IQ tests are popular because they provide a perspective of people's insight and allow them to compare themselves to those around them and to realize how "agile in mind" they are.
The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) is called the shortest IQ test in the world because it contains only three questions. It tests the ability to identify the fact that a problem is, in fact, more difficult than it initially seems. The faster you realize it, the smarter you are.
Below, the three questions:
- A baseball and a stick cost a total of £ 1.10. The bat costs a pound more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
- If five machines make five objects in five minutes, how long will 100 machines make 100 objects?
- There is a group of water lilies in a lake. Every day, it doubles in size. If it takes 48 hours for the water lilies to cover the entire lake, how long will it take until they cover half of the lake's surface?
The most common human responses are:
- 10 pence
- 100 minutes
- 24 days
However, they are wrong. The correct answers are as follows:
- The ball actually costs 5 pence (because the stick costs a pound more, and in total it costs 1.10 pounds.
- The machines will make 100 objects in five minutes (five machines make five objects in five minutes. This means that one machine can make one object in five minutes. So, if we have 100, they can make 100 objects in five minutes. ).
- It will take 47 days until the water lilies cover half the lake.