'What’d you do in a burning building?' poll results/discussion

jud!th

So it looks like you haven't sold your soul after all

LunarTic

This quiz probably isn't a realistic scenario because it assumes that once you have made your decision, you would stick to it. It doesn't take account of any subsequent adaptive behaviour you would make dependent on the behaviour of other people.

e.g. I answered "Walk", but if the people behind me were running and there was sufficient space in front of me to run safely without colliding with another person, then it would only be logical to run, as you would only be pushed over and trampled on if you continued walking with a stampede behind you!

MothballsWallet

My 1st thought when I read the thread title was: Get out of the building, silly!

Optimisticpair

It's better to take a calculated risk knowing the probable outcomes than take a risk and hope you are right. My philosophy is always weigh up the odds.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

frugallass wrote: »

I always look for fire exits whenever I'm in hotels, cinemas, public buildings etc (it's something hubby has always done and I just do it naturally now too). It's amazing how often the fire alarms go off in hotels and people haven't got a clue what floor they're on never mind where the emergency exits are.

I'd make sure my family were safe and with me and then I'd get the hell out of there, helping others on the way if need be.

I had a mate who always did this to the point of being quite nervous about it all. I forgot all about this and on one social group holiday (where there were 2,000 people in the venue) I put our names down as the fire wardens, which basically meant we sat by the fire escape doors for an hour each shift and it was our job to open the doors if there was a fire and get people out. We were told we should not leave, till everyone was out. :eek: :eek: My mate just sat there terrifiied the whole time. The fire alarm did go off ( couple of times as it was playing up), but luckily not on our shift.

Datus

Seriously.
Don't follow the crowd.
Its a fact people go the way they know, resist your animal nature.
Spend a few moments looking arround you to see if there is a fire exit which isnt being used by many if any other people. If there is head towards it.
If not let everyone else go first as if there is a problem you wont be stuck in the middle of them and will be able to try other options.
The above will save your life, its also good practice in non fire situations....

[Deleted User]

hammodt wrote: »

Seems like a version or twist of the classic "Prisoners Dilemna" - classic Game Theory!!

I was just thinking that...

...it also reminds me of the Monty Hall problem a bit.

toasted-lion

Almost all, if not all people would run. That doesn't however, mean that the people who say they would walk are consciously lying. I think there are three groups of people:

1. People who know they would run and say they would run.
2. People who like to think they would walk, and say they would walk, but they actually know deep down that they would run.
3. People who genuinely believe they would walk, and may go through their lives believing they would walk, but in the situation they would actually run.

If there is a fourth group of people who would actually walk, it's incredibly small.

JimmyTheWig

MothballsWallet wrote: »

My 1st thought when I read the thread title was: Get out of the building, silly!

My first thought was "close all the windows"!

Have voted walk. I'd like to think I would.

teddyco

I don't go to the cinema to watch movies so I don't have to worry about it.

Personally, I think the question was worded incorrectly.

The question should have been would you run and push everyone out of the way to save yourself, or stay behind
to help other people get out safely.

I also agree with toasted-lion, there are a lot of folks who say they would walk and should be politicians, but know in their heart that they would run like hell....ha ha.

I have a question? If Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were trapped in a burning building immediately after raising your taxes again, would you:

A. Run like smoke and oakem
B. Go back to save them so you could thank them for taking all your money