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The Wason Selection Task

philosophyexperiments.com

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Re: The Wason Selection Task

#11

Post by Closi »

dinkleberg wrote: post #9

Am I wrong in thinking that some of these answers while correct, are correct for the wrong reason? I know this is pedantic, but not sure if this is just them explaining it oddly or if I'm thinking about it incorrectly. [Spoilers?] It says: Yellow. It is not necessary to turn this card over. The card is showing yellow, therefore, we already know that the rule is upheld. The rule only requires that when a circle appear…

Their explanation seems fine to me, if a little awkward.

> We don't flip over the yellow card because nothing tells us that a yellow card needs a circle on the other side. Not because it is yellow and we know that the circle is on the other side, because we don't know.

If a card is yellow, it doesn't matter what is on the other side, so we don't have to check it. Either it is a circle, in which case the rule is upheld, or it is any other shape, in which the rule is still upheld.

In the case of the red card, it DOES matter what is on the other side, as if it is a circle the rule is broken.

Re: The Wason Selection Task

#12

Post by micouay »

This supposedly proves that humans are much better tracking social contracts than arbitrary, abstract ones. But I feel like it's actually the wording that makes the puzzle hard. We don't think:

> If somebody is drinking beer, they are 21+.

We think:

> To drink beer, you must be 21+.

And if you formulate the other puzzles in the same way, they are much simpler:

> If a card has a circle on one side, it must have the yellow color on the other side.

Is this your impression too? (Actually, after writing this comment I realised I hadn't checked the red card... But I also hadn't checked the 17 yo lol.)

Re: The Wason Selection Task

#14

Post by mcphage »

bberenberg wrote: post #5
mcphage wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the question is phrased pretty explicitly to be of the form "If A then B". Are you saying that they're being misleading? Or are you saying that the normal english meaning of "If A then B" is "A therefore B and B therefore A"? The later might be the case—"or" is another case where the logical connective and normal interpretation differ; the logical "or" is inclusive, but the standard english meaning is exclusi…

It's not asking you to test the card alone. It's asking to test the rule as it applies to the card. You have to check ABBA or you're not actually applying the rule to the card. This seems like QA done by an engineer vs QA done by someone who cares about QA. The "right" answer here is wrong.

> The "right" answer here is wrong.

I assume by "right", you mean the answer given? What do you think the correct answer is?

Re: The Wason Selection Task

#15

Post by bberenberg »

mcphage wrote: post #14
bberenberg wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not asking you to test the card alone. It's asking to test the rule as it applies to the card. You have to check ABBA or you're not actually applying the rule to the card. This seems like QA done by an engineer vs QA done by someone who cares about QA. The "right" answer here is wrong.

> The "right" answer here is wrong. I assume by "right", you mean the answer given? What do you think the correct answer is?

For example, the site argues that for the first test, you don't need to flip the yellow card.

Your goal, is to test the application of the rule, not, the card itself. This is specified at:

"You have to ensure that cards have been produced in accordance with the following rule"

The rule is "If a card has a circle on one side, then it has the colour yellow on the other side."

Given a card that is yellow on the other side, you must flip it to confirm that the first half of the statement is true. Why? Because the challenge isn't to test the card, it's to test application of the rule. You can't simply assume that the rule has always worked, otherwise there is no need to test.

A square on one side, with a yellow flip side would violate the rule and thus show a defect.

I get that it's going to be a linguistics argument all the way down> For me, this is a perfect example of "works for me" engineer response vs QA doing actual testing.

Re: The Wason Selection Task

#16

Post by mcphage »

bberenberg wrote: post #15
mcphage wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The "right" answer here is wrong. I assume by "right", you mean the answer given? What do you think the correct answer is?

For example, the site argues that for the first test, you don't need to flip the yellow card. Your goal, is to test the application of the rule, not, the card itself. This is specified at: "You have to ensure that cards have been produced in accordance with the following rule" The rule is "If a card has a circle on one side, then it has the colour yellow on the other side." Given a card that is yellow on the other si…

How would you phrase a rule that adheres to the logical if-then connective?
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