Life
Take This Test To See How Logical You Are
I consider myself a pretty logical person. So when I learned that there is a test to determine how logical you are, I was all for it. "Cool! Now I'm going to confirm that I'm a logical person!" I thought. Except... no. Apparently, most people get the answer wrong, and I was one of them. Regardless, I love personality quizzes and brain puzzles, so this still was right up my alley. If you too love these kinds of things, then come and take a journey with me. It'll be fun! I promise!
The test is explained in a YouTube video posted by WonderWhy, and I won't lie — the reasoning behind it gets complicated. The test originated in 1963, the creation of Peter Wason. Overall, only four percent of people who take it get it right. This simple test involves four cards, all of which have a number on one side and a letter on the other, and one rule: If a card has a vowel on one side, it has to have an even number on the other side. You are then presented with the four cards, and you must pick which card(s) must be flipped over in order to determine that the rule has been followed.
Like I said, things aren't quite as they seem; and while many of us agree on the answer, unfortunately, it's usually the wrong one! Take the test for yourself and see where you stand.
Annnnd here it is. Take a close look.
Choose wisely, young one! Scroll down once you're ready to check your answer. Go ahead; I'll wait. I'll keep myself entertained with a few GIFs in the meantime.
Ready? Here we go:
Did you say A and 7 would need to be flipped over? Nicely done! Sadly, odds are that you didn't say this, and in fact chose A and 2, just like the rest of us. But don't let it get ya down; this was a tricky one. Here's why this is so difficult:
You have to prove if this rule has been followed, but here's the thing: The rule is that if the card has a vowel on one side, it must have an even number on the other. Here's where most people make their boo-boo: The rule does not state that the reverse is also true — that is, that if a card has an even number on one side, it has to have a vowel on the other.
Now, keeping that in mind...
Card A: Most of us agree that we need to turn this card over, because we need to see if the card on the other side is even or odd.
Card K: We don't care about this card at all. The rule only applies to cards with vowels. We don't even have a rule for cards with consonants.
Card 2: This is where we get tripped up. As explained before, the rule only applies one way. There is no rule explaining what must be on the other side of a card with an even number. Regardless of the letter, it means nothing to us. The 2 could have a consonant on the other side, and no rule will have been broken.
Card 7: My eyes flew right by this one because I thought, "Well, it's an odd number, so who even cares?" But we need to see what's on the other side, because if it's a vowel, then the rule has been broken.
There's more at play here, and it has to do with inductive versus deductive reasoning. It is the person using deductive reasoning who believes the rule goes both ways, which is incorrect. This is also referred to as confirmation bias. As incorrect as it is, a lot of us use it. Here are the average results of this logic test.
Regardless of your answer, this quiz can teach you about how your brain works. Don't stress, though: Getting the answer wrong doesn't mean you're illogical. What kind of reasoning would that be? *wink wink*
Check out the full video below:
