Alien experiment - eliminate half the population

[Pheran]

Advanced aliens plan to painlessly eliminate 50% of the Earth's population (they will all instantly vanish, never to be seen again), but will allow you to choose the selection criteria. If the group you select includes you, you will be exempted. Your choices for which group to eliminate are:

Oldest half of the population
Youngest half of the population
Wealthiest half of the population
Poorest half of the population
Most attractive half of the population
Least attractive half of the population
Healthiest half of the population
Least healthy half of the population
Most intelligent half of the population
Least intelligent half of the population

Which do you choose and why? If you do not choose, the aliens choose for you.

Notes

The "attractive" options are not relative to your sexual preferences; men and women will be affected equally.

Choosing the youngest half will not destroy the human race as the median age on Earth is estimated to be 28 years.

 

[JSt0rm]

least healthy half.

Or least intelligent

Both would have a positive impact on the population.

 

[Insomniator]

oh my god definitely the least intelligent

 

[D1gger]

At first I thought the least intelligent, but as soon as I realized that would leave me as the only person alive with an IQ less than 100 I changed it to Least Healthy. :\

 

[TecHNooB]

nm ;D

 

[slayer202]

first instinct was least intelligent, but realized education and opportunity has a lot to do with that. chose least healthy.

 

[Specop 007]

If we can assume "Poorest" loosely defines those who work the least then easily the poorest. They represent the group holding back the species the most.

 

[corwin]

Poorest...eliminate poverty, hunger, no more need for aid as it would pretty much make every third world nation empty

 

[Pheran]

Poorest...eliminate poverty, hunger, no more need for aid as it would pretty much make every third world nation empty

I do wonder if choosing this would eliminate so much of the world's farming base that mass starvation ensues, but I have not spent any effort trying to figure this out.

 

[calvinbiss]

This is a good poll. Went with least intelligent, however now I am wondering how intelligence would be determined.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I went with poorest because that will probably include a good portion of the least intelligent and healthy at the same time. You killd three birds with one stone.

 

[Pheran]

This is a good poll. Went with least intelligent, however now I am wondering how intelligence would be determined.

Obviously, some of the options are somewhat subjective, especially "attractive". You just have to assume the aliens use some criteria which most people would find reasonable, and that they have 100% knowledge of the capabilities of each person.

 

[corwin]

I do wonder if choosing this would eliminate so much of the world's farming base that mass starvation ensues, but I have not spent any effort trying to figure this out.

hadn't considered that...but I wouldn't think so, It would wipe out almost all of Africa and Central America, rural China and most all of the Middle East excepting the priviliged class of course, US farmers would be far enough above the middle to be fine though, might lose some Central American produce but we would be good

 

[slayer202]

pick any group and it will eventually build itself back up. with health, you can at least knock out a lot of those poor genes and many diseases.

 

[Printer Bandit]

eliminate all women uglier than claudia bassols

 

[Red Storm]

You left out the most obvious choice:

The most "evil" half (those with no care for other human beings i.e. criminals, murderers, thieves, etc.)

 

[manimal]

anyone who visits 4chan immediately dies. Anyone who watches daytime television. Anyone who likes vampires, mcr, or nascar too.

 

[Pheran]

You left out the most obvious choice:

The most "evil" half (those with no care for other human beings i.e. criminals, murderers, thieves, etc.)

I intentionally left that out because I think it's much more difficult to objectively determine than the other criteria, and because I didn't want to make one choice extremely compelling.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Your poll lacks the option "guilty"

 

[CPA]

Least Attractive - No Ugly Chicks

 

[Zeze]

Seriously, looks are absurd. This doesn't produce any meaning criteria in terms of 'improving' human race.

Same goes for age. Get rid of all the babies to 30s? or 40s to 100? There will be a gaping social impact both ways.

It comes down to poor or stupid. But defining that very criteria is the key. There are smart people who havent' gotten the education or chances, you can't measure intelligence based on degrees or tests.

Same for wealth. There are more than common exceptions like poor people who just needed their luck and stupid useless rich people like Paris Hilton.

 

[Red Storm]

I intentionally left that out because I think it's much more difficult to objectively determine than the other criteria, and because I didn't want to make one choice extremely compelling.

I'm assuming in this made up fantasy experiment that we have the power to do so.

Intelligence and attractiveness would also vary quite a bit depending on who you ask.

Anyway, I'd still get rid of the bad half. ()

Moral character would be the best choice IMHO, see Zeze's post above for why.

 

[Pheran]

Seriously, looks are absurd. This doesn't produce any meaning criteria in terms of 'improving' human race.

Same goes for age. Get rid of all the babies to 30s? or 40s to 100? There will be a gaping social impact both ways.

The options were not intended to be "useful", only to produce some debate.

 

[TecHNooB]

the question is which one of these choices will offset the 50/50 male to female ratio we kinda have going right now.

 

[Zedtom]

Just ask each person if they believe that there is intelligent life anywhere besides Earth. Those that say yes are allowed to live, the rest will have to be eliminated.