Escape!

[Floofybit]

Congratulations! You are going to die. A meteor 256 times stronger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Death is ensured. However, the 11 most likely candidates to survive in space get there very own escape pod to a hospitable planet! Unfortunately, you aren't one of them, and are going to die. However, by a random lot, you were chosen to make decision of a lifetime! Only 6 people can fly to space due to malfunctioning, and you get to decide who! Here are the options:

1. A Female One Year Old
2. A Male Artist, Age 27
3. A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun
4. A Female Medic, Age 34
5. A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife
6. A Female Musician, Age 47
7. A 13 Year Old Child
8. A Male Chef, Age 32
9. A Female Acrobat, Age 23
10. A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator

Who do you chose to go to the new planet and start a new civilization?

Personally, I would chose 3 males and 3 females, so there is a high chance they all have kids and start a new civilization. The younglings aren't needed because they are more a waste of resources in this scenario, so we will made the kids ourselves. Our first couple is number 5. A mechanic can fix any sabotaging in the ship and they will be the most likely to reproduce. Next we have 3 and 6. They are similar age and the policemen can fight off aliens and imposters, while the musician can keep spirits high. Finally, we have 4 and 8. They are also similar age and the medic can heal injuries and deliver the babies, while the chef can cook their meals.

What about you? Who do you chose to go?

[Rakhalia]

I choose 10 all six times. I want the end of humanity to be assured.

[Denoidumbutoniurucwivobrs]

I choose none of them. I'm going to shoot the escape pod into space with nobody in it.

[The Front Range]

This sounds like the premise for a bad Netflix show

[Communist spain 10]

Evreyone in this earth I don't want humanity to end if have the big-o-fier that we can make the moon home

[Communist spain 10]

I choose none of them. I'm going to shoot the escape pod into space with nobody in it.

How dare you! Sorry for double posting

[Emotional Support Crocodile]

Which of them like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain?

[Floofybit]

Which of them like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain?

6, 8, and 9

[Rhodevus]

A Female One Year Old
A Male Artist, Age 27
A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun
A Female Medic, Age 34
A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife
A Female Musician, Age 47
A 13 Year Old Child
A Male Chef, Age 32
A Female Acrobat, Age 23
A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator

So, going through these one at a time, you have person 1, who is too young to be useful as one of the last surviving people.
The male artist doesn't really have the skills necessary to survive. sorry, but since all we know about them is their age, sex and occupation, you gone.
3 is a policeman. This by itself isn't bad, but what worries me is his inability to let go of his gun. This points to a trigger-happy mentality and would more than likely kill one of the other 5 people, than be helpful.
Female medic? heck yes. She is saved.
38 year old mechanic? definitely. Wife? meaning we already have a confirmed pairing for continuing the human race? awesome. both are saved.
female musician? sorry, not super helpful.
13 year old? too young and just entering their teenage years. The journey is stressful enough without bringing along a teen.
Chef? always. Always take the chef. people get hungry quite quickly and not everyone knows how to proper fillet a fish or remove the bones from animals. he safe.
acrobat? probably not super useful. but at least she is likely to be strong.
NS moderator? well, you are very lucky that there is nobody else I'd want to take! remember this Mods! I am a wise and merciful player!

So, people being saved are:
4. the female medic
5. the mechanic and his wife
6. the chef
9. Acrobat
10. The NS Mod (huzzah! Even with the collapse of humanity, NS shall live on!)

[Fractalnavel]

This is just another trolley problem, isn't it? It's trolley problems all the way down...

[Kingdom of Intermaria]

I choose 5

[The House of Hamid]

I'll do my colleague a solid and take the cook. The rest can draw straws.

[Chan Island]

2, 4, 5 (counts as two individuals), 8 and 9. The others are either too young to be able to handle such a trip, or too old to be longterm useful, or NS mods. Either way, this is too few to really have a good chance to restart humanity and the mission is probably doomed.

[Countesia]

A Female One Year Old - Nope, a kid is just a waste of resources.

A Male Artist, Age 27 - Yes, someone to preserve a slither of earth's cultural history would be an important asset.

A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun - Nope, law enforcement isn't not essential for a grand total of six people.

A Female Medic, Age 34 - Yes, a trained medical professional is 100% essential. Probably goes without saying.

A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife - Yes. Someone with some skill in engineering is also essential. Bringing his wife along is a fair trade off for his skills.

A Female Musician, Age 47 - Yes, for same reason i'd keep the male artist.

A 13 Year Old Child - Sorry kiddo. You're just a slightly older waste of resources.

A Male Chef, Age 32 - At this point i', only picking the male chef because I want an even number of sexes

A Female Acrobat, Age 23 - Sorry, it isn't personal.

A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator - I literally cannot think of anyone more useless than an NS mod. So go figure.

