Posted on 12/13/2012 7:28:50 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Havard students get near-perfect SAT scores. These are smart, smart kids. So they shouldn't have trouble with a simple logic question, right?
Try the following puzzle:
A bat and ball cost $1.10.
The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
Scroll down for the answer ...
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I disagree.
I think the most important part of the article isn't what's written, but how the writer manages to get people to fall into his trap.
Step 1: Find a math question that's known to trip up people because the intuitive answer is wrong.
Step 2: Ask the question to students without hinting to them that there's anything special about the question. Record answers.
Step 3: Write an article announcing "HEY! MOST [INSERT GROUP HERE] GOT THIS SIMPLE QUESTION WRONG! WARNING! WARNING! TAKE YOUR TIME! DON'T GO WITH YOUR FIRST RESPONSE!"
Step 4: Allow readers to feel good about themselves because, with warning, they correctly answered the question the [GROUP] missed.
Imagine if you had questioned the Harvard students first and then told MIT students "More than 50% of Harvard students got this simple logical question wrong. A bat and ball cost $1.10 . . . " Well, my guess is an overwhelming majority of MIT students would get the question right.
It's not about being smart (although less than 50% is better than the less than 20% at 'less selective universities), but about being forewarned and given the chance to upstage a disliked group or a group with a superiority complex.
iPhone :)
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