Here's a brain teaser
A rooster is on a roof of a barn
facing east
The wind is blowing
to the west at 10 mph
The rooster lays an egg.
Which direction does the egg roll?
If you want, you can pause the video and think it over.
The answer?
There is no egg.
The rooster didn't lay one because roosters are male.
Did you get it right?
Let's pick this apart and see why people have difficulty with this brainteaser
and so many others.
First, it's easy to overlook details
or accept them without questioning.
In this brainteaser, the answer could be found in the second word.
Rooster. In hindsight, we realize
it's impossible for roosters to lay eggs
but it's easy to overlook when
it's mentioned casually in the brainteaser.
Another process at work in this brainteaser is misdirection.
There were several details included
that we may have paid too much attention to.
The fact that the rooster was facing east
and that the wind was blowing west at 10 mph.
In the end, these details had nothing to do with
the actual answer.
But because they seemed important in the context of the brainteaser,
they directed us away from the relevant information.
The same techniques used to solve brainteasers
can also be applied to real-world situations.
When you're trying to figure something out,
it's important to analyze the information that's available to you.
Are there any key details I may be missing?
Am I being misled by something?
Could I be thinking about this in another way?
Brainteasers not only help to keep your mind sharp,
but they can help to improve your critical thinking skills as well.
Let's finish things off with another brainteaser.
You have a single match and are in a dark room
with a candle, an oil lamp, and a gas stove.
Which do you light first?
The answer? The match.