Just 3 questions of the world's shortest IQ test can reveal how intelligent you are. Only 17% have got all 3 correct.
There are ample IQ tests that people take to measure how intelligent they truly are. While these tests measure a variety of categories through several questions, the results give a vague idea of one’s IQ. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) boils down to a person’s knowledge and ability to apply the same in versatile scenarios. One of the quickest ways to check one’s IQ is the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT). The former is among the toughest IQ tests that have even the best of the best pondering it. What’s even more shocking, is that the test consists of only 3 questions and still has a tricky hold on a majority of the population.
The test was invented in 2005 by Shane Frederick and was shared by the Journal of Economic Perspectives. The test aimed to measure IQ by understanding how people use their cognitive abilities. It was conducted on thousands of people and only 17% got the answers right. The three questions of the test were:
1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? _____ cents
2. If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets? _____ minutes
3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake? _____ days
In a video shared by Dr. Lyndon Walker, the answers were broken down. Coming to the first question, many people would have answered “10 cents” by doing quick math. However, the answer is “5 cents.” It was explained that if the ball were to be 10 cents, the cost of the bat would be $1 + the cost of the ball. That would make the cost of the bat $1.10 but since the cost of both is $1.10, this can’t be the case. However, if the cost of the ball is assumed to be 5 cents, then the math adds up. $1 + $0.5 = $1.5, which is the cost of the bat. The total matches the given.
The same was the situation for the remaining two questions. The second question’s popular answer would be 100 minutes, following the pattern in the question and quick math. However, each machine takes 5 minutes to make one widget, so 100 machines could make 100 widgets in 5 minutes. The last question is known to trick people even more wherein people might get the answer but they may intuitively dismiss it. The answer is not half of 48 i.e. 24, which might be a common response. It took 48 days to cover the entire lake. This means that the previous day, it covered half the lake since it doubled. Half the lake would eventually become full the next day i.e. the 48th day. So, the answer is 47.
The questions were all designed in a tricky manner to understand how individuals move on from their intuitive thinking that could be wrong and grasp a reflective response instead. People answer a problem in one out of two ways- they may find a quick response without much reflection or they take time out and think of a better solution. A majority of the participants also got the test wrong by picking the intuitive answers. Many chose the quicker option but the more intelligent ones took their time and opted for a less riskier answer.