Harder Theory of Mind Test

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I couldn't get this one out at all. You are supposed to figure out why the passerby responded the way she did.

Flag-seller: "Would you like to buy a flag for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution?"

Passerby: "No, thanks, I always spend my holidays with my sister in Birmingham."

You probably need to know some information about the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Birmingham to get what this is about. I know nothing about these, and I don't know what this is about.

That seems a bit ridiculous.

I can't see a reason for the response.




Possible explanation:

The passerby thinks that people only need to be rescued from the ocean on holiday. The passerby thinks people should only contribute to the RNLI if they think they will need rescuing from the ocean. The passerby thinks that since rescues are only needed on holiday (an irrational thought) and they only ever go on holiday in a land locked city, they will never need the services of the RNLI and therefore can't be expected to support them in any way.

This is the only way I can try to explain the passerby's statement--but it presupposes that the passerby is a selfish narcissist with irrational ideas about emergency services. Won't they be surprised on that business trip to Ostend when the ferry goes down...

Is there another way to make this work?

EDITED to add: RNLI is a British service like the Coastguard in the US--if you are on a sinking boat of the coast of Devon or in the Channel, the RNLI will rescue you.
Birmingham is a landlocked city in England.

Last edited by Adamantium on 04 Mar 2015, 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My immediate thought was that the passerby vacations in a place far from the Coast, so it wouldn't matter to them. I just looked up Birmingham to see if it was close to the sea (it's not), and I also looked up Royal National Lifeboat Institution, as I haven't heard of it before, I just assumed it was close to what we call Redningsskøytene here, which it turned out to be.

So I'm gonna go with my immediate thought that the passersby didn't think it would concern them, seeing as they don't spend time near the coast anyway and won't need their services. If you wanna delve deeper into that, I guess you can call it selfishness, ego-centrism, indifference or looking out for number one.

Was that the correct reason, Starkid?

You and Adamantium are right!

I kind of agree with btbnnyr in that most people would have to know that Birmingham is inland because they wouldn't guess the connection. But the book implies that people are supposed to be able to guess that RNLA is a charity, and that the passerby thinks she doesn't need the charity because she stays inland during the holidays.

Yay!

Which book is that? Does it have a lot of such examples?
If so, it might be something I'd be interested in checking out...

It's Mindblindness by Simon Baron-Cohen. There's only been two examples in the book so far. I posted the other one in the "Easy Theory of Mind Test" thread in this subforum.

Another problem with this idea is that (like much of England) the Birmingham area is periodically subject to flooding and the RNLI rescue teams would be the ones to pluck you from a swollen river or flooded field if you got swept away, even in the Midlands, far from the coast.

Ah thanks!

She isn't interested.

I suppose in the UK this is a theory of mind test. The internet imforms me that the author is in the UK. The internet also informs me (and probably everybody in this thread since so far no UK posters) that Birmingham is inland and that the RNLI does water rescues. On the one hand, "lifeboat" implies water rescue. On the other hand, "institution" implies buildings- a place you go, not people who come to you. At least that's how it's usually used in the U.S. Clearly it's a little different in the UK so I guess it joins the long list of words with slightly different meanings in the U.S. or UK.

Honestly before I started googling meanings, I wondered if maybe the RNLI was a naval museum or place of study (because of the word "institution") and maybe the woman was saying she didn't visit such places on vacation.With the key pieces of information that RNLI does water rescue and also that Birmingham is inland it falls into place that shne is just selfish and only donates to charities she might personally need some day.

Maybe The Walrus or other UK posters would figure it out without google. But not this American.

I am anglo-american and had a childhood in London, so I knew these things, but also knew that the RNLI does river and flood rescues, so people around Birmingham need them too. Saying you don't is like saying you don't need police because you are not planning to be a crime victim.

I thought RNLI was some imaginary organization made up for the example, but it was pretty easy to figure out that the flag-seller was raising money for some sort of cause. I just couldn't figure out what holidays in Birmingham (or any other place) had to do with it, especially with the sister part thrown in. I thought maybe holidays spent specifically with the sister was relevant somehow.

Many who have replied to this post have shown that they have advanced theory of mind. This just makes me think that theory of mind is just that..... A Theory of Mind. I am a most respectful but severe critic of SBC's work for the simple reason that it just doesn't stand up to the many diverse and eclectic mix of people I know in the autistic spectrum. This is my experience and I fully appreciate that this might not be others experience.

One you have met one person in the autistic spectrum......... You have met one person in the autistic spectrum.

That doesn't make sense at all.

Also Birmingham does have and rnli branch. Pretty everywhere does. They're also all volunteers, and it's a massive charity.

As someone with geographical knowledge about Birmingham and some familiarity with RNLI I found this easy.

a) the person only wants to donate to causes relavant to them, they do not holiday where they would need a lifeboat.
b) they view RNLI as a form of service, like air ambulances, and believe they do not need to pay for the service.