Infinite Trolley Problem

Do you pull the lever, killing 1 + 1 + 1 + 1.... people — one person for every integer — resulting in infinite people dying? Or do you do nothing, allowing the trolley to kill one person for every real number? In both cases, infinite people die; but in the top case, the smallest possible infinity of people die (ℵ₀), whereas in the bottom case, a larger infinity of people die (some infinities are bigger than other infinities). What do you do?

A trolley approaches endless rows of people, with one track representing one person for every integer and another representing one person for every real number. The joke applies the trolley problem to set theory: both choices kill infinitely many people, but one infinity is larger than the other. It is sent as an absurdly mathematical reaction to impossible moral dilemmas. EN: A trolley approaches endless rows of people, with one track representing one person for every integer and another representing one person for every real number. The joke applies the trolley problem to set theory: both choices kill infinitely many people, but one infinity is larger than the other. It is sent as an absurdly mathematical reaction to impossible moral dilemmas.

• @sbunem / 136939 2026-08-25