So to summarise, i've got the Male Artist, the Female Medic, The Mechanic and his wife. The Female Musican and the Male Chef. A group of people who i believe would have a good chance of rebuilding society to some degree.

Thats 3 males, 3 females. So hopefully they can breed themselves out of the awful population bottleneck we've put them in without being TOO inbred.

[Mestovakia]

Thats 3 males, 3 females. So hopefully they can breed themselves out of the awful population bottleneck we've put them in without being TOO inbred.

Man, their descendants are going to look like a Nickelodeon cartoon.

[Latorik]

A Female One Year Old - Nope, a kid is just a waste of resources.

A Male Artist, Age 27 - Yes, someone to preserve a slither of earth's cultural history would be an important asset.

A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun - Nope, law enforcement isn't not essential for a grand total of six people.

A Female Medic, Age 34 - Yes, a trained medical professional is 100% essential. Probably goes without saying.

A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife - Yes. Someone with some skill in engineering is also essential. Bringing his wife along is a fair trade off for his skills.

A Female Musician, Age 47 - Yes, for same reason i'd keep the male artist.

A 13 Year Old Child - Sorry kiddo. You're just a slightly older waste of resources.

A Male Chef, Age 32 - At this point i', only picking the male chef because I want an even number of sexes

A Female Acrobat, Age 23 - Sorry, it isn't personal.

A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator - I literally cannot think of anyone more useless than an NS mod. So go figure.

So to summarise, i've got the Male Artist, the Female Medic, The Mechanic and his wife. The Female Musican and the Male Chef. A group of people who i believe would have a good chance of rebuilding society to some degree.

Thats 3 males, 3 females. So hopefully they can breed themselves out of the awful population bottleneck we've put them in without being TOO inbred.

Oh no not at all.

You need a pop of at least 50 to avoid massive inbreeding and 500 to avoid too terrible genetic drift

Hopefully we've brought along a bunch of eggs and shit otherwise humanity dies lmao

[Floofybit]

A Female One Year Old - Nope, a kid is just a waste of resources.

A Male Artist, Age 27 - Yes, someone to preserve a slither of earth's cultural history would be an important asset.

A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun - Nope, law enforcement isn't not essential for a grand total of six people.

A Female Medic, Age 34 - Yes, a trained medical professional is 100% essential. Probably goes without saying.

A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife - Yes. Someone with some skill in engineering is also essential. Bringing his wife along is a fair trade off for his skills.

A Female Musician, Age 47 - Yes, for same reason i'd keep the male artist.

A 13 Year Old Child - Sorry kiddo. You're just a slightly older waste of resources.

A Male Chef, Age 32 - At this point i', only picking the male chef because I want an even number of sexes

A Female Acrobat, Age 23 - Sorry, it isn't personal.

A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator - I literally cannot think of anyone more useless than an NS mod. So go figure.

So to summarise, i've got the Male Artist, the Female Medic, The Mechanic and his wife. The Female Musican and the Male Chef. A group of people who i believe would have a good chance of rebuilding society to some degree.

Thats 3 males, 3 females. So hopefully they can breed themselves out of the awful population bottleneck we've put them in without being TOO inbred.

Oh no not at all.

You need a pop of at least 50 to avoid massive inbreeding and 500 to avoid too terrible genetic drift

Hopefully we've brought along a bunch of eggs and shit otherwise humanity dies lmao

But we don't have 50 people to take... We have 6. Just go along with it and pretend that the people who make it to the planet rebuild civilization normally

[Esternial]

Most straighforward/useful choices would be the Medic and the Mechanic (+wife)
Looking at age I would elimate the 1-year old child and the older policeman and musician.
Looking at skill I would eliminate the artist and the chef. While both have a cultural value they would not be extremely useful during a survival situation in space.

That leaves the 13-year old child, the female acrobat and the Nationstates Moderator. They're all still relatively young and would probably be able to re-skill themselves into a useful profession. Especially the 13-year old I would put under the mechanic's tutelage straight away because I would not want to to wait for a new baby to be conceived and become old enough to completely soak up the aging mechanic's skill.

So to recap:

• A Female Medic, Age 34
• A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife
• A 13 Year Old Child
• A Female Acrobat, Age 23
• A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator

I literally cannot think of anyone more useless than an NS mod. So go figure.

:(

[Tinhampton]

Congratulations! You are going to die.

...okay.

A meteor 256 times stronger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

How strong is it and how can we extrapolate its effects so well as to be certain that global eradication is certain? I'm a mathematician, not a physicist (...or a geologist...).

However, the 11 most likely candidates to survive in space

Out of eight billion. Were these people selected out of a hat? This ragtag bunch quite frankly does not sound like the eleven people most likely of everybody alive today to survive getting blasted off into space.

get there very own escape pod to a hospitable planet! Unfortunately, you aren't one of them

How do you know I don't fit any of the descriptions assigned to the ten people on the list aged 13 or over? (I'm actually 46 and will never be a moderator, as was asserted by Sedgistan in January 2017, but aside from that.)

