CronoDAS comments on That Magical Click - Less Wrong

58 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 20 January 2010 04:35PM

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Comment author: CronoDAS 21 January 2010 06:10:27AM 4 points [-]

Yes, I basically agree; I was mostly nitpicking the specific scenario instead of addressing the issue.

If I modify the scenario a bit and say that the assailant has a knife instead of a gun (and my phone's batteries are dead), then things are different. If he has a knife, intervening is still dangerous, but it's much easier to save the woman - all I need to do is put some distance between the two so that the woman can run away. I might very well be seriously injured or killed in the process, but I can at least count on saving the woman from whatever the assailant had in store for her. (This is probably the least convenient possible world that you wanted.)

So, yes, I'd be much more likely to play hero against a knife-wielding assailant if I had brain cancer than if I were healthy and had heard about a major cryonics breakthrough.

Comment author: Bindbreaker 21 January 2010 06:17:09AM 0 points [-]

This seems unusual. You are much more likely to be injured against a knife than you are against a gun. I am moderately confident that I can take a handgun away from someone before they shoot me, given sufficiently close conditions; I am much less confident in my ability to deal with a knife.

Comment author: AngryParsley 21 January 2010 06:32:54AM 3 points [-]

From http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/fireviol.txt

In robberies and assaults, victims are far more likely to die when the perpetrator is armed with a gun than when he or she has another weapon or is unarmed.

Injury rates were higher for robbers with knives, but people are probably less likely to fight back or otherwise provoke a robber with a gun.

Comment author: CronoDAS 21 January 2010 06:32:23AM 3 points [-]

You are much more likely to be injured against a knife than you are against a gun. I am moderately confident that I can take a handgun away from someone before they shoot me, given sufficiently close conditions; I am much less confident in my ability to deal with a knife.

That makes the knife scenario an even better dilemma than the gun scenario!

The reason I'm more likely to intervene against a knife is that it's easier to protect the woman from a knife than from a gun. Against a knife, all she needs is some time to start running, but if a gun is involved, I need to actually subdue the assailant, which I can't. After all, he is bigger and stronger than me, and even has a weapon that can do serious damage. If all he has is a knife, though, all I need to do is buy enough time; even if I end up dead, the woman will probably get away.

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