[Guest]

"An eccentric billionaire places before you a vial of toxin that, if you drink it, will make you painfully ill for a day, but will not threaten your life or have any lasting effects. The billionaire will pay you one million dollars tomorrow morning if, at midnight tonight, you intend to drink the toxin tomorrow afternoon. He emphasizes that you need not drink the toxin to receive the money; in fact, the money will already be in your bank account hours before the time for drinking it arrives, if you succeed. All you have to do is. . . intend at midnight tonight to drink the stuff tomorrow afternoon. You are perfectly free to change your mind after receiving the money and not drink the toxin."

what do you do?

[Guest]

"An eccentric billionaire places before you a vial of toxin that, if you drink it, will make you painfully ill for a day, but will not threaten your life or have any lasting effects. The billionaire will pay you one million dollars tomorrow morning if, at midnight tonight, you intend to drink the toxin tomorrow afternoon. He emphasizes that you need not drink the toxin to receive the money; in fact, the money will already be in your bank account hours before the time for drinking it arrives, if you succeed. All you have to do is. . . intend at midnight tonight to drink the stuff tomorrow afternoon. You are perfectly free to change your mind after receiving the money and not drink the toxin."

what do you do?

I drink the toxin. If I don't drink it, I never really intended to drink it in the first place.

[Izzy]

I intend to drink the toxin, and check my bank account for the money. If it isn't in, I drink the toxin, making the billionaire cover all medical expenses, and then demand he give me money for drinking his crap. A deal was a deal, and I did intend to drink the toxin, thereby holding up my end of the bargain.

[Guest]

Definately just drink it tomorrow afternoon. I've been painfully ill for a day without compensation; so, painfully ill for a $1,000,000? That's too many zeros to pass it up.

Edited August 12, 2009 by Semper Rideo

[Guest]

State that you intend to drink it at the scheduled time, but 'forget' about it.

Or, hire somebody to break the vial before you drink it, then state you had no idea about it.

[Guest]

What you do is say that you will drink it tommorrow at twelve a clock if you roll a dice at twelve and it is a six. technicly you intend to drink it, but the chances are slim 16.66%

[Guest]

At midnight ask him to pay you after you have drunk it and not before.

[Guest]

"An eccentric billionaire places before you a vial of toxin that, if you drink it, will make you painfully ill for a day, but will not threaten your life or have any lasting effects. The billionaire will pay you one million dollars tomorrow morning if, at midnight tonight, you intend to drink the toxin tomorrow afternoon. He emphasizes that you need not drink the toxin to receive the money; in fact, the money will already be in your bank account hours before the time for drinking it arrives, if you succeed. All you have to do is. . . intend at midnight tonight to drink the stuff tomorrow afternoon. You are perfectly free to change your mind after receiving the money and not drink the toxin."

what do you do?

I intend to drink the toxin at midnight because I want the money, once I have the money, the motivation for my intention is gone. So, I need not drink it.

[Guest]

I panic and worry about dying of thirst. I have no money for drinks and for some reason water is nowhere. The only liquid available is at the store or from the toxin. Having no money, I agree to drink the toxin to live. Come morning; I have money and go buy a pop, and the situation has changed as well as my stance on dying of thirst. Case closed.

Edited June 2, 2010 by novah

[Guest]

When I first saw this paradox, my first reaction was "well, I'll just have to drink the toxin, it seems like the easiest way to get around the whole intention thing". But then I started wondering, could I really sincerely intend to drink it if I knew I wouldn't have to? There'd always be that little voice in my head saying "oh, but you won't really have to do it after all!" so I would not genuinely intend to drink it... but I would know that I would have to resolve to definitely drink it in order to sincerely intend to... but I would know that I wouldn't have to... and my brain would probably just keep flipping backwards and forwards all night.

After some thought I think my best plan is to

I decide to drink it. In the morning, I wake up, I do not check my bank account, I just go straight out and drink the toxin. Afterwards, I'll check my bank balance, and if the money isn't there, I will want to know why not.

After all, I just drank the stuff, so I must have intended to do it, right?

This does seem a bit weird and irrational, especially the part about not checking my bank balance until afterwards - after all, by that time, the money is either already there or it's not going to be, nothing I do can make a difference. But somehow, I think deciding not to look until it's all over gives me the best chance of sincerely intending to drink the toxin.

(Also, hello everyone! First post here.)

[Guest]

Intend to drink it, get the money, and than drink it

If my plan is to take the money and bail, than I am not really

"intending" to drink it.

[Guest]

When I first saw this paradox, my first reaction was "well, I'll just have to drink the toxin, it seems like the easiest way to get around the whole intention thing". But then I started wondering, could I really sincerely intend to drink it if I knew I wouldn't have to? There'd always be that little voice in my head saying "oh, but you won't really have to do it after all!" so I would not genuinely intend to drink it... but I would know that I would have to resolve to definitely drink it in order to sincerely intend to... but I would know that I wouldn't have to... and my brain would probably just keep flipping backwards and forwards all night.

After some thought I think my best plan is to

I decide to drink it. In the morning, I wake up, I do not check my bank account, I just go straight out and drink the toxin. Afterwards, I'll check my bank balance, and if the money isn't there, I will want to know why not.

After all, I just drank the stuff, so I must have intended to do it, right?

This does seem a bit weird and irrational, especially the part about not checking my bank balance until afterwards - after all, by that time, the money is either already there or it's not going to be, nothing I do can make a difference. But somehow, I think deciding not to look until it's all over gives me the best chance of sincerely intending to drink the toxin.

(Also, hello everyone! First post here.)

This actually makes sense. Like the Schrodinger's cat paradox.

[Guest]

It feels a bit like Newcomb's paradox too, when I looked at it that way. The money is already either there or not there, but I still seem to have to take an apparently irrational action (drinking the toxin in this case, or leaving behind the other box in Newcomb's paradox) in order to... somehow retroactively make it be there. Or something. It kind of messes with ideas of rationality, heh.

[Guest]

I simply put in my scheduler to drink the toxin at the time specified.

the money will be there regardless of what I do,

because he could not prove I did not intend to,

while I could prove that I in fact did.

so the money has to be there no matter what.

[Guest]

You know, maybe I'd just run away and never look back. I mean, this creepy guy can read my mind!

[OmegaScales]

first check the contents to make sure he's not lying. If he lied and the poison would kill me, i would lie back to him. If he lied and the poison was "harmless" (i.e just a stomach ache or something to that nature), I would not accept the money. If he told the truth, I would intend to drink it, and do drink it... If I remember (and I forget things easily)

[Guest]

Find some way to be really ridiculously uncoordinated that day, and plan to drink it then genuinely try to

[Guest]

How about saying that you will, but "confuse" another drink for it and "accidently" give the toxin to the billionare after he gives me the money