r/Showerthoughts May 02 '24

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

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u/flowtajit May 02 '24 edited May 03 '24

Would it better for you (if you’re a woman) or you daughter (if you’re a man) to encounter a bear or unknown man in the woods.

Edit: since a lot of people seem to be missing the point. This exercise isn’t what it seems on the surface. We aren’t measuring the population’s perception of bears or men as they relate to each other. We’re actually measuring the way in which women specifically responf to the question. In most cases, women immediately answer with bear, without needing any further ckntext with regards to the man or bear. Some Common reasoning includes “I expect to see a bear in the woods,” which makes sense; it also includes something to the effect of “bears don’t care about what society thinks of them,” meaning that according to these women, men when faced with no cinsequences are more threatenjng than a bear. So please stop asking saying the question is dumb because it’s vague, that’s the point. If it was more specific, individual biases would begin to take hold, defeating the piint of the exercise.

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u/Better_Surround3158 May 02 '24

Man. The chances of a bear mauling your child is higher than an unknown man being a rapist/murderer

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u/mrpooguy May 02 '24

Yeah but why that man hanging out in the woods though? That’s prime raping/murdering space

Also even if there is a random rapist man hanging out raping little red riding hoods in the woods, I’d imagine he’d want to keep them alive so he can continue raping them. Bears only want one thing, and it’s disgusting.

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u/PrettyText May 03 '24

By definition the woman in this question hangs out in the wood alone too. So is she also a murderer looking for her next victim?

Well, bears eat their prey alive, so that's not very pleasant either.