mona-lisa
Original: mona-lisa on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1
Woman with orange hair: WOULD YOU SACRIFICE A HUMAN LIFE TO SAVE THE MONA LISA?
Panel 2
Woman with dark hair and scarf: OH YEAH. LOADS OF 'EM.
Panel 3
Woman with orange hair: ON WHAT BASIS?
Panel 4
Woman with dark hair: YOU'RE IMAGINING AN ABSTRACT HUMAN LIFE. BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF SPECIFIC HUMAN LIVES.
Panel 5
Woman with dark hair: SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE FOUR SECONDS FROM DYING. SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WANT TO DIE BUT ARE LEGALLY BARRED FROM IT. WIN-WIN.
Panel 6
Woman with dark hair: SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE SUCH LOVERS OF ART THAT THEY WOULD JOYOUSLY BE SLAIN TO SAVE EVEN A LESSER PIECE.
(A small figure is shown joyously leaping with arms raised.)
Panel 7
Woman with dark hair: IT'S EASY TO SOLVE THIS CLASS OF PROBLEMS, AND IT GETS EASIER AS POPULATION GROWS.
Panel 8
Woman with orange hair: I NEVER THOUGHT DEMOGRAPHICS COULD SOLVE PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS.
Panel 9
Woman with dark hair: ALSO, SOME PEOPLE DESERVE TO DIE AND WE COULD USE THEM TO SAVE PAINTINGS.
Votey:
A cartoon face in a speech bubble: (Only about 90% of people)
Woman with orange hair: WOULD YOU SACRIFICE A HUMAN LIFE TO SAVE THE MONA LISA?
Panel 2
Woman with dark hair and scarf: OH YEAH. LOADS OF 'EM.
Panel 3
Woman with orange hair: ON WHAT BASIS?
Panel 4
Woman with dark hair: YOU'RE IMAGINING AN ABSTRACT HUMAN LIFE. BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF SPECIFIC HUMAN LIVES.
Panel 5
Woman with dark hair: SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE FOUR SECONDS FROM DYING. SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WANT TO DIE BUT ARE LEGALLY BARRED FROM IT. WIN-WIN.
Panel 6
Woman with dark hair: SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE SUCH LOVERS OF ART THAT THEY WOULD JOYOUSLY BE SLAIN TO SAVE EVEN A LESSER PIECE.
(A small figure is shown joyously leaping with arms raised.)
Panel 7
Woman with dark hair: IT'S EASY TO SOLVE THIS CLASS OF PROBLEMS, AND IT GETS EASIER AS POPULATION GROWS.
Panel 8
Woman with orange hair: I NEVER THOUGHT DEMOGRAPHICS COULD SOLVE PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS.
Panel 9
Woman with dark hair: ALSO, SOME PEOPLE DESERVE TO DIE AND WE COULD USE THEM TO SAVE PAINTINGS.
Votey:
A cartoon face in a speech bubble: (Only about 90% of people)
Alt text
A nine-panel comic. A woman with orange hair asks another woman (dark hair, scarf) whether she'd sacrifice a human life to save the Mona Lisa. The dark-haired woman cheerfully says 'Oh yeah. Loads of 'em.' Asked on what basis, she explains that the orange-haired woman is imagining an abstract human life, but there are lots of specific human lives: some people are four seconds from dying; some want to die but are legally barred from it (win-win); some are such lovers of art they'd joyously be slain to save even a lesser piece (shown as a tiny figure leaping with joy). She concludes it's easy to solve this class of problems and it gets easier as population grows. The orange-haired woman remarks she never thought demographics could solve philosophical problems. The dark-haired woman adds that some people deserve to die and could be used to save paintings. The scene is set in a snowy mountain landscape. Votey: a cartoon face in a speech bubble adds, '(Only about 90% of people).'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.