6 year olds in China can solve this puzzle in 20 seconds. After 20 minutes I gave up.

[claig]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3127520/Are-smarter-Hong-Kong-grader-Logic-puzzle-Chinese-primary-school-exam-stumps-adults-6-year-olds-crack-just-20-seconds.html

I've heard about teenage whizzkids from Oxbridge who work as interns for the Labour Party . But 6 year olds outwitting adults across the planet? What on earth is gong on?

Haha my DD sent me this the other day.

I agree that we overthink what the possible answers are.

Its hardly a taxing puzzle that takes a genius to work out. Children just look at things differently, doesn't mean they are cleverer or have skills adults dont.

Eh? Takes about a microsecond...

'Its hardly a taxing puzzle that takes a genius to work out.'

I pride myself on being smarter tha the average Oxbridge teenage whizzkid who is responsible for Labour party policy, but that one had me stumped. I need to go back to school, I don't want to be anybody's fool.

It is lateral thinking, thinking outside the box, moving off the rails amd seeing wider than tunnel vision. It's a great quality.

Nothing to do with maths. It's simple.

Have to say I got it in a couple of seconds.

'It's simple.'

I almost wish I hadn't posted it now. There is no need to rub it in.

Hmmm, I got it straight away too.

I got it straight away! I never get logic puzzles.

Nope, it does take 20secs. Its obvious straight away there's only one answer

It's one of those that's really obvious when you know it

not realising isn't stupid!

I don't think going back to school would help -- you either see it straight off or puzzle over it for ages, like those ambiguous optical illusion pictures. I wouldn't worry about it.

What on earth has it got to do with Oxbridge or the Labour Party though?

Wasn't claig but no need to kick yourself either. Some things are not as obvious to others.

It's quite literally HOW YOU LOOK AT IT
So my son who was sitting opposite to me got it

You're looking at it from the wrong angle.

Literally.

It's like the type of school assessments (like you have in Bond books) where it's more about the presentation and format of the puzzle, rather than the puzzle itself. It wouldn't form part of an IQ test don't worry OP!

I got it straight away but I'm about as mature as your average 6 year old so probably not that surprising.

TBH, the rate of coaching and accepted level of cheating in China (to the point where parents protested because their children weren't allowed to cheat in an exam because it meant they were hugely disadvantaged compared to students from other schools) means that comparing children here to those in China is meaningless.

So the conclusion we can draw is that the average Daily Mail reader is a bit thicker than a 6 year old child.

And this is in news because ?

I think if you had had coaching, you might find it difficult - because you're used to looking for number patterns. No coaching, and it's obvious.

Having spotted the answer straight away I can now take pride in being at least as clever as the average Chinese 6yo

Well under 20 seconds for me.

'You're looking at it from the wrong angle'

I agree, it is about perspective.

I overcomplicated it. Tried to spot a sequnce, added up differences, subtracted every third term, took the swaure of each term and subtracted 4, ran out of fingers to add up on, tried pumping the numbers into a binomial model and when that failed, looked up the General Theory of Relativity to see if that could help shed light on it. When I found out that turning the paper upside down solved it, I decided a stiff drink was in order and that it was stupid anyway.

Claig, please don't feel bad - i have a phd from Cambridge (in a science subject) and was one of the best at maths in my secondary school, got selected to take part in competitions, etc and couldn't get it. Just called dh to ask him and e got it in 3 secs. We're lacking the lateral thinking gene

Did anyone really have to turn the page upside down ?

Nobody skilled themselves in the fascinating art of reading upside down ? Hours of endless fun at the doctors, or in meetings.