Logic Quiz
Mar. 10th, 2005 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamhouseFrom ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mrlogic:
Analysis of three questions on the quiz:
1) This is algebra, not logic. The fact that it is multiple choice means you could make a choice through testing each answer, but that isn't logic either - that's an "iterative solution".
5) This isn't the only answer, as probability theory actually predicts that fewer than the absolute number given by logic would unexpectedly be the answer. With the small population and again with the multiple-choice format the answer can be deduced, but if the probability-predicted answer was included it might be much tougher. Unfortunately, I don't remember how to calculate the expected answer, so mathematically (since you can only choose an integral number of shoes or socks) the answer with this size population might really be the same, but it's the principle of the thing. "Damn your logic, Spock. I'm a statistician, not a scientist!"
7) Boy, does THIS one make a huge assumption about the cypher algorithm. Heck, it makes a huge assumption that it is a cypher at all - it could be a code and thus the substitution could be completely random.
This bugs me in the same way that IQ tests that ask math or "which comes next" questions bother me. There are too many other learned skills that apply to the solutions.
mrlogic:You Are Incredibly Logical |
 (You got 100% of the questions right) Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer! |
Analysis of three questions on the quiz:
1) This is algebra, not logic. The fact that it is multiple choice means you could make a choice through testing each answer, but that isn't logic either - that's an "iterative solution".
5) This isn't the only answer, as probability theory actually predicts that fewer than the absolute number given by logic would unexpectedly be the answer. With the small population and again with the multiple-choice format the answer can be deduced, but if the probability-predicted answer was included it might be much tougher. Unfortunately, I don't remember how to calculate the expected answer, so mathematically (since you can only choose an integral number of shoes or socks) the answer with this size population might really be the same, but it's the principle of the thing. "Damn your logic, Spock. I'm a statistician, not a scientist!"
7) Boy, does THIS one make a huge assumption about the cypher algorithm. Heck, it makes a huge assumption that it is a cypher at all - it could be a code and thus the substitution could be completely random.
This bugs me in the same way that IQ tests that ask math or "which comes next" questions bother me. There are too many other learned skills that apply to the solutions.
