This may strike you as an odd/disturbing question. But, nevertheless, I am quite curious what people think.
Here goes:

How much money would someone have to pay you for you to cut off your left pinky finger? Would you do it?
Could you do it?

Here are some guideline-ish things:
You may not use the money to re-attach the finger.
You must cut off your own finger using a knife.
EDIT: Except for the removal of your finger, you would not suffer any other damages from the injury. (i.e. infections, blood loss, flesh eating viruses, ect.)

honestly, I don't think I could do it. Simply because I know I have a low pain tolerance, and I hate the sight of blood.
Now this is said from the position I'm in right now.

Now if, I was homeless, jobless, out on the street, there could possibly be a price if it meant money for food and shelter. Although I do have a question. I can't use the money to reattach my finger, but can I get medical attention to assure that the wound heals properly and without infection?

I'm not sure how much money it would take. Probably a lot... I like my fingers. That sounds stupid because, well duh, everybody likes their fingers. But I really do like them... I play piano and flute and even though I haven't for a while I still take pride in having those skills. But if I had to, I think I could. My pain tolerance is all out of whack from having chronic pain for years and I think if I ever did lose a finger I'd maybe be calm about it, in the moment. (Of course, I could be completely wrong and I'd actually end up panicking and such.)

Give me a quarter of a million dollars, and I'll ask "How much and when?".

Yes I'm serious, if I could get that much money to cut off a small finger I'd do it. There is so much I could do with that money that I wouldn't know what to do with whatever was left over.

A lot of houses are more expensive than a quarter of a million... wouldn't you want more so you could have a nice house and stuff? (Houses are on my mind nowadays because I'm thinking of moving eventually)

Not really. I already have a good house that's paid off and is within 10-15 minutes of everything, heck I probably could walk to work. Besides, I just got a few new, much needed gadgets so I don't think I'd move anytime soone.

I also don't need an expensive, $50,000 car either -- I've always told my roommate that unless the thing can drive and park itself, my $10,000 car does the job.

Oh awesome, that's really cool. :D

I totally hear you about the cars. I don't think I'll ever go for a new expensive car.

I'd like a couple million, and in advance, so I could get some painkiller for the doing of the deed.

Hahaha, great responses everyone. I'd probably do mine for about... mmm... $20,000. Seems a little low, but also seems really reasonable. On another note, if it were on my right hand, or my left thumb, i'd probably jack the price up to about 100k or so.

I'd never do it. I play piano, flute, and guitar, so missing a finger would be quite serious in my case. No amount of money would bring me the same joy that playing those instruments do. (:

I would not and could not cut off my finger. It grosses me out just thinking of it, besides I play the guitar loosing a my pinky finger would make me unable to play certain notes.

If I had to cut my finger off I'd need a million dollars upfront then go and buy a house some and some notebooks for me to write my sorrows in. :yes:

I really don't know if I could. I have a pretty average, maybe even high, pain tolerance, so that wouldn't be the problem. But I have a weird form of OCD. If something touches one side of my body, the other counter part has to be touched. If I touch something with one hand, I have to touch it with the other. The parts of my body, the ones that there are two of *two arms, two legs, two eyes, two pinky fingers), have to be even or I can't focus and my mind just gets all out of whack. So that would be the first issue. I don't think I would want to have to cut off two pinkies, so I probably wouldn't be able to cut off one. I play piano as well, and though I could probably still play without one pinky, it would be more difficult and I'd get frustrated pretty easily.

However if I was homeless that would be a different story. And I'd have to not have my OCD >.< But then again if I were truly homeless I probably would cut off both for a good price!

I don't think I would do it; I don't believe I would be able to play the piano very well anymore with a finger missing.

Not that I play it all that well anyway with all ten anyway, though. xD

In my current situation I wouldn't give away a finger even a pinky for anything. I use it for typing and I want to play musical instruments one day like piano that'd need the finger too. Also, I'd feel deformed after the finger is off. The pain associated with having the finger cut off and the ongoing emotional pain of not being able to use said finger...I just couldnt' justify it.

Being an artist, no one could offer me any amount of money to cut off any of my fingers. Besides which, as much as I may be tolerant to pain, cutting off my finger would be extremely painful. Regardless of the art, I also type a lot. If I were to lose any of my fingers, it would hinder my writing. I've been held back by things before, and if I have a choice in it, I'd never cut off any finger of mine. Besides which, even if someone offered me a billion dollars, I'd take it as a joke and probably shoot the person down on the offer. I mean, that kind of thing just kind of seems sick... >.> *shudders*

N/A

Been there, done that. Except it was with the side of my hand and part of my pinkie. No one can pay me any amount of money to cut the side of my hand again. It's messed up still and it's been since December. It's not the pain that bothered me, it's the fact that I can't use half of my hand that bothers me. I can't grip things and I drop things all of the time because of it.

I don't care enough about money to hurt myself like that. It's a stupid reason in my opinion.

The lowest price for me is 1 Million. The word million is what would give me the encouragement. I could be a millionaire. :D I would miss my finger though :(

Maybe 3 million.
i don't know if I could actually bring myself to cut off my own finger though >.<

I wouldn't be able to cut off my own finger. I don't have any special talents that require having it but its my finger, if that makes any sense, so I don't want to part with it. However, I do have have a good tolerance towards pain for the most part so I guess if I was desperate enough I would (annnnd I just contradicted myself) for the low fee of a hundred thousand dollars because I think I have a better chance of getting that over the billions of dollars that I really want.

Originally Posted by Mystic

Been there, done that. Except it was with the side of my hand and part of my pinkie. No one can pay me any amount of money to cut the side of my hand again. It's messed up still and it's been since December. It's not the pain that bothered me, it's the fact that I can't use half of my hand that bothers me. I can't grip things and I drop things all of the time because of it.

I don't care enough about money to hurt myself like that. It's a stupid reason in my opinion.

I'm sorry to hear that, Mystic...
I couldn't do that to myself. And even if I could, I wouldn't do it for all the money in the world.

ok... COULD i do it? yes. i have an unusually high pain tolerance so in theory, i could. WOULD i? no way... i play the violin and it's literally impossible to play properly without a fourth (pinky) finger. trade my main form of self-expression for ANY amount of money? unless someone's life was at stake, never.

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very interesting debate question by the way!

This reminds me of this movie I saw once, "Four Rooms." It was pretty good, but it was one guy cutting off another guy's finger, because of a lost bet, and they were paying the guy (Tim Roth/the Bellman at the hotel they were in) to do it.

Anyway...
I have a fear of losing my digits, so I'm not sure any amount of money could make me do it. Just thinking about it makes me feel a little sick, and Four Rooms nearly made me throw up when it happened (its not gory, either, you just here a chop, and then see the bell man leave the room.)

No. I wouldn't do anything simply for the sake of money.

If I was desperate and they threw a few million dollars at me, I could see myself doing it. It'd certainly give you an interesting story to tell about how you got your money. I'd much rather lose my pinkie toe than my finger, though. :lol:

I can see why people who play instruments wouldn't want to. That's not something I really thought about. I have a feeling there would be a lot of unexpected losses after you lost a pinkie finger. For me the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that I'd have to adjust the way I type in order to compensate.