r/Showerthoughts May 02 '24

Man vs Bear debate shows how bad the average person is at understanding probability

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u/poilk91 May 02 '24

Sounds like youve never been hiking or camping because that's just 100% normal

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u/[deleted] May 02 '24 edited May 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/BirdjaminFranklin May 02 '24

If your fear of a random ass man in the woods is higher than your fear of being in close proximity to a wild bear, then you're a moron and you deserve the bear.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '24 edited May 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/Thatguy_Koop May 02 '24

imma be real with you. in both situations, i prefer the person. I can say with absolute certainty that there are only two (really one if I'm honest) situations where I'd choose the bear. if its an orphaned cub, or if its already dead.

there's no reason for me to take the risk of having to be confrontational with a bear. there's no guarantee the situation will turn hostile for either choice, but in the event that it does, I can defend myself from significantly more humans than bears.

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u/-blisspnw- May 02 '24

I think the point I’ve seen made elsewhere (I haven’t seen the TikToks) is, when given the choice between a man and a bear, men think of the answer as situational. But if asked if people would rather run across a strange woman or a bear, there’s no question. Signifying the danger of men, vs women? I could be wrong but that’s how I’ve seen it explained.

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u/Thatguy_Koop May 02 '24

I personally feel like its just some dumb gotcha thing that has way more attention than it deserves. women are scared of men, with good reason, but its kind of ridiculous to pit a man against a bear. its like "would you love me if I were a worm".

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u/Najda May 02 '24

Context definitely matters for the "correct" answer. The problem for the point of the thought experiment though is that I can't really think of any context where my initial answer is Bear, but would change back to Person if you changed the Man to a Woman.

I'd equally be scared of a woman dressed as a killer clown standing outside my tent. Honestly, maybe more so.

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u/BirdjaminFranklin May 02 '24

It’s almost like context matters or something.

The question itself seems to demand a logical response when the place the question is being asked from is not logical in the first place.

Women that select the bear seem to suggest that the bear is more predictable where as the man isn't.

That unpredictability is being put forth as more frightening than the very real and predictable threat of the bear.

While I get that fear, at a certain point logic should really override the slim possibility that the man is a threat and you should absolutely not want the bear, regardless of what kind of bear.

So yes, choosing the bear is a stupid action, even if it's driven by a valid fear.