Citation:
Bar-Hillel, Maya . “A Commentary On Mel Rutherford's 'On The Use And Misuse Of The "Two Children Brainteaser'”. Discussion Papers 2010. Web.
Abstract:
Rutherford (2010) criticizes the way some people have analyzed the 2-children problem, claiming (correctly) that slight nuances in the problem's formulation can change the correct answer. However, his own data demonstrate that even when there is a unique correct answer, participants give intuitive answers that differ from it systematically – replicating the data reported by those he criticizes. Thus, his critique reduces to an admonition to use care in formulating and analyzing this brainteaser – which is always a good idea – but contributes little to what is known, analytically or empirically, about the 2-children problem.