Math p[roblem identifies religious thinking vs analytical

[Wild Bill]

Here's the link:

http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2012/04/simple-math-problem-could-indicate-your-religious-beliefs.html

"Whether or not you believe in a higher power might come down to how you approach problem-solving."

"But a surprising new report by psychologists William Gervais and Ara Norenzayan, of the University of British Columbia, would seem to indicate that your inclination to be religious can be – at least in part – determined by how you approach a math problem."

I confess that I got it wrong too! I guess maybe that's because I am not a fervent atheist but rather a devout agnostic!

[Canuckistani]

all they are saying, is that after doing some problems that require analytical thinking, your religiosity goes down for a short period. But they recognize the importance of intuitive problem solving, which furthers religiosity. And no doubt they didn't have the sophistication to distinguish between spirituality and religion. So belief in say the Virgin birth might temporarily go down, but overall sense of transcendence not. Not sure if they tested any Buddhists, for instance. That's a very analytical religion that also makes room for the intuitive.

[jacee]

Here's the link:

http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2012/04/simple-math-problem-could-indicate-your-religious-beliefs.html

"Whether or not you believe in a higher power might come down to how you approach problem-solving."

"But a surprising new report by psychologists William Gervais and Ara Norenzayan, of the University of British Columbia, would seem to indicate that your inclination to be religious can be – at least in part – determined by how you approach a math problem."

I confess that I got it wrong too! I guess maybe that's because I am not a fervent atheist but rather a devout agnostic!

I got it right and that would be about right - accustomed to trusting my own problem-solving abilities rather than entrusting it to a 'higher power'.

I do occasionally claim to believe in some form of 'higher power' but I'm very ambivalent about what it involves except that it's nothing like the 'church' one. Mother Nature I can grasp.

It's quite interesting that they find this stable relationship with one item. . Not unusual though.

[Guest Manny]

What a gross oversimplification. Quite a few analytical thinkers also believed in a god of some kind. Einstein would be one of them.

Although, his answer to this question would likely have been 4.9999999

[Wild Bill]

What a gross oversimplification. Quite a few analytical thinkers also believed in a god of some kind. Einstein would be one of them.

Although, his answer to this question would likely have been 4.9999999

Really? I always thought it was 42!

[TheNewTeddy]

I'm not very religious at all, in fact, I'm anti-religion.

But, I have more faith than all of you combined.

Also, I got $5

[The_Squid]

It's not a very tough math problem. I'm surprised that anyone could get this wrong if they put any thought to it.

[Guest Manny]

But, I have more faith than all of you combined.

How do you know that, and why would you even say that.

I think what you meant to say is, you believe religion and having faith are two different things.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Manny

[Moonlight Graham]

It's not a very tough math problem. I'm surprised that anyone could get this wrong if they put any thought to it.

That's the whole point. It's a brilliantly simple question. My initial thought was "Oh, i think it's $10" but then I took the time to actually figure it out in my head to confirm before answering and then I figured out it was $5.

[TheNewTeddy]

How do you know that, and why would you even say that.

I think what you meant to say is, you believe religion and having faith are two different things.

Religion dampens faith

[Uncle 3 dogs]

[quote The really amazing thing there is the pages of posts debating the correct answer. Clearly many of the posters are NOT "smarter than a fifth grader"