Dilemma facts for kids

A dilemma is a tough choice you have to make between two (or sometimes more) options. The tricky part is that none of the options seem perfect or easy. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place! People often say someone is "impaled on the horns of a dilemma" when they face such a difficult decision, meaning neither choice feels good.

Sometimes, a dilemma is used in arguments. Someone might say, "You must choose either A or B." This is to make you pick one side. However, sometimes this can be a trick, called a false choice, where there might be other options you are not being told about.

A dilemma usually involves two main choices. But sometimes, there can be three choices, which is called a trilemma. The idea is that no matter which path you take, you end up in a similar difficult spot.

Famous Dilemmas

Many famous dilemmas show up in stories, philosophy, and even real life. They help us think about difficult choices and their results.

Cornelian Dilemma

The Cornelian dilemma is about a choice where someone has to pick between two things they value equally. For example, choosing between love and duty, or loyalty to family versus loyalty to country. No matter what they choose, they will lose something important.

Euthyphro Dilemma

The Euthyphro dilemma is a famous question from ancient Greek philosophy. It asks whether something is good because God says it is good, or if God says it is good because it is already good on its own. This makes people think about where rules for right and wrong come from.

Hedgehog's Dilemma

The Hedgehog's dilemma describes how hedgehogs want to be close to each other for warmth, but their sharp quills make it painful. This is like how people want to be close to others, but sometimes getting too close can lead to hurt feelings or problems. It's about finding the right distance in relationships.

Prisoner's Dilemma

The Prisoner's dilemma is a classic example used in game theory. Imagine two people are arrested for a crime, but the police don't have enough evidence. They are questioned separately and offered a deal:

• If one person confesses and the other doesn't, the confessor goes free, and the other gets a long prison sentence.
• If both confess, they both get a medium prison sentence.
• If neither confesses, they both get a short prison sentence.

The dilemma is that each person has to decide what's best for them, without knowing what the other person will do. Often, the "best" choice for one person leads to a worse outcome for both.

Security Dilemma

The Security dilemma happens when one country tries to make itself safer by building up its military. But when it does this, other countries might feel threatened and build up their own militaries in response. This can lead to an arms race and make everyone less safe, even though each country was just trying to protect itself.

Traveler's Dilemma

The Traveler's dilemma is another idea from game theory. Imagine two travelers whose identical antique vases are broken by an airline. The airline manager says they will pay for the vases, but they don't know the exact value. They ask each traveler to write down a value between $2 and $100.

• If both write the same value, they both get that amount.
• If they write different values, the lower value is taken as the true price. The person who wrote the lower value gets that amount plus $2, and the person who wrote the higher value gets the lower amount minus $2.

This dilemma makes people think about whether to be honest or try to get more money, and how that affects the other person.

Related Choices

• Coordination game: A situation where people need to work together to get the best result.
• Dilemma story: A story where the main character faces a very difficult choice.
• False dilemma: When someone presents only two options, but there are actually more choices available.
• Trilemma: A situation where there are three difficult choices, and you must pick one.
• Tetralemma: A situation with four difficult choices.

Images for kids

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  Cartoon showing William Ewart Gladstone in a dilemma - if he climbs to escape the guard dog he will face the man's wrath, but if he drops to avoid the man, the dog will attack him

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  Contingency table of sounding (or not sounding) an alarm for a possible earthquake

See also

In Spanish: Dilema para niños