Why do Intelligent people do Stupid Things?
What Does It Mean to Have an IQ?
Let me ask you a question. A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If your answer is $0.10, then I’m afraid you’re absolutely wrong
Don’t worry, you’re in good company. When students at Harvard University were asked the same question, 50% gave the same incorrect answer. At other less selective universities, the failure rate is even higher a whopping 80%. What is the correct answer? I hear you ask. The ball, of course, costs five cents. If you got this right, congratulations.
The General Population vs You
You’re also likely to be more indecisive, non religious and politically incorrect than the general population. If you are one of the general population and you’re still scratching your head, let me break this one down for you. If we take the commonly espoused but incorrect answer of the ball costing $0.10, that would infer that the bat costs $1.10, We said, $1 more than the ball. Then that would bring the total cost to $1.20. This is why your teacher always told you to show your workings.
You’re not stupid. You’re just a cognitive miser, a term coined by professors Susan Fisk and Shelley Taylor, meaning that your brain really hates…