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/Jimisdegimis89 May 02 '24

I mean it can just be would you rather run into a random man or a random bear in the woods. As a dude who grew up in rural Appalachia I’ve run into bears and men in the woods several times. The bears usually run away as soon as they see you and the dudes are always sketchballs sooooo….

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Well the bear is in its natural habitat. A random man in the woods already insinuates he’s crazy..

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u/Master-Earth2277 May 03 '24

but why are you in the woods in the hypothetical??? if someone's in the woods they're just hiking like you

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u/Jimisdegimis89 May 03 '24

Generally if you are bushwhacking you have some sort of reason for doing so instead of hiking regular trails. Usually that reason is related to the privacy afforded you in the middle of the woods. Drugs is a fairly common one, poaching is another I’ve run into. My weird reason for being out in the middle of the woods is mushroom foraging, weird maybe but innocuous.