Two More "Axiom" Questions

[David Sklansky]

Again, I define an axiom question as one where there is really no right or wrong answer EXCEPT once you give your answer, it has implications as to what your answer should be to other questions. If you want to claim you are consistent that is.

1. If you could somehow cure your migraine headache (that you expect will last an hour) by decreeing that a randomly chosen dog in your city's pound be euthanized three days before it was sheduled to be, would you do it? Assume ther was a ten percent chance it would be adopted in the next few days. Do not assume that the early euthanization meant increased chances for other dogs to survive longer.

2. Two people have a week to live and are in intense pain. Assume that you know nothing about them or that they are equal in all circumstances. Except for two things. Patient X's pain is ten percent more excruciating than patient Y's pain. Patient X's illness was caused by the cigarettes about whose warnings he constantly ignored, while patient's Y's illness was through no fault of his own. Only one of those two patients can be given pain medication. Who would you give it to? (Or if you are one of those who resist being put into this spot, change the question to "who would you prefer to see get the medication"?)