7 ms·

I don't think this is a good example. The bus is clearly a simplified representation. If the answer/explanation given was actually correct then you'd also expec

I don't think this is a good example. The bus is clearly a simplified representation. If the answer/explanation given was actually correct then you'd also expect the bus to have other details like side view mirrors. Edit: I hate to dwell on this too much, but even if a door and mirrors were visible, the bus could be in reverse. This seems to be more of a case of accidentally picking the intended answer due to a lack of knowledge. (Of levels of abstraction in representation and of vehicle design.) That said, I don't necessarily disagree with the underlying point being made.

janniehater 2y ago
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soared 2y ago
Or because kids are very familiar with busses and adults are not.
- bowsamic 2y ago
  Interestingly I got it instantly but I’ve used busses far more in my adult life than as a child
- dkdbejwi383 2y ago
  Why would kids be more familiar with busses than adults?
  - xattt 2y ago
    > Why are [large vehicles] so exciting to a kid? Perhaps it is obvious: they are loud, big, fast, complex, powerful. There is the element of danger. Adaptively, there must be a survival advantage for children who are curious about loud, large, fast beings and objects. https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/megafauna-mecha-fauna-machines-nature/ https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry...
    - dkdbejwi383 2y ago
      I don’t see the correlation, sorry! I’d expect an adult to be more familiar with a bus by virtue of having taken the bus more often than a child. Whether or not that’s exciting or just a mundane commute shouldn’t affect familiarity.
  - I_am_uncreative 2y ago
    School buses are a staple of childhood, at least in the US.
cnasc 2y ago
Yeah, this bus is clearly intended to be a school bus but it’s missing too much detail. If the absence of the door is a valid clue, then so is the absence of the big red stop sign that is on the non-door-side.
- portaouflop 2y ago
  Lay off the copium - busses don’t have red stop signs everywhere (for example they don’t have them here) But they always have doors…
  - defrost 2y ago
    The other day someone pointed at the open platform of RM1353 and asked me: did you take the doors off this bus? “No, it was built that way.” She looked amazed, and pleased. https://www.theredbus.co.uk/blog/platform-sharing https://www.theredbus.co.uk/blog/platform-sharing
  - asddubs 2y ago
    they also always have mirrors, which is the first thing an adult would probably look for (since it applies more universally to vehicles)
- phist_mcgee 2y ago
  Big red stop sign? Like on the bus?
iforgotpassword 2y ago
Isn't this exactly the point? You look at this the analytical way, decide the bus doesn't have enough detail to be a realistic representation and stop there, maybe looking around for other clues. A very good example imo. Sure, the bus could be in reverse, but it could also be a British bus driving in the US. Or we could be looking at a reflection of the bus. Or we could be looking at the reflection of a British bus going in reverse. This is not about determining the direction with 100% certainty. This is about having a clue at all which you can justify, which adults mostly don't.
anonymous_sorry 2y ago
I don't think the point is to nitpick how realistic the representation is or how fair the question is. The point is children react to the question differently from the way adults do. And that's true despite (or perhaps because of) what an adult thinks of the question.
- YurgenJurgensen 2y ago
  But that's a different point to what GP was making. It wasn't that children answer differently to adults, it's that they get it 'right' more often than adults. Which is still more about ignorance allowing them to make the same assumptions as the questioner than thought processes. A child might not even be aware that people in other countries might drive on the other side of the road, and so be sure of their 'correct' answer, but most adults know that without knowing the location of this image, the question can't be answered. EDIT: And if the question weren't ambiguous, you'd basically be telling people the answer, since as soon as you say "assume it's in the US", you give a massive clue that bilateral asymmetry is relevant.

janniehater 2y ago

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soared 2y ago

Or because kids are very familiar with busses and adults are not.

bowsamic 2y ago
Interestingly I got it instantly but I’ve used busses far more in my adult life than as a child
dkdbejwi383 2y ago
Why would kids be more familiar with busses than adults?
- xattt 2y ago
  > Why are [large vehicles] so exciting to a kid? Perhaps it is obvious: they are loud, big, fast, complex, powerful. There is the element of danger. Adaptively, there must be a survival advantage for children who are curious about loud, large, fast beings and objects. https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/megafauna-mecha-fauna-machines-nature/ https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry...
  - dkdbejwi383 2y ago
    I don’t see the correlation, sorry! I’d expect an adult to be more familiar with a bus by virtue of having taken the bus more often than a child. Whether or not that’s exciting or just a mundane commute shouldn’t affect familiarity.
- I_am_uncreative 2y ago
  School buses are a staple of childhood, at least in the US.

cnasc 2y ago

Yeah, this bus is clearly intended to be a school bus but it’s missing too much detail. If the absence of the door is a valid clue, then so is the absence of the big red stop sign that is on the non-door-side.

portaouflop 2y ago
Lay off the copium - busses don’t have red stop signs everywhere (for example they don’t have them here) But they always have doors…
- defrost 2y ago
  The other day someone pointed at the open platform of RM1353 and asked me: did you take the doors off this bus? “No, it was built that way.” She looked amazed, and pleased. https://www.theredbus.co.uk/blog/platform-sharing https://www.theredbus.co.uk/blog/platform-sharing
- asddubs 2y ago
  they also always have mirrors, which is the first thing an adult would probably look for (since it applies more universally to vehicles)
phist_mcgee 2y ago
Big red stop sign? Like on the bus?

iforgotpassword 2y ago

Isn't this exactly the point? You look at this the analytical way, decide the bus doesn't have enough detail to be a realistic representation and stop there, maybe looking around for other clues. A very good example imo. Sure, the bus could be in reverse, but it could also be a British bus driving in the US. Or we could be looking at a reflection of the bus. Or we could be looking at the reflection of a British bus going in reverse. This is not about determining the direction with 100% certainty. This is about having a clue at all which you can justify, which adults mostly don't.

anonymous_sorry 2y ago

I don't think the point is to nitpick how realistic the representation is or how fair the question is. The point is children react to the question differently from the way adults do. And that's true despite (or perhaps because of) what an adult thinks of the question.

YurgenJurgensen 2y ago
But that's a different point to what GP was making. It wasn't that children answer differently to adults, it's that they get it 'right' more often than adults. Which is still more about ignorance allowing them to make the same assumptions as the questioner than thought processes. A child might not even be aware that people in other countries might drive on the other side of the road, and so be sure of their 'correct' answer, but most adults know that without knowing the location of this image, the question can't be answered. EDIT: And if the question weren't ambiguous, you'd basically be telling people the answer, since as soon as you say "assume it's in the US", you give a massive clue that bilateral asymmetry is relevant.