More or Less: Behind the Stats The puzzles you’re meant to get wrong
6 snips
Sep 28, 2024 Explore the intriguing world of misleading puzzles that trick our minds into quick but incorrect conclusions. Delve into age-related riddles that illuminate cognitive reflection and the importance of careful reasoning. Discover how even the brightest can stumble on the classic bat and ball puzzle, revealing the pitfalls of intuitive thinking. Finally, unravel the hen and egg dilemma, which guides you through the logical steps to find the surprising answer of 24 eggs. It’s a fun and engaging journey through the quirks of our minds!
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Wandering Eyes Puzzle
- In Alex Bellos's "Wandering Eyes" puzzle, 73% of 200,000 Guardian readers got the answer wrong, despite being warned.
- This puzzle highlights how our laziness, rather than lack of cleverness, can lead us to incorrect conclusions.
Laziness vs. Cleverness
- The "Wandering Eyes" puzzle plays on our tendency to overlook crucial details by focusing on the unknown marital status of Anne.
- By considering all possibilities (married or unmarried), we realize the answer is always yes.
Aaron and Betsy Puzzle
- The cognitive reflection test, popularized by Daniel Kahneman, uses puzzles like the "Aaron and Betsy" age problem.
- Many people quickly guess that Betsy is 10, overlooking the fact that Aaron is 40 years older than her, not 40 years old.
