# Answer this quickly (and hopefully correctly) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040 "2012-06-13T18:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/61 "2012-06-20T19:07:22Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > If the soda was 10c the hot dog would be 90c more than the soda. You don’t say? :dubious: I’m pretty sure I figured out where my math went wrong after thinking about the question for a few seconds. The whole idea was NOT to think though, but to answer quickly. Which I did. And was obviously trapped like a lot of other people who answered quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/62 "2012-06-20T19:10:08Z")
This isn’t a math problem, it’s an ambiguity of English problem. If I pay 10 cents for a soda (and where can you get a deal like that?), then I pay a dollar more for a hot dog, I pay $1.10 for a hot dog and a soda, and the hot dog cost $1. It’s all in the phrase “a dollar more than”. ---
**Author:** ![Alan3354](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alan3354](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan3354)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/63 "2012-06-23T13:57:05Z")
> [@leaffan](#): > > i must be dumb too, because i instantly said “ten cents.” $0.05 + $1.05 = $1.10 ---
**Author:** ![Alan3354](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alan3354](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan3354)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/64 "2012-06-23T14:01:25Z")
what? ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/65 "2012-06-23T15:24:45Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > If it makes folks feel any better, half of students at Harvard, Princeton and MIT got this question wrong when asked. Whether you get it right or not is not really correlated with your intelligence. **OR** attending Harvard, Princeton, and MIT is not really correlated with intelligence. Just sayin’, not enough data here to support your conclusion. Oh, and possibly both: maybe getting the question right is unrelated to intelligence, AND counter to stereotype those schools have as many idiots as geniuses in attendance. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/66 "2012-06-23T15:32:04Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > A hapenny? Tuppence a bag. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/67 "2012-06-24T07:39:16Z")
Thing is, “answer quickly” isn’t the same thing as “give your first answer.” If that’s what you wanted, then, sure, I would have went with $0.10. But it only took me 5 seconds to get to the real answer. Does that count as “quickly”? (My thought process: $0.10; wait, that’s too high; let’s see if half is more or less; oh, wait, that’s the correct answer. Sweet.) ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/68 "2012-06-24T14:35:40Z")
My brain immediately thought 10 cents but I knew that couldn’t possibly be right since 1. we’re on the Dope and 2. I’m not THAT bright. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/69 "2012-06-24T16:49:16Z")
I was told there would be no math. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/70 "2012-06-24T22:29:07Z")
This is all assuming a simple additive pricing model. Actually, the hotdog can cost anywhere from $1.05 to $1.10 and the soda anywhere from 5 to 10 cents. The problem doesn’t say that there is no discount for buying a hot dog and soda together, which is very common practice. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/71 "2012-06-25T04:15:30Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I got it wrong as well. I take it you got it from [here](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/frontal-cortex/2012/06/daniel-kahneman-bias-studies.html) **Gangster Octopus**? > > The conclusion of that article is a bit depressing. "People who were aware of their own biases were not better able to overcome them.” Thanks for the cite. I got this one wrong too about 50 years ago, but have never forgotten it. I’m glad to find out why. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/72 "2012-06-25T07:36:41Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > This is all assuming a simple additive pricing model. > > Actually, the hotdog can cost anywhere from $1.05 to $1.10 and the soda anywhere from 5 to 10 cents. The problem doesn’t say that there is no discount for buying a hot dog and soda together, which is very common practice. Not in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/73 "2012-06-25T07:48:04Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I got it wrong as well. I take it you got it from [here](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/frontal-cortex/2012/06/daniel-kahneman-bias-studies.html) **Gangster Octopus**? > > The conclusion of that article is a bit depressing. "People who were aware of their own biases were not better able to overcome them.” I’m not entirely sure they can actually conclude this. How are they asking people about their biases? Knowing that a textbook says I will do X doesn’t make me less likely to do X, as the information hasn’t been thoroughly integrated into my normal thought processes. It’s just a bit of trivia. I’m also curious how they present this test in such a way that smart people wouldn’t also be looking for a trick, and thus be on their guard. The real problem is this showing up in real life, when most people are not inherently aware of their own biases. It takes a lot of training to not trust even your own thinking, and, even then, are the rewards worth it? Those shortcuts exist for a reason–they help us make quick decisions when time matters. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/74 "2012-06-29T01:04:19Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Yeah, everything did cost a nickel back then. Even to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you’d say. If a belt and an onion cost $1.10, and the belt costs a dollar more than the onion, how much does the onion cost? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/75 "2012-06-29T03:02:17Z")
What’s a Grecian urn? About 500 drachmas a week. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/76 "2012-06-29T03:10:44Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > If it makes folks feel any better, half of students at Harvard, Princeton and MIT got this question wrong when asked. Whether you get it right or not is not really correlated with your intelligence. Apparently not. My Brilliant Daughter got it wrong and I got it right the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/77 "2012-06-29T03:22:07Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - sigh \* > > The clearest sine of a trainwreck thread is unbounded tangents. You’re just trying to con me into cosining your loan, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/78 "2012-06-29T07:04:51Z")
5 cents. I’ve heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/79 "2012-06-29T19:49:10Z")
This Harvard grad got five cents. It took me a second to figure it out, and I checked my work before responding. My guard was up. Not sure what the takeaway is from this. I doubt that the answers would vary across the population very much, assuming a knowledge of basic math. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040/80 "2012-06-29T20:03:45Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > A hot dog and a soda cost $1.10. The hot dog is a dollar more than the soda, how much is the soda? Your question is imprecise and ambiguous. “How much is the soda?” What does this even mean? How much volume, how much mass, how much cost? If you are referring to the price, phrase it as “what is the price of the soda given the prior stipulations and assuming no discount for buying the two together.” 😃 /pedantry [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-this-quickly-and-hopefully-correctly/625040.md?page=5)