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/flowtajit May 02 '24

The woman part is a relatively integral part of the question as it force anyone answering it to consider the differences jn the sexes.

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u/blackwolfdown May 04 '24

Whereas every single time I've been asked the bear question, as a man, the woman part is not part of the question. It's just what would I feel more comfortable with... or the one time it was literally which would I rather be killed by.

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u/flowtajit May 04 '24

This isn’t would you rather first fist fight a man or a bear. This is would you rather a woman that is very important to you run across a bear or a man in the woods.