initiation test scene from BPM’s 10th anniversary stage play
Academy releases the safety catch on his pistol and holds it to Pulitzer’s head. Academy: “This is a test. Answer whether or not this gun is loaded. If you answer correctly, you can join us, as you wished. If you answer incorrectly, I will pull the trigger, simple?” Academy: “By the way, Grammy can predict whether the gun is loaded or not correctly 70% of the time, Tony, 50% of the time, and Emmy 20% of the time. You can ask for the opinion of one of them. You have three seconds. Who do you ask? 3, 2, 1.” Pulitzer: “Emmy!” Emmy: “The gun is loaded.” Academy: “Now answer. This gun is ? You have three seconds. 3, 2, 1.” Pulitzer: “Not loaded!” Academy: “BANG!” Pulitzer flinches, and Academy lowers the gun. Academy: “Correct. Welcome to the team.” Emmy: “Welcome.” Pulitzer: “Ohhh ohhhh I was so scared!” Emmy: “Normally one would have chosen Grammy, with 70% chance of predicting correctly. By choosing the person with the lowest chance of predicting correctly, myself, and choosing the opposite answer, you raised your chances of answering correctly to 80%. You did well to see that in such a short time.” Pulitzer: “Oh! I see! So I should have thought of that!” Academy turns to look at Pulitzer. Emmy raises her head from her magazine. Emmy: “It couldn’t be… you guessed based on intuition?” Pulitzer: “Yes! Ah, so that was it!” Academy: “To add on, whether the gun was loaded or not, there was an answer for you to be 100% safe.” Pulitzer: “Eh?” Emmy: “You should have answered ‘the gun is loaded’. If the gun was loaded, then it would have been the correct answer and Academy would not have pulled the trigger. If the gun was not loaded, though it would be the wrong answer, even if Academy had pulled the trigger, no bullet would have been fired. No matter which it had been, you would not have been shot through the head."