However, by a random lot,

How random?

you were chosen to make decision of a lifetime!

In May 1982, my six-and-a-half-year-old self made an impulse decision to join my dad at the infamous Fulham vs Derby County game. I was so disappointed that I resolved to follow the Cottagers for the rest of my life, in the hopes that one day - some day - they would return to the top flight. (My sister stayed back and still supports Crystal Palace, like my mum.) This decision will be nowhere near as consequential as me saying "Yes!" to "Do you want to watch a game of football today?" forty years ago.

Only 6 people can fly to space due to malfunctioning

I order my husband to take responsibility for the spacecraft glitchery.

and you get to decide who! Here are the options:

1. A Female One Year Old
2. A Male Artist, Age 27
3. A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun
4. A Female Medic, Age 34
5. A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife
6. A Female Musician, Age 47
7. A 13 Year Old Child
8. A Male Chef, Age 32
9. A Female Acrobat, Age 23
10. A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator

Who do you chose to go to the new planet and start a new civilization?

I write down the ten names on a piece of paper entitled THE LONDON BOROUGH OF WALTHAM FOREST: EMERGENCY COUNCILLOR BY-ELECTION, draw rectangular boxes around them, put square boxes to the right of each rectangle, and whack a supplementary note at the bottom telling people that they must rank all ten candidates in any order or else their votes may be conveniently discarded.

I then photocopy this paper as many times as I can and send it to as many of my neighbours as I can. Once all of my neighbours have finished voting (which should take about an hour or so), I count the ballot papers, whittle down the four least popular candidates in each round, and send off my responses to OH SHIT WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO SEND MY RESPONSES

[Communist Beijing Must be China]

1,2,3,4,6 and 8.

1, cause she's a baby and will definitely live the longest.
2, you gotta bring art along for the ride, art is one of the oldest things which signify humanity as a whole, regardless of barriers.
3, you gotta have law in the new civilisation, you can't have thieves robbing the bank every day.
4, you need treatment if you get sick or injured, or else everyone on board would just die off due to diseases from the new planet (maybe)
6, music is also a type of art and goes along with the points that I gave out for 3.
8, because people need food. although farmers can take that job, i think chefs can adjust to the new creatures.

[The African Emirates]

7 all 6 times, Lord of the Flies in Space will be real

[The Republique of Gazmendistan]

When I read the title ... the only thing that popped into my mind was Pina Colada Song.

[Worldly Philosophers]

I choose temperate forest and regardless of who the other five characters are i pick the one with the highest construction and mining skills to harvest the organs of their companions. Then i tame a boomalope

[Zerotaxia]

The cop and the mod so I'll never have to see them again. And the remaining 4 picked at random.

[Kaledoria]

Congratulations! You are going to die. A meteor 256 times stronger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Death is ensured. However, the 11 most likely candidates to survive in space get there very own escape pod to a hospitable planet! Unfortunately, you aren't one of them, and are going to die. However, by a random lot, you were chosen to make decision of a lifetime! Only 6 people can fly to space due to malfunctioning, and you get to decide who! Here are the options:

1. A Female One Year Old
2. A Male Artist, Age 27
3. A Male Policeman, Age 45, who never lets go of his gun
4. A Female Medic, Age 34
5. A 38 year old Mechanic, and his wife
6. A Female Musician, Age 47
7. A 13 Year Old Child
8. A Male Chef, Age 32
9. A Female Acrobat, Age 23
10. A 22 year old Nationstates Moderator

Who do you chose to go to the new planet and start a new civilization?

Personally, I would chose 3 males and 3 females, so there is a high chance they all have kids and start a new civilization. The younglings aren't needed because they are more a waste of resources in this scenario, so we will made the kids ourselves. Our first couple is number 5. A mechanic can fix any sabotaging in the ship and they will be the most likely to reproduce. Next we have 3 and 6. They are similar age and the policemen can fight off aliens and imposters, while the musician can keep spirits high. Finally, we have 4 and 8. They are also similar age and the medic can heal injuries and deliver the babies, while the chef can cook their meals.

What about you? Who do you chose to go?

I remember there being a movie about some philosophy class having thought experiments about basically the same scenario and my gut reaction 15 minutes in after this dilemma was presented was basically exactly what the characters in the movie needed 90 minutes to realize: Yo, I'm gonna need way more detailed profiles then just age, gender, job. The success of this mission will critically depend on the soft-skills and characters of the people involved so I will need complete profiles!

PS: From a biological point of view I'd see that 6 people is very much an biological impasse already and cleverly I'd weasle around this problem and go with "Send all the women and a freezer of cryo-sperm for them to choose from, as they please. But obviously that assumes that they have the mental fortitude and philosophical willingness to be the savers of humanity.