A psychologist claims that human beings do not handle abstract concepts very well. Which is a bit surprising since the people I interact with deal with abstraction all the time. Show me a good software engineer and I will show you a person who is good at grasping abstract concepts. (Note the other way round is not true. One may be great at grasping abstract concepts but may choose not to be a software engineer.) In fact, I think people are incredibly good at abstract concepts.
On the other hand, to draw conclusion based on a homogeneous group of people is totally incorrect.
So, I reproduce here the test. I hope this will reach a more diverse group of people and we will be able to draw a conclusion.
I intend to handle this in three parts:
This post will contain the first puzzle. Once I adequate response (we all live in hope) I will post the next part of the test and finally the third post I will reveal the name of the psychologist, the book from which I took this test and the conclusions drawn by the psychologist and whether we reach the same conclusions. In the third post I will also explain why I think people are good at abstracting.
To minimize influencing each other, I would request you not to explain the answer. Just the answer will suffice.
Alternatively, if you feel the urge to explain your answer, you may send in your answer to my e-mail id amitabh1702@yahoo.co.in
Ready? Ok here goes ...
There are four cards on the table, each with an alphabet on one side and a number on the other.
The side that is visible to you shows the following:
A D 3 6
The rule is as follows: The card with a vowel on one side will always have an even number on the other side.
Q1. What is the minimum number of cards that you will pick up to verify that the rule has been applied to the cards on the table?
1 card
2 cards
3 cards
all the 4 cards
Q2. Which one(s) will you pick up?
Meanwhile I will administer this test on the people I know and report results to check my hypothesis (good software engineer = good abstraction power)
Picture Courtesy: Steve Woods
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8 comments:
Q1)3 cards
Q2)Cards A, D, 3
Q1) 2 cards
Q2) A & 3
Q1: 2 cards
Q2: A 3
Q1 - 2 card
Q2 - A and 3
My answer is based on the assumption that the reverse may not be true - that is, if the number is even, it is not necessary that the reverse will have a vowel
Cards A and 3
Only one card
A
As the rule states that a card showing vowel on one side has even number on other,i just need to check the card with a vowel on one side;the converse is not necessarily true . Nice blog btw. Found it from indiblogger
Q1)3 cards
Q2) cards D, 3 & 6
I think All 4 cards... D-uhhhh :-)
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