A new National Geographic program called “Brain Games” featured a puzzle that has been stumping adults but causing little difficulty for children.
A simple school bus with a question: “Which direction would this go” has those under 10 years of age guessing right 80 percent of the time, while adults struggle to come up with the correct answer.
Although no tracking has been done, testers are observing adults are even taking far longer to even the process the question, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
What do you think? Which way will the bus move if it starts moving forward? (The answer is below. No cheating!)
The University of London is using the data gathered as evidence that those under the age of 12 process information differently than adults. They’ve argued that younger people process visual cues easier due to reliance upon their first guess and not second guessing themselves when answering questions.
Adults are using different kinds of visual information and complicating what would otherwise be a simple question.
It’s not known what the University of London intends to do with this information, or if it is a starting point or a conclusion, but it’s hard to tie to a practical application.
Where it’s obvious that a child is more open to new information, due to the world being literally newer to them than to adults, that’s hardly a shocking revelation.
Also apparently not taken into consideration was the testing process itself. Children are far more accustomed to tests — and, for that matter, buses, in many cases — whereas adults tend to be more wary.
OK, if you’ve given up — or want to check your answer — watch this short video: