Math question supposed to reveal if someone is autistic

Page 1 of 2 [ 29 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

BillyTree
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Oct 2023
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 755

21 Nov 2024, 5:51 pm

"A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?"

A 2022 study found that those who were autistic were more likely to answer the question correctly. But to me it seems that anyone with a normal or average level of logical intelligence will give the correct answear.

Harvard-backed math question that reveals if someone could be autistic


_________________
English is not my first language.


utterly absurd
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Feb 2024
Age: 19
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 1,464
Location: Wisconsin

21 Nov 2024, 6:11 pm

Utter BS. I don't know if there's evidence that autistic people are more likely to be good at math (although based on people I know I'd guess yes), but obviously plenty of nonautistic people are good at math and plenty of autistic people are bad at math. Not to mention that question is fairly simple, it doesn't even say much about a person's math ability. It couldn't reveal anything about autism.


_________________
Diagnosed ASD/ADHD age 5. Finally understood that age 17.
Have very strong opinions so sorry if I offend anyone--I still respect your opinion.
Neutral pronouns preferred but anything is fine.
Feel free to PM me--I like to talk about most things other than sports.


Gentleman Argentum
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Aug 2019
Age: 54
Gender: Male
Posts: 826
Location: State of Euphoria

21 Nov 2024, 6:22 pm

BillyTree wrote:
"A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?"

A 2022 study found that those who were autistic were more likely to answer the question correctly. But to me it seems that anyone with a normal or average level of logical intelligence will give the correct answear.

Harvard-backed math question that reveals if someone could be autistic


Took me about two minutes and I had to concentrate. I got it though. Maybe most people just reply without considering the question carefully. The obvious response is $1 and $0.10, and the obvious response is wrong. I guess a lot of NTs will breeze by that question with the obvious response.


_________________
My magical motto is Animus facit nobilem. I like to read fantasy and weird fiction. Just a few of my favorite online things: music, chess, and dungeon crawl stone soup.


SendInTheClowns
Raven
Raven

Joined: 29 Nov 2021
Gender: Female
Posts: 109
Location: South Pacific

21 Nov 2024, 7:00 pm

I am glad you included "supposed to" in the title. One study is one study, and that's all. Scientifically meaningless.

(Will all WP members who didn't solve the problem correctly now please change their profile and declare themselves neurotypical today. If this is not done by midnight they will turn into pumpkins).

Mathematical ability is highly heritable, and there are an abundance of studies on that topic; this is true for both neurotypicals and the AS population.



funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 29,094
Location: Right over your left shoulder

21 Nov 2024, 7:07 pm

Gentleman Argentum wrote:
Took me about two minutes and I had to concentrate. I got it though. Maybe most people just reply without considering the question carefully. The obvious response is $1 and $0.10, and the obvious response is wrong. I guess a lot of NTs will breeze by that question with the obvious response.


I think the assumption is that autistics either are more prone to consider things deeply or that we're literally always in that mode.

I came to the obvious conclusion, only to re-read the question and realize my answers were both off by 5¢.


SendInTheClowns wrote:
Mathematical ability is highly heritable, and there are an abundance of studies on that topic; this is true for both neurotypicals and the AS population.


I doubt it's mathematical ability that causes people to get the answer wrong, instead it's reading comprehension. They don't read the question closely enough to understand what they're actually attempting to solve.


_________________
When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become king, the palace becomes a circus.
"Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." —Former U.S. Airman (Air Force) Aaron Bushnell


lostonearth35
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,659
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?

22 Nov 2024, 12:29 am

I have asd and dyscalculia, but I thought the ball can't be ten cents because most people would think that, so it must be wrong.

Do both disabilities cancel each other out, or what?



funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 29,094
Location: Right over your left shoulder

22 Nov 2024, 12:44 am

lostonearth35 wrote:
I have asd and dyscalculia, but I thought the ball can't be ten cents because most people would think that, so it must be wrong.

Do both disabilities cancel each other out, or what?


The ball can't be 10¢ because that would mean the bat has to cost $1.10, which is more than the allowable total of $1.10 combined.


_________________
When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become king, the palace becomes a circus.
"Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." —Former U.S. Airman (Air Force) Aaron Bushnell


utterly absurd
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Feb 2024
Age: 19
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 1,464
Location: Wisconsin

22 Nov 2024, 1:02 am

lostonearth35 wrote:
I have asd and dyscalculia, but I thought the ball can't be ten cents because most people would think that, so it must be wrong.

Do both disabilities cancel each other out, or what?

