Quote Originally Posted by Traab View Post
You gotta wonder though.
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Why half? Why is half the magic number? Putting aside someone else pointing out that more than half the people on earth died in that moment due to trains planes and automobiles, why was he stuck on half? 75% would have crippled the various worlds giving them probably exponentially more time to work with, 25% would have dropped the populations impressively, and given how slow the total population of the earth is increasing, a instant 25% drop would set back the total for decades at least. Did he want 50 because that leaves enough of every government intact to keep things under control and minimize chaos? I should mention I havent watched the film so not sure if there was a specific reason why half was decided on.
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In the most clear of terms I can think of, because a 50/50 split "sounds" balanced, due to it being an inherently balanced term. Splitting the universe 50/50, perfectly balanced. Thanos' obsession with the term is likely what influenced it. No greater math beyond it, and I'm find with that.

A more thought through answer on my part: Half of a world's total population is still a good enough number to populate the species while still leaving quite a bit of room for everyone to live and work in. Thinking of it this way, on Earth we have like what, 6 billion people? That's 3 billion left, more than enough to stay alive while still making a noticeable impact on the environment and our living situation. Of a group of six friends, three of them are poofed into dust. Any number higher than an exact 50% would lean a little too close to "and then we all die out".