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> the problem with "which is heavier, a 10 pound bag of feathers or a 10 pound bag of bricks?" Interestingly, the variation of this problem that I first encoun

> the problem with "which is heavier, a 10 pound bag of feathers or a 10 pound bag of bricks?" Interestingly, the variation of this problem that I first encountered, personally, was "which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?" This is a much more difficult question. The answer given to me was that the pound of feathers weighs more, because gold is measured in troy weight, and a troy pound consists of only 12 ounces compared to the 16 ounces in a pound avoirdupois. And that's all true. Gold is measured in troy weight, feathers aren't, a troy pound consists of only 12 ounces, a pound avoirdupois consists of 16, and a pound avoirdupois weighs more than a troy pound does. The problem with this answer is that it's not complete; it's just a coincidence that the ultimate result ("the feathers are heavier") is correct. Just as a pound avoirdupois weighs more than a troy pound, an ounce avoirdupois weighs less than a troy ounce. But this difference, even though it goes in the opposite direction, isn't enough to outweigh the difference between 16 vs 12 ounces per pound. Without acknowledging the difference in the ounces, the official answer to the riddle is just as wrong as the naive answer is.

Izkata 2y ago
Yeah, this is the original version of this riddle. People who don't know it think the trick is that people will reflexively say the metal is heavier instead of "they're the same", when it actually goes deeper. No idea if GP did it intentionally to further drift from training data, but steel doesn't count as a precious metal, so it messes up the riddle by putting the two weights in the same system.
- zahlman 2y ago
  > Yeah, this is the original version of this riddle. People who don't know it think the trick is that people will reflexively say the metal is heavier instead of "they're the same" ...Have you really never encountered people who would reflexively say that?
  - Izkata 2y ago
    That's not what I said. I'm talking about the riddle itself, not how people react to it.

Izkata 2y ago

Yeah, this is the original version of this riddle. People who don't know it think the trick is that people will reflexively say the metal is heavier instead of "they're the same", when it actually goes deeper. No idea if GP did it intentionally to further drift from training data, but steel doesn't count as a precious metal, so it messes up the riddle by putting the two weights in the same system.

zahlman 2y ago
> Yeah, this is the original version of this riddle. People who don't know it think the trick is that people will reflexively say the metal is heavier instead of "they're the same" ...Have you really never encountered people who would reflexively say that?
- Izkata 2y ago
  That's not what I said. I'm talking about the riddle itself, not how people react to it.