To be fair, "most people would think that so it must be wrong" is a good strategy that's served me well many times when the logical part of my brain has failed me.


_________________
Diagnosed ASD/ADHD age 5. Finally understood that age 17.
Have very strong opinions so sorry if I offend anyone--I still respect your opinion.
Neutral pronouns preferred but anything is fine.
Feel free to PM me--I like to talk about most things other than sports.


Edna3362
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 29 Oct 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,627
Location: ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔

22 Nov 2024, 1:50 am

I got it right but it took me a while.

Like, yeah -- the bat can't be 1$ more than the ball if the ball is 10¢ and then it adds up to a 1.10$; that will be false -- that will add up to 1.20$ instead because the if the ball is 1$ more expensive, the bat would be 1.10$.

So the ball had to be less than 10¢ to add up to a bat that supposedly is 1$ more expensive than the ball if it had to add up to a 1.10$...


Yes, mine is a convoluted mess.
I don't have a greater than average mathematical ability.

Only a few inclinations over it like my bias towards geometry and logic.

And my reading comprehension is average at best and to compensate, I had to recheck and add more reasoning.


_________________
Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.


Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 60,800
Location: Stendec

22 Nov 2024, 4:14 am

I'll work this out in pennies.

110 = (100 + x) +x

110 = 100 + 2x

110 - 100 = 2x

10 = 2x

5 = x



Carbonhalo
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Age: 63
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,992
Location: Musoria

22 Nov 2024, 4:45 am

Fnord wrote:
I'll work this out in pennies.

110 = (100 + x) +x

110 = 100 + 2x

110 - 100 = 2x

10 = 2x

5 = x


I laughed myself silly on this.
The amount of times I was marked down for not showing the working.
I am no mathematician but the answer was staring me in the face before I finished reading the question.



BillyTree
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Oct 2023
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 755

22 Nov 2024, 4:58 am

From the linked article. I'm not sure everyone read the article before commenting.
"If a person takes the time to think through the question and answers it correctly, it reveals that they're using their ability to think logically to fully understand the mathematical components.

This could put them on the spectrum because those with autism are neurologically built to think this way. Luraschi said that answering the question correctly 'can be indicative of a certain type of thinking style.'

Although this test cannot replace a clinical diagnosis, it can shed light on your thinking style.

A 2022 study found that those who were autistic and relied on the slower, logical and intuitive way of thinking were more likely to answer the question correctly."


_________________
English is not my first language.


P. Zombie
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 5 Oct 2024
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 97
Location: Poland

22 Nov 2024, 10:36 am

BillyTree wrote:
A 2022 study found that those who were autistic and relied on the slower, logical and intuitive way of thinking were more likely to answer the question correctly."

From this study:
"The Dual Process Theory of Autism proposes that autistic individuals demonstrate greater deliberative (slower) processing alongside reduced (faster) intuitive processing."
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10291371/

So, yes, it's not about maths, but about default thinking style. In theory NTs default is to use fast/intuitive/automatic thinking ("system one" in the article's terminology) and autistic default is to use slow/analytic/conscious thinking ("system two"). Both systems exist in both groups, though.

I wonder how much simple tasks such as this one say about thinking style IRL. In these tasks I'm severely NT - I know the obvious answer can't be right, but must put much effort into "ungluing" myself from it and analysing the proper solution. But IRL I rely more on analytic thinking and lack intuitions in many areas.


_________________
Recently diagnosed with ASD, still skeptical.
Feel free to PM me if you want to or are really bored.

Either overthink or don't think at all - there's no middle way.


bee33
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Age: 60
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,660

22 Nov 2024, 10:51 am

I couldn't figure it out. At least not right off the top of my head. If I had written it out I think I would have, but I saw other people's answers first.



Pink Zeppelin
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jul 2024
Gender: Male
Posts: 56
Location: Pluto the 9th Planet

22 Nov 2024, 2:32 pm

I got it wrong at first, so guess I must be a NT whoo hooo!! !



kokopelli
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2017
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,800
Location: amid the sunlight and the dust and the wind

22 Nov 2024, 3:48 pm

That took about 15 seconds.

My first reaction, though, was disbelief that you can buy a bat and ball for $1.10.


_________________
[email protected]

(The above is a valid, but temporary, e-mail address that is relayed to my real e-mail. If it starts getting spammed, I'll just remove it and create a new one and change the signature block. If you want to send me an e-mail, feel free to do so, but be aware that unless you are using something like this, your e-mail address will be exposed to me.)