Math question supposed to reveal if someone is autistic

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BillyTree
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Yesterday, 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


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utterly absurd
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Yesterday, 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.


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Gentleman Argentum
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Yesterday, 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.


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SendInTheClowns
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Yesterday, 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
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Yesterday, 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.


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lostonearth35
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Today, 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
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Today, 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.


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Today, 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.


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Edna3362
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Today, 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.


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Fnord
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Today, 4:14 am

I'll work this out in pennies.

110 = (100 + x) +x

110 = 100 + 2x

110 - 100 = 2x

10 = 2x

5 = x



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Today, 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
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Today, 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."


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Today, 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.


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bee33
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54 minutes ago

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.