eternity, Mr. Roberts is still “greedy” to find out who he killed?

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    @Mike: You’re completely missing the point here. Try watching the movie again. And again. And again. …if you still don’t see the point, maybe it’s not for you to see.

    @Mark: Great quote that one. Killing a man is indeed “a hell of a thing.” Thanks for sharing it!

    @Johan Nilsson: The power of a situation could easily make 99% of us do very bad things…
    “How much is one person worth” is one of the question that the film is asking. But there are more…
    Did you notice how in the end, even if he is aware that he’s doomed for eternity, Mr. Roberts is still “greedy” to find out who he killed?

  • me

    i would have pressed that button in a second. no convincing necessary. and i would’ve used it for me. am i evil? no way!
    there are plenty of worthless lives or completely terrible human beings in a ratio much greater than good. A random life for 10 mil. that’s an easy choice. good bye. give me the money.

  • me

    i would have pressed that button in a second. no convincing necessary. and i would’ve used it for me. am i evil? no way!
    there are plenty of worthless lives or completely terrible human beings in a ratio much greater than good. A random life for 10 mil. that’s an easy choice. good bye. give me the money.

  • http://www.webaddict.co.za Miguel

    I didn’t need to watch the video. I would have chosen the key under any circumstance. No amount of money is worth a human life, no matter how worthless you think that person is. Not even if it was guaranteed that it was a homeless bum on the the streets, that no one would likely miss?
    Doesn’t matter how much in debt you’re in, how much more you need it than any other person in the world, or how small a sacrifice you think you’re making, we don’t have the right to decide weather someone lives or dies.

    It’s one of the most fundamental rights every human being on earth has, the right of choice and free will. As soon as you take that right away from someone, you cease to be human yourself. Ironically the person making the offer turns out to be more ‘human’ the person making the decision.
    And, as soon as the guy chooses the money and subsequently to kill someone else, he dies, he ceases to be human. Enforcing the theme.

    For me this choice is a simple one, the key, without a second thought.

  • http://www.webaddict.co.za Miguel

    I didn’t need to watch the video. I would have chosen the key under any circumstance. No amount of money is worth a human life, no matter how worthless you think that person is. Not even if it was guaranteed that it was a homeless bum on the the streets, that no one would likely miss?
    Doesn’t matter how much in debt you’re in, how much more you need it than any other person in the world, or how small a sacrifice you think you’re making, we don’t have the right to decide weather someone lives or dies.

    It’s one of the most fundamental rights every human being on earth has, the right of choice and free will. As soon as you take that right away from someone, you cease to be human yourself. Ironically the person making the offer turns out to be more ‘human’ the person making the decision.
    And, as soon as the guy chooses the money and subsequently to kill someone else, he dies, he ceases to be human. Enforcing the theme.

    For me this choice is a simple one, the key, without a second thought.

  • doubters

    if the devil’s advocate werent so plainly viewed, i might have pushed the button.
    logically, it is merely implied that the death may be someone other than who’s time was meant to expire.
    Also, that if the advocate were a human, then he already had someone in mind that he wanted to kill- paying someone to push a button merely relieves him of the guilt, transferring it to the person “bought”.
    But if said person merely pushed the button, then the murder fell to the buyer.
    However, this case has nothing to do with logic, and everything to do with the Devil- his stake is not in the murder of someone who is merely an inconvenience to a mere mortal, but to prove that Humanity is prone to fall to its basest instincts for equally base purposes.
    greed= murder.
    In this case, what is at stake is the mortal soul of the person in the room- if it were me, i’d take the key.
    someone said something about Authority- i have always questioned the basis of Authority, even before I read Whitman, Jeeferson and Franklin.
    I have no doubt as to my conviction- the money was never meant for me.

  • doubters

    if the devil’s advocate werent so plainly viewed, i might have pushed the button.
    logically, it is merely implied that the death may be someone other than who’s time was meant to expire.
    Also, that if the advocate were a human, then he already had someone in mind that he wanted to kill- paying someone to push a button merely relieves him of the guilt, transferring it to the person “bought”.
    But if said person merely pushed the button, then the murder fell to the buyer.
    However, this case has nothing to do with logic, and everything to do with the Devil- his stake is not in the murder of someone who is merely an inconvenience to a mere mortal, but to prove that Humanity is prone to fall to its basest instincts for equally base purposes.
    greed= murder.
    In this case, what is at stake is the mortal soul of the person in the room- if it were me, i’d take the key.
    someone said something about Authority- i have always questioned the basis of Authority, even before I read Whitman, Jeeferson and Franklin.
    I have no doubt as to my conviction- the money was never meant for me.

  • Kai

    I would take the money, and use it to save the lives of more people, thus making up for the death. Easy.

  • Kai

    I would take the money, and use it to save the lives of more people, thus making up for the death. Easy.

  • http://www.webaddict.co.za Miguel

    The fact that the money will be used to save other people’s lives doesn’t give a person the authority to decide on another persons right to live. It’s not about saving lives, its about taking lives.

  • http://www.webaddict.co.za Miguel

    The fact that the money will be used to save other people’s lives doesn’t give a person the authority to decide on another persons right to live. It’s not about saving lives, its about taking lives.

  • http://www.specialtyansweringservice.net Live Answering Service

    I wouldn’t push the button. I’m sure I could have a great time with a briefcase filled with millions of dollars, but I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it if it came from essentially killing someone.

  • Jsbauman

    Don’t push the button! Without looking at the film, I am reminded of a fact that comes up all the time: Beware of anything that is too good to be true! Suppose that the one who pushes the button is also the one who will “randomly” be killed if the button is pressed? After all, that would make the “murder” a virtual suicide and the money would not really have to be “permanently” paid to a corpse now would it. Such a situation would be the same as being killed by your own greed. No “murder” actually takes place only another “regrettable” suicide. Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

  • http://armannd.com/ Titus-Armand

    That’s true, but in the realm of supposition it is also possible that your greed won’t kill you and you’ll enjoy every penny that came out of it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dustin-Santos/695980271 Dustin Santos

    i wouldn’t take someone’s life. fuck it, i’m used to being broke already. my ninja jesus training provides a “spider sense” when it comes to the devil’s trickery…

  • I love myself

    I would take the money and spend it all on myself. I mean really, I don’t understand how all these people have such strong morals. And even if I did end up dying from the button, I’m already obsessed with the fact that I am going to die no matter what I do. The risk is worth it.

    I’m really self-centered, if you didn’t notice.

  • idealist

    I would take the $. Not because I would want to save others lives, but because I realize that both of the options are selfish. If you take the money, you are selfish(obviously) because you are willing to sacrifice someone else’s life to get some money, HOWEVER taking the key is a selfish option as well. You want what is best for yourself because you are looking at a long-term goal of getting to heaven, as well as escaping the feeling of guilt that would come with taking the money. Secondly, our society only has “morals” as we call them because they have suited our genetic needs. Had the early humans been able to thrive by being “greedy” , greed would be morally acceptable. Since society has changed so rapidly since those early ages, many of these evolutionary benefits no longer exist(i.e. not being greedy) and therefore, greed SHOULD be acceptable, and will be given enough time. Since I would benefit more from the money, disregarding (illogical) morals in my reasoning, I would take the money.