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Author Topic:   hypothetical problem

sandworm posted 08-13-99 10:36 AM ET
Your house is on fire and your wife and child (assume you have both) are trapped inside, and you have the ability to free one and only one of them... which one would you choose?
How about with your wife and your mother?
In talking to a few friends, we noticed that USA bred people tended to favor rescuing the child over their wife, but the few people I know from other countries (China, India) tend to answer wife more often. I don't think the sample size is large enough to say that this is generally true. My Chinese friends said that the question is usually posed as "your wife or your mother" in China.
We found it pretty interesting at work, so I thought I'd collect some more opinions.
GaryD posted 08-13-99 10:58 AM ET
Logically I guess it should be the wife (if I had one) as we could possibly go on to make more children (asuming she's not passed the change).
But in reality I'd either run around in clrcles not knowing what to do until it was too late, or rush in and grab whoever I came across first.
Maybe the answer is I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to.
sandworm posted 08-13-99 12:12 PM ET
My understanding is that the Catholic church would prefer you grabbed your wife. I guess since you married her, and you can always have more children (sort of "A Modest Proposal" POV).
If we had children, I can imagine my wife screaming "get the baby, get the baby!".
Its definitely a situation I'd prefer to avoid.
I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, and what you'd like to do may not be what occurs in a real situation.
People in law enforcement sometimes say they don't know if they could shoot someone, because they've never been in a situation that might require it.
sandworm posted 08-13-99 12:16 PM ET
I'd love to hear an explanation of the Catholic church point of view on this one.
I'm not Catholic, but my soon-to-be wife is, and I either forgot or was too intimidated to ask the priest for a more complete explanation when he mentioned it in our "training classes" for marriage in the Catholic church.
Stasis Archon posted 08-13-99 04:41 PM ET
Why would I only be able to save one of them? I don't like hypothetical situations.
Lurker posted 08-13-99 06:41 PM ET
Don't you guys have a fire brigade?
LOSERS
JaimeWolf posted 08-18-99 03:29 AM ET
Definitely my wife - I'm so forgetful that if I didn't have her to look after us I'd probably end up killing both myself and my son through ignorance/neglect/etc. Better total survival probability (for all of us), taken over a 5-year period, if I save my wife
Alternatively ... I'd save my son - my wife & I are both Christians so I know if she dies she'll be with God, hence dying is not such a bad thing. I'd save my son so that he can grow up (he's 1 now) and come to know God as I do.
Basically I'd do something like a mix between GaryD & sandworm - I'd run around like a headless chook while my wife screamed from wherever she was stuck "GET JOSHUA (my son) OUT!". She's always putting other people first (and no - she doesn't read this so I'm not just going for brownie points!).
Cheers
James
sandworm posted 08-18-99 11:44 AM ET
We can anonymously email the link to this thread to her the next time you get in trouble.
In reality, I'd probably get killed trying to save them both.
"Kobayashi Maru, my a**!"
James Tiberius Kirk, datalinks
Krushala posted 08-18-99 08:01 PM ET
I'd have to go with the child. Mainly because the child has your blood. While you are not truelly related to your wife. You can always get another one. Reminds me of that movie Air Force One (I think that's the name). I would let the wife die to save the child. Sounds cruel. Obviously I would try to save both.
Koshko posted 08-19-99 01:52 AM ET
The honorable thing would be to valiantly die in an effort to save both.
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Author	Topic: hypothetical problem
sandworm	posted 08-13-99 10:36 AM ET Your house is on fire and your wife and child (assume you have both) are trapped inside, and you have the ability to free one and only one of them... which one would you choose? How about with your wife and your mother? In talking to a few friends, we noticed that USA bred people tended to favor rescuing the child over their wife, but the few people I know from other countries (China, India) tend to answer wife more often. I don't think the sample size is large enough to say that this is generally true. My Chinese friends said that the question is usually posed as "your wife or your mother" in China. We found it pretty interesting at work, so I thought I'd collect some more opinions.
GaryD	posted 08-13-99 10:58 AM ET Logically I guess it should be the wife (if I had one) as we could possibly go on to make more children (asuming she's not passed the change). But in reality I'd either run around in clrcles not knowing what to do until it was too late, or rush in and grab whoever I came across first. Maybe the answer is I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to.
sandworm	posted 08-13-99 12:12 PM ET My understanding is that the Catholic church would prefer you grabbed your wife. I guess since you married her, and you can always have more children (sort of "A Modest Proposal" POV). If we had children, I can imagine my wife screaming "get the baby, get the baby!". Its definitely a situation I'd prefer to avoid. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, and what you'd like to do may not be what occurs in a real situation. People in law enforcement sometimes say they don't know if they could shoot someone, because they've never been in a situation that might require it.
sandworm	posted 08-13-99 12:16 PM ET I'd love to hear an explanation of the Catholic church point of view on this one. I'm not Catholic, but my soon-to-be wife is, and I either forgot or was too intimidated to ask the priest for a more complete explanation when he mentioned it in our "training classes" for marriage in the Catholic church.
Stasis Archon	posted 08-13-99 04:41 PM ET Why would I only be able to save one of them? I don't like hypothetical situations.
Lurker	posted 08-13-99 06:41 PM ET Don't you guys have a fire brigade? LOSERS
JaimeWolf	posted 08-18-99 03:29 AM ET Definitely my wife - I'm so forgetful that if I didn't have her to look after us I'd probably end up killing both myself and my son through ignorance/neglect/etc. Better total survival probability (for all of us), taken over a 5-year period, if I save my wife Alternatively ... I'd save my son - my wife & I are both Christians so I know if she dies she'll be with God, hence dying is not such a bad thing. I'd save my son so that he can grow up (he's 1 now) and come to know God as I do. Basically I'd do something like a mix between GaryD & sandworm - I'd run around like a headless chook while my wife screamed from wherever she was stuck "GET JOSHUA (my son) OUT!". She's always putting other people first (and no - she doesn't read this so I'm not just going for brownie points!). Cheers James
sandworm	posted 08-18-99 11:44 AM ET We can anonymously email the link to this thread to her the next time you get in trouble. In reality, I'd probably get killed trying to save them both. "Kobayashi Maru, my a**!" James Tiberius Kirk, datalinks
Krushala	posted 08-18-99 08:01 PM ET I'd have to go with the child. Mainly because the child has your blood. While you are not truelly related to your wife. You can always get another one. Reminds me of that movie Air Force One (I think that's the name). I would let the wife die to save the child. Sounds cruel. Obviously I would try to save both.
Koshko	posted 08-19-99 01:52 AM ET The honorable thing would be to valiantly die in an effort to save both.