# Pigeons beat Monty Hall problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848 "2010-03-09T13:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/1 "2010-03-09T13:56:47Z")
I hate to start yet another Monty Hall thread (see [Unca Cecil’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/916/on-lets-make-a-deal-you-pick-door-1-monty-opens-door-2-no-prize-do-you-stay-with-door-1-or-switch-to-3)), but this is really a new tangent. Apparently humans – and this applies across cultures – have very good reasons for not intuitively understanding the Monty Hall problem. Pigeons, on the other hand, easily figure it out and eventually start switching almost 100% of the time. And the reason has to do with the different ways humans and pigeons figure out probabilities. [http://www.livescience.com/animals/pigeons-monty-hall-problem-100304.html](http://www.livescience.com/animals/pigeons-monty-hall-problem-100304.html) Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/2 "2010-03-09T15:25:38Z")
I was going to answer “bleeah”, since pigeons don’t have any way of knowing how the situation is set up to work ahead of time. But then I got to this: > [@article](#): > > On the other hand, 12 undergraduate student volunteers failed to adopt the best strategy with a similar apparatus, even after 200 trials of practice each. “It’s taking longer than we thought” indeed. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/3 "2010-03-13T11:35:05Z")
I, for one, welcome our new Columbiforme Overlords. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/4 "2010-03-13T12:29:46Z")
Let’s see if they can manage to take off from a treadmill… ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/5 "2010-03-13T16:38:50Z")
I’ll have to save this one for my undergrads. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/6 "2010-03-13T16:47:30Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I, for one, welcome our new Columbiforme Overlords. Thank goodness I’m already in good with a few of them. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/7 "2010-03-13T19:13:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I, for one, welcome our new Columbiforme Overlords. I, for one, will not go down without a fight. Peanuts coated with cyanide should do the trick. I’ll murder them all amidst laughter and merriment, except for the few I take home to experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigeons-beat-monty-hall-problem/531848/8 "2010-03-13T19:27:03Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I, for one, will not go down without a fight. Peanuts coated with cyanide should do the trick. I’ll murder them all amidst laughter and merriment, except for the few I take home to experiment. All the world seems in tune…