Human ignorance at its worst

drew · 2006-01-14, 02:53

I cannot believe this. I'm watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", and the question was, "among the numbers 2 through 10, how many of them are prime?".

the choices were 2, 3, 4 and 5. The contestent wasn't sure, so he decided to ask te audience. Only 46% of the audience guessed 4, 31% guessed 3. The AOL poll was even worse, tied at 35% each for those 2 answers. Clearly not decisive. Then he phones a friend, and his buddy guesses 3 as well. Fortunately, he for whatever reason doubted his friend and went with the audience. But c'mon! Are that many people *that* ignorant?

/rant

ppo · 2006-01-14, 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

Are that many people *that* ignorant?

/rant

Yes

Numbers · 2006-01-14, 11:01

I think it was Bertrand Russell who said, "people can be so intelligent, but the people are fools" or something like that. Which explains why things that are very popular almost always resort to the lowest common denominator. The most popular newspapers and TV programmes are not aimed at an intellectual audience, but at the ignorant masses who frequently display a level of intelligence that most primary school children would be ashamed of.

What I find surprising, is that anyone should find this surprising.

Orgasmic Troll · 2006-01-14, 18:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

I cannot believe this. I'm watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", and the question was, "among the numbers 2 through 10, how many of them are prime?".

the choices were 2, 3, 4 and 5. The contestent wasn't sure, so he decided to ask te audience. Only 46% of the audience guessed 4, 31% guessed 3. The AOL poll was even worse, tied at 35% each for those 2 answers. Clearly not decisive. Then he phones a friend, and his buddy guesses 3 as well. Fortunately, he for whatever reason doubted his friend and went with the audience. But c'mon! Are that many people *that* ignorant?

/rant

I think the question isn't well formed.

is it primes in (2,10) or [2,10] ?

akruppa · 2006-01-14, 19:24

They said "through" which means a closed interval, so the question was well posed.

Alex

drew · 2006-01-14, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisT

I think the question isn't well formed.

is it primes in (2,10) or [2,10] ?

I paraphrased the question myself, but it was not ambiguous whether 2 should be included. It was [2,10]

Drew

Orgasmic Troll · 2006-01-14, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

I paraphrased the question myself, but it was not ambiguous whether 2 should be included. It was [2,10]

Drew

Ahh, okay

Peter Nelson · 2006-01-14, 22:38

A related question which I think even fewer people might get right is how many of the numbers ONE through 10 are prime.

drew · 2006-01-14, 22:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Nelson

A related question which I think even fewer people might get right is how many of the numbers ONE through 10 are prime.

That's probably precisely why the question excluded 1. You wouldn't want any debate over semantics. The numbers from 2 to 10 are all either prime or composite.

Drew

Peter Nelson · 2006-01-16, 07:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

That's probably precisely why the question excluded 1. You wouldn't want any debate over semantics. The numbers from 2 to 10 are all either prime or composite.

Drew

Precisely!

You see that from 1.. would not be the best choice for a Millionaire game show question.

JuanTutors · 2006-01-19, 05:25

I just told my mom's bosses what a prime number is.

2006-01-14, 02:53	#1
drew Jun 2005 2·191 Posts	Human ignorance at its worst I cannot believe this. I'm watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", and the question was, "among the numbers 2 through 10, how many of them are prime?". the choices were 2, 3, 4 and 5. The contestent wasn't sure, so he decided to ask te audience. Only 46% of the audience guessed 4, 31% guessed 3. The AOL poll was even worse, tied at 35% each for those 2 answers. Clearly not decisive. Then he phones a friend, and his buddy guesses 3 as well. Fortunately, he for whatever reason doubted his friend and went with the audience. But c'mon! Are that many people that ignorant? /rant Last fiddled with by drew on 2006-01-14 at 02:59

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Favorite worst jokes	Dubslow	Lounge	17	2012-10-19 20:10
Poll: Which is the worst driver	Greebley	Aliquot Sequences	8	2009-10-24 07:45
numbers and the human brain	tha	Science & Technology	0	2008-03-02 16:11
No offense intended but this appears to be one of the worst estimations of all time.	petrw1	Lounge	6	2007-02-14 02:26
Whats the worst (harshest scenario) for torture test?	xtreme2k	Hardware	9	2004-07-14 18:41

2006-01-14, 11:01	#3
Numbers Jun 2005 Near Beetlegeuse 2²·97 Posts	I think it was Bertrand Russell who said, "people can be so intelligent, but the people are fools" or something like that. Which explains why things that are very popular almost always resort to the lowest common denominator. The most popular newspapers and TV programmes are not aimed at an intellectual audience, but at the ignorant masses who frequently display a level of intelligence that most primary school children would be ashamed of. What I find surprising, is that anyone should find this surprising.

2006-01-14, 19:24	#5
akruppa "Nancy" Aug 2002 Alexandria 2,467 Posts	They said "through" which means a closed interval, so the question was well posed. Alex

2006-01-14, 22:38	#8
Peter Nelson Oct 2004 1000010001₂ Posts	A related question which I think even fewer people might get right is how many of the numbers ONE through 10 are prime.

2006-01-19, 05:25	#11
JuanTutors "Juan Tutors" Mar 2004 571 Posts	I just told my mom's bosses what a prime number is.