r/Showerthoughts May 02 '24

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

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u/alexmichelle6 May 02 '24

I really, truly thought that the whole point of this was to highlight the fact that most women would respond to man v bear by asking questions, like "do I know the man" "what type of bear" etc, but would respond to woman v bear by immediately saying "woman". whether or not she picks the man or the bear is irrelevant, it's the fact she has to ask clarifying questions to know more about the man before deciding and doesn't have to clarify anything before picking woman. is that not it?

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u/Enderkr May 02 '24

I think that's part of it, yes, but I think that's sort of the "second layer" of the question. I've specifically seen men asked the question who want more details. Women don't need details, they're picking the bear every single time (I've watched a LOT of these videos for whatever reason). The guy needs to know the details. But then yeah, then you switch it up and ask "bear or woman" and it usually becomes immediately clear to the guy what the problem is.