A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

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A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by Riddick » 04-04-2017 12:15 AM

Harvard 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?


Many thousands of university students have answered the bat-and-ball puzzle, and the results are shocking.

More than 50% of students at Harvard, MIT, and Princeton gave the intuitive—incorrect—answer. At less selective universities, the rate of demonstrable failure to check was in excess of 80%.

Behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman's 2011 book, "Thinking, Fast And Slow," posits we have an intuitive mental system and a logical mental system, and we often use the wrong one at the wrong time.

Many people are prone to place too much faith in their intuitions. They apparently find cognitive effort at least mildly unpleasant and avoid it as much as possible.
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by kbot » 04-04-2017 05:39 AM

Far Left education at work again........... They must be so proud!!!!!!!!!
There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free. (Moody Blues)

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Beam Me Up Scotty

Post by Riddick » 04-06-2017 01:40 AM

kbot wrote:Far Left education at work again........... They must be so proud!!!!!!!!!
"Far Left" & "Education"? Good luck with that

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Re: Beam Me Up Scotty

Post by kbot » 04-06-2017 05:34 AM

Riddick wrote:
kbot wrote:Far Left education at work again........... They must be so proud!!!!!!!!!
"Far Left" & "Education"? Good luck with that

Image
"Education"/ "indoctrination"..... you say tomato, I say tamahto.........
There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free. (Moody Blues)

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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by fos » 04-09-2017 04:00 PM

Judging by the on the campus radio and TV student interviews, the Ivy League students would have trouble blowing their noses.

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Step 1: Get A Tissue Or Handkerchief

Post by Riddick » 04-13-2017 03:38 AM

fos wrote:Judging by the on the campus radio and TV student interviews, the Ivy League students would have trouble blowing their noses.
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How to Blow Your Nose In 9 Easy Steps (With Pictures)
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by maryals51 » 02-07-2019 07:59 PM

For those who don't want to click on the link:

"You probably answered 10¢. That's what most Harvard students answered.
But the real answer is 5¢.

Behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman explains why most people get this wrong:

A number came to your mind. The number, of course, is 10: 10¢. The distinctive mark of this easy puzzle is that it evokes an answer that is intuitive, appealing, and wrong. Do the math, and you will see. If the ball costs 10¢, then the total cost will be $1.20 (10¢ for the ball and $1.10 for the bat), not $1.10. The correct answer is 5¢. It is safe to assume that the intuitive answer also came to the mind of those who ended up with the correct number—they somehow managed to resist the intuition...."

I read this over and over and I still don't get it. This is why I always hated Word Problems.
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by maryals51 » 02-07-2019 07:59 PM

For those who don't want to click on the link:

"You probably answered 10¢. That's what most Harvard students answered.
But the real answer is 5¢.

Behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman explains why most people get this wrong:

A number came to your mind. The number, of course, is 10: 10¢. The distinctive mark of this easy puzzle is that it evokes an answer that is intuitive, appealing, and wrong. Do the math, and you will see. If the ball costs 10¢, then the total cost will be $1.20 (10¢ for the ball and $1.10 for the bat), not $1.10. The correct answer is 5¢. It is safe to assume that the intuitive answer also came to the mind of those who ended up with the correct number—they somehow managed to resist the intuition...."

I read this over and over and I still don't get it. This is why I always hated Word Problems.
"When they tell you not to Panic that's when you run!"

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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by Riddick » 02-08-2019 01:55 AM

maryals51 wrote: 02-07-2019 07:59 PM I read this over and over and I still don't get it. This is why I always hated Word Problems.
Maybe this will help

Let x = cost of bat
Let y = cost of ball

x = y + 1.00
x + y = 1.10


Solve for x and y:

y + 1.00 + y = 1.10

y + y = 1.10 - 1.00

2y = 0.10 -> y = 0.05

x = 0.05 + 1.00 -> x = 1.05
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by maryals51 » 02-08-2019 05:31 PM

That's even more confusing

Why do you have y + 1.00 + y = 1.10 The cost of the ball...y...twice?

There's one count them 1 ONE bat, there's 1 count them ONE Ball

But you make it look like there's 2 balls...

Bat + Ball = $1.10

Bat = $1.00

How much is Ball?

1.10 - 1.00 = 0.10

I have in my purse $1.10 I spend $1.00 on candy. How much money is still in my purse?
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by Riddick » 02-08-2019 05:53 PM

maryals51 wrote: 02-08-2019 05:31 PM That's even more confusing

Why do you have y + 1.00 + y = 1.10 The cost of the ball...y...twice?
It's algebraic

If x = y + 1.00, & x + y = 1.10, then y + 1.00 + y = 1.10
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by Riddick » 02-08-2019 06:14 PM

maryals51 wrote: 02-08-2019 05:31 PM Bat = $1.00
Ah, there's the rub. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball.

Bat = Ball + $1.00

If the bat cost $1.00 then the ball would cost nothing!
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Re: A Simple Riddle Most Harvard, Princeton & MIT Students Can't Solve

Post by maryals51 » 02-08-2019 10:04 PM

I......HATED......Algebra
And I don't think I ever use it.

Now, give me Plane Geometry. It's authentic, it's real, with it's angles and shapes.

A circle is a circle is a circle....a square is a square is always a square!

I use geometry when shooting pool.

Curling uses Geometry

Astronomy uses geometry

When I go to a store to buy a ball and bat, and I say I just want to buy the ball, for 5 cents and the store owner says, no, the ball is 10 cents, is he or she really gonna accept Algebra? Or is the store owner gonna tell me to stick my Algebra...

OK, I get it, some folks love Math, you love Math of all kinds....go for it, have fun.

I'll stick with practical Math like Geometry....
"When they tell you not to Panic that's when you run!"

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A Vegetative State Of Mind

Post by Riddick » 02-09-2019 01:55 AM

I'm good with math but do I *love* math? Not really. It's a tool. It serves a purpose. For instance, I can balance a check book. I can also clean a toilet! Yet there's a lotta things I enjoy doing more than either.

Like writing. It may not serve a purpose any more than I like to do it but hey, that's good enough for me. And I think I'm pretty good at it, though some may not agree. That may be 'cause I'm not always about spoon-feeding.

I'd sooner spin stuff that makes folks have to think. Yes I know that's a painfully difficult task for all too many folks nowadays - Then again, why think when someone else can do the thinking for you? -

IMO in-large the ed system today isn't about teaching critical thinking skills. It's all about creating as many cabbage head kids as possible.
Last edited by Riddick on 02-09-2019 02:26 AM, edited 3 times in total.
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Something To Think About

Post by Riddick » 02-09-2019 02:15 AM

Who's the biggest cabbage head in Congress right now?

[HINT: Her initials are AOC]
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