The simple word game that tricks 90 per cent of people

No matter how grown up you are, there will always be room for fun and games.

You might recollect playing the following game, but have another go just in case. Answer the following three questions very quickly:

What’s one plus four?!

What’s five plus two?!

What’s seven take away three?

Name a vegetable?

When you're done, scroll down for the point of this game (there is one, promise).

. . .

Was it carrot..?

Apparently, as many as 90 per cent of people guessed "carrot" as the vegetable.

But why?

It has to do with the way our mind compartmentalises information.

The carrot, in the minds of the vast majority of people, is "prototypical" – our brains have made it an archetypal vegetable.

In a similar way, if someone asks you to name a mammal, for example, you are much more likely to answer with a primate – a chimpanzee, or monkey – than a whale.

Both animals are technically mammals, but it takes longer for our brain to make the connection between whale and mammal since it isn't necessarily an archetype.

HT: BBC

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