Science New Scientist article on "Clever Fools"

[Belisarius]

Cool article in New Scientist this week about "Clever Fools"

Includes the following little quiz...

Test your thinking
When researchers put the following three problems to 3400 students in the US, only 17 per cent got all three right. Can you do any better?

1) A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

2) If it takes five machines 5 minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

3) In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of it?

 

[SiberianTiger]

Just answer the questions here?

 

[Belisarius]

If we answer it here then that would spoil the quiz for others, I think. Maybe best if you answer it yourself and check the answers in the linked article....

---------- Post added at 12:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 PM ----------

Sorry for not being clear about that, I'm not very smart myself.

 

[Notebook]

I don't know how smart I am, I can't find the answers...

N.

 

[Linguofreak]

Cool article in New Scientist this week about "Clever Fools"

Includes the following little quiz...

Test your thinking
When researchers put the following three problems to 3400 students in the US, only 17 per cent got all three right. Can you do any better?

1) A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

2) If it takes five machines 5 minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

3) In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of it?

Dangit! The first one got me.

And it took some mental effort to keep from jumping to the pattern-matching answer for number 2, instead of the correct one.

 

[Belisarius]

Answers at the end of page 3 in the linked article...

Yeah the first one completely got me - even after I saw the explanation it took me a little effort to assimilate.

 

[Urwumpe]

If you can't solve the riddles in 2 minutes, you are likely not qualified for Orbiter...

I had all three done in one minute, and wondered what is wrong, since it sounded too simple and needed the solution to confirm that it is REALLY that simple.

 

[agentgonzo]

If you can't solve the riddles in 2 minutes, you are likely not qualified for Orbiter...

I had all three done in one minute, and wondered what is wrong, since it sounded too simple and needed the solution to confirm that it is REALLY that simple.

We all bow down at your supreme awesomeness...

 

[Belisarius]

If you can't solve the riddles in 2 minutes, you are likely not qualified for Orbiter...

I think that's not true, because as many psychologists accept, there are various types of intelligence.
That needed to solve tricky little questions in a party game is not necessarily the same as that needed to fly a spaceship.

 

[Ghostrider]

Same here, I think the Zork trilogy is to blame for causing my mind to think so laterally it's miracle it doesn't fall out of the window.

 

[Quick_Nick]

If you can't solve the riddles in 2 minutes, you are likely not qualified for Orbiter...

I had all three done in one minute, and wondered what is wrong, since it sounded too simple and needed the solution to confirm that it is REALLY that simple.

lol Same for me, but I do see how people would get these wrong. They'd have to be a bit impatient though, and not bother to check their answers.
I did think of the 'obvious' answers but instantly knew that they were wrong each time.

Hm... I suddenly feel like making smug know-it-alls take this test so I can laugh at them. :lol:

 

[Notebook]

Same here, I think the Zork trilogy is to blame for causing my mind to think so laterally it's miracle it doesn't fall out of the window.

How do you get past the first spill-way?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

That needed to solve tricky little questions in a party game is not necessarily the same as that needed to fly a spaceship.

Yet, they expose something else: The (in-)ability to process information. The first one was the only real question, that requires you to do a quick bit of math. The second and the third question have the answer inside them each time and use the first question to hide their triviality.

In Orbiter, you are having such situations pretty often, where you need to process information and filter important from unimportant. If you can't do that, you are wasting precious time on irrelevant data.

IMHO it is a sign of real intelligence, if you can prevent your "autopilot" from using the same problem solution algorithm for the other two questions, that you used for the first.

And BTW: There is no reason to assume that intelligence is a constant genetically inherited feature. Your brain is a muscle, which you have to train.

 

[2552]

It took a few minutes, but I got them all without cheating.

 

[T.Neo]

I got them all within a minute. At least, I think I did. They all seemed fairly easy...

 

[jedidia]

Got them all right... if it counts to revoke my first answer to the first question within two seconds. Interestingly enough my wife got the first one right but failed the two other ones...

 

[Eagle]

I think the trick to not getting them wrong is to read and answer slowly. I was very aware of my mind flashing for the obvious (wrong) answer.

Overall its a worthy discipline to develop. Consider this: Is innovation an unseen solution to a known question or an answer to a better understood question? A: Yes.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

It helps to RTFQ, read the FULL question, before answering. But I got these all right within a minute also.
ZORK, wow, old school. I've got the whole Infocom package that I'll still play on my vintage 286. My kid used to ask "Where are the graphics?", but I've got her playing them now.

 

[garyw]

Got 2 and 3 but no 1 threw me. It took agentgonzo with some patience to explain it. I feel silly!

 

[Unstung]

They're easy, and may I spoil the answers? Pay attention to the questions, don't underestimate them.