Is it really a gunshot?
Do you assume that the gunshot was at a person rather than a bear or mountain lion? (I don’t know where you are but “deserted” implies no people so an animal or an inanimate object is a more likely target.)
But let’s assume I am in an urban setting, the sound really is a gunshot, and your presumption that an innocent has been shot by an assailant with generally evil intent, e.g. the assailant is likely shoot me too if I appear, is correct. (OK, I am making a LOT of assumptions here.) In that case, the right answer is quite simple: get as far away as possible. Reasoning:
I have no way to combat the assailant successfully;
I have no way to assist the victim in any meaningful fashion;
there is a good chance I will also become a victim if I attempt to render aid.
In the end you will do no one any good, not even yourself. Also, you will not be able to do anyone any good in future.
Now, if you run away you have the opportunity to get First-Aid, EMT, and firearms training. You can get a concealed weapons permit and carry a gun with you at all times. (Well, in places that permit concealed carry.) Now if you happen to be in a similar situation again you will be in a position to both be an effective combatant AND be able to render aid to the victim. At that point in time you might decide to attempt to render aid. This becomes a much more difficult decision to make … but it wasn’t your original scenario.
Yeah. This is more or less what I’ve come to realize.
The story I was working on was originally prompted by an analogy about the weird psychological quirks that afflicted me when I was trying to decide where to donate money. I felt a compulsion to donate to a less efficient charity because it’s cause was “almost done,” and I wanted to finish it off and get a satisfying “Ding! Achievement” feeling.
This prompted someone to say “that’s like ignoring evidence that someone’s dying of a gunshot wound, so that you can finish throwing the last few starfish back into the ocean.” Which I then felt compelled to try and turn into a rationalist fan-parable.
A lot of pieces of it seem worthwhile, but the work is buckling and straining over the ridiculousness of a young girl and old man trying to do anything about a nearby gunshot. The gunshot itself isn’t all that important to the story, but I need something that:
a) is obviously more important than a few starfish b) time sensitive c) is plausibly addressable by a young girl and old man d) the evidence for said bad thing that needs addressing is uncertain.
Hi, I don’t know you, but I’d like to solve your puzzle.
A child opens a door to a house, and ten cats run out. The animal loving cat lady inside is disabled and so they have to get the cats for her. They’re rushing to get all ten cats back inside before any of them wander off too far and get lost. While they’re doing this, they see a child playing near an open manhole. She’s doing cartwheels and rolling on the ground. She’s too far to yell to. While they get the cats, they keep seeing her nearly missing the manhole. They keep thinking about going over there and putting the manhole cover back on. This would obviously take both the old man and the young girl—those are heavy… but they also want to get every cat before they’re gone...
Is it really a gunshot? Do you assume that the gunshot was at a person rather than a bear or mountain lion? (I don’t know where you are but “deserted” implies no people so an animal or an inanimate object is a more likely target.)
But let’s assume I am in an urban setting, the sound really is a gunshot, and your presumption that an innocent has been shot by an assailant with generally evil intent, e.g. the assailant is likely shoot me too if I appear, is correct. (OK, I am making a LOT of assumptions here.) In that case, the right answer is quite simple: get as far away as possible. Reasoning:
I have no way to combat the assailant successfully;
I have no way to assist the victim in any meaningful fashion;
there is a good chance I will also become a victim if I attempt to render aid.
In the end you will do no one any good, not even yourself. Also, you will not be able to do anyone any good in future.
Now, if you run away you have the opportunity to get First-Aid, EMT, and firearms training. You can get a concealed weapons permit and carry a gun with you at all times. (Well, in places that permit concealed carry.) Now if you happen to be in a similar situation again you will be in a position to both be an effective combatant AND be able to render aid to the victim. At that point in time you might decide to attempt to render aid. This becomes a much more difficult decision to make … but it wasn’t your original scenario.
Yeah. This is more or less what I’ve come to realize.
The story I was working on was originally prompted by an analogy about the weird psychological quirks that afflicted me when I was trying to decide where to donate money. I felt a compulsion to donate to a less efficient charity because it’s cause was “almost done,” and I wanted to finish it off and get a satisfying “Ding! Achievement” feeling.
This prompted someone to say “that’s like ignoring evidence that someone’s dying of a gunshot wound, so that you can finish throwing the last few starfish back into the ocean.” Which I then felt compelled to try and turn into a rationalist fan-parable.
A lot of pieces of it seem worthwhile, but the work is buckling and straining over the ridiculousness of a young girl and old man trying to do anything about a nearby gunshot. The gunshot itself isn’t all that important to the story, but I need something that:
a) is obviously more important than a few starfish
b) time sensitive
c) is plausibly addressable by a young girl and old man
d) the evidence for said bad thing that needs addressing is uncertain.
Why can’t I resist a puzzle?
Hi, I don’t know you, but I’d like to solve your puzzle.
A child opens a door to a house, and ten cats run out. The animal loving cat lady inside is disabled and so they have to get the cats for her. They’re rushing to get all ten cats back inside before any of them wander off too far and get lost. While they’re doing this, they see a child playing near an open manhole. She’s doing cartwheels and rolling on the ground. She’s too far to yell to. While they get the cats, they keep seeing her nearly missing the manhole. They keep thinking about going over there and putting the manhole cover back on. This would obviously take both the old man and the young girl—those are heavy… but they also want to get every cat before they’re gone...
A scream? Perhaps “HELP!”
A car crash?
I was thinking a scream earlier today, but the car crash actually works better for poetic reasons.
A child crying somewhere nearby?