Today’s puzzle was
created by the cognitive psychologist, Peter Wason, back in the 1960’s. The test is usually referred to as the
four-card task. It was developed to
test our logical reasoning, but by adding a second part to the test,
evolutionary philosophers, think they have found an interesting ability, that our
mind has, to catch cheaters in our society.
For you to see the
total effect of the test, you need to follow the puzzle step-by-step, and not
read ahead until you finish the previous part.
The test goes
something like this;
Part 1. All four cards in the first group
bellow have a letter on one side and a number on the other. If the rule states that;
"If a card has a vowel on one side,
then it has an even number on the other side."
Which two, and only
two, cards do you need to turn over to find out if the rule is true?
Now that you've had a chance to think about the problem, the correct answer is to select the "A" and "7" cards. If you didn’t guess the correct answer, don’t feel bad. About 90% of people miss this question. Most people get it wrong by selecting the "A" and "4". The reason the "7" card needs to be turned over is because, if there is a vowel on the other side, the rule would be false. On the other hand, regardless of whether there is a vowel or consonant on the other side of the "4" card, it doesn't help to confirm or deny the statement. Remember the rule states that, if a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other side, but does not say the opposite, if there is an even number on one side then there is a vowel on the other side.
Part 2. If you didn't
get the previous problem correct, try the following one: Each card contains a
person's age on one side, and what the person is drinking on the other side.
Now, pretend you are the bartender. Which two cards would you need to turn over
to verify this rule;
-->
"If a person is
drinking a beer, then that person needs to be at least 21 years of age"
You probably figured
out that you need to flip over the "beer" card and the "16 years
old" card. Now take a minute to notice that this problem is the exact same
problem as part 1, only with alcoholic beverages replacing vowels,
non-alcoholic ones replacing consonants, overage ages replacing even numbers,
and underage ages replacing odd numbers. Why do you think people who are not
able to solve the previous problem, or at least take more time to solve it, are able
to get this one not only correct, but without much thought? Most likely, the
explanation is the one given by many evolutionary philosophers.
I’m just going to paraphrase some of their main points;
Because our brains
are a product of evolution, and the theory that part of our evolution took
place while humans have lived in groups and societies, it would be advantageous
for us and our genes, if we had evolved the capabilities to deceive
and cheat the others in our group, thus being able to get a bigger portion of
the necessities needed for survival.
It would also then be advantageous to have an evolved “cheating
detector,” thus insuring that we and our families get a fair share of the
necessities. These philosophers believe that, because of group and intergroup interactions, we have evolved the ability to easily detect those that are lying
and cheating, thus being able to protect ourselves. That's why in part 2, it is relatively easy to tell
who at the bar might be lying.
Remember, this is
just a theory. There have been other hypotheses as to why we seem able to figure
out part 2, but not part 1.
I would love to hear from anyone who
disagrees with this theory, or, anyone that would like to make a comment.
