i can't operate on my son riddle i can't operate on my son riddle

I once gave this riddle to my wife and she did not get the answer. Perhaps I over thought this. When she and Wapman posed the riddle to kids in the UROP study, some of the answers stretched the bounds of inventiveness: the surgeon was a robot, or a ghost, or the dad laid down and officials thought he was dead, but he was alive.. At least television is getting it, finally. Exactly. 5,667. "Because he's my son," the doctor responds. We are a species that has deep roots in survival because of bias and it will ebb and flow throughout time. We live in a very gender biased culture. And yeah, schemas do exist, they sometimes change, and they interfere in our thoughts and actions lets all study psychology ;), Excludent isnt a real word (except in mathematics), The same issue arises in the Spanish version, which is that a son and his father get into a car accident and are taken to the nearest clinic. The first words are a father and son are in a horrible car crash that kills the dad., It clearly states that theyre related a FATHER and a SON. I have aspergers, I find it helps a lot with riddles, I ALWAYS think outside the box, unintentionally. It's the only word that does not become another word when you remove the first and last letters. Here's an old riddle. So I put in a good many superfluous male characters and even incidental masculine elements such as the type of car involved in the initial accident (a Humvee for example, rolling off a cliff on an outward bound expedition are nice macho touches). If you guessed that the surgeon is the boys gay, second father, you get a point for enlightenment, at least outside the Bible Belt. How condescending! He can't breathe if he tore a hole in his space suit. The results are all the more surprising considering that college students and participants in tony Brooklines summer programs likely hail from higher income and educational backgrounds than the general population. I'll post the answers after you have guessed. A Man And His Son. My first though was that it was a gay couple who adopted. Ask a subgroup of people the following question and see if they are more likely to solve the riddle: A mother and daughter are in a horrible car crash that kills the mother. You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. but honestly I also presumed the people inn the story were white. Q: A dad and his son were riding their bikes and crashed. Some of these can be very creative. The whole point of the riddle is that the gender of the doctor is ambiguous *neither* gender would be a control in this study! That's because the doctor is the boy's MOTHER. 'A father and son are in a horrible car crash that kills the dad. Test your math skills and word play with answers included. 24. No, the reversed version is actually not reversed, it contains another gender bias (that a nurse is female). They have severe trauma and a SPECIALIST (general neutral word) is called. Does gender bias trump sexual orientation bias? ), The genesis of the research was Belles 10-year-old granddaughter, who was given the riddle by her mom. The problem exists, and it is real. Theyre not twins, but triplets I presume? A father and his son are in a car accident. They are rushed to the hospital. And indeed to maybe do it even more properly, as mentioned here, https://www.bu.edu/articles/2014/bu-research-riddle-reveals-the-depth-of-gender-bias/#comment-7240542 you need to rephrase to parent and child, to remove the priming. Each mind is a universe; So, there is an imperative need to respect one another, and our individual boundaries. False Assumption: The surgeon was a man. A: There weren't any stairs, it was a one story house! I definitely got confused with the spin! So this test is rather suitable for a psychological evaluation rather than to gauge biases in gender related matters. The riddle is like a game, and is also built to show the reader there is a sore spot in society (like an old fracture), and one way to illustrate it is to make the reader it self puts the finger on it, and press hard without warning. Here's the answer, below. This is a very old and classic riddle. I am extremely shocked that I did not get it. To be fair, in the Spanish language there are clear masculine/feminine appropriations to nouns, like surgeons. In these languages you probably unconsciously relate to word describing jobs ending with consonant to a men. Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in one thousand years? I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. But agree that this would be good controls. The wind is my enemy. He goes to the hospital but the doctor say "I can't operate on you, your my son." It is not his mom. Sadly, therefore, I am afraid that the author of the article has effectively botched his chance to make an effective point by a) not acknowledging the other variables than gender, b)not presenting the riddle in an effective way and above all c) not witholding the solution until at least the end of the piece (if not altogether). Answer: Light. by Amira Tankel. The riddle is like a game, and is also built to show the reader that there is a sore spot in society (like an old fracture), and one way to illustrate it is to make the reader put its finger on it, and press hard without a warning. One would (unconsciously) assume that if the mother was a surgeon, they would have called her in the first place rather than waiting for her to appear and state she cant operate because thats her son. However, they are not twins- neither fraternal nor identical. There is not any blood contact between the three persons. The only states where same-sex marriage is illegal as of 2014 are Georgia and North Dakota, at that they might be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling. 40-75% of people can't solve this riddle because they're unable to imagine the surgeon is a woman. Make it a father dying and a daughter on the operating table and Id be the number of those who say the surgeon is a woman magically improves. Umyou do understand that the language of the riddle itself is designed to steer ones thoughts toward maleness before asking its pivotal question. If one of you can guess the color of the hat on your head, I will let you free. What they are not saying is that this,study was done back in the 1960s. It doesnt seem very enlightened to me to suggest that where youre from dictates the level of compassion or intelligence you can have. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. I say that and when I am looking for a male doctor, I say Doctor. If it was neutral by using words like parent and child or they then people would be more inclined to choose mother or father but instead the riddle conditions people to subconsciously think of males that you are doomed to be biased from the begining. Then 100% gets it right out of 10. A dad and his son were riding their bikes and crashed. I had no problem thinking the surgeon was his mother, but equally thought it could have been a second father. When the car crashes the father dies but his son is taken to the hospital. The son is rushed to the hospital; just as hes about to go under the knife, the surgeon says, I cant operatethat boy is my son!. Agreed 100%. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. This means you do not understand how severe prejudice is in modern days. is a senior writer at BU Today andBostoniamagazine. The surgeon walks into the operating room and says "No. The doctor comes in and exlaims "I can't operate on this boy." "Why not?" the nurse asks. We have bias instinctually and its a reality. The father died. I thought along the same lines. You Are Your Own, a curated collection of my feminist poems is available on Amazon & Free via Kindle Select: https://rb.gy/ncz77r. RIDDLE TIME: A father and his son were in a car accident. Its kind of scaryand more than a little embarassing I should thinkthat doctoral-level researchers either didnt consider the fundamental nature of their research tool or were so biased before even beginning their research that they purposefully chose a method of psychological manipulation to attempt to demonstrate bias. A man is wearing all black clothing. 1. ) at the end, to finally justify the revelation of an already existing situation. There is no control group condition in this study, one where the answer conforms to the gender schemas; they simply have two conditions where the answer conflicts. Sadly, my mind also went straight to male.. The surgeon rushed in and upon seeing . We need to be able to take a step back from our thoughts in order to restructure them or behave differently. For example, cirujano literally means [male] surgeon, and cirujana means [female] surgeon. The boy is knocked unconscious, but he is still alive. Riddle: White bird, featherless. Another commenter did do the reversed version informally, see https://www.bu.edu/articles/2014/bu-research-riddle-reveals-the-depth-of-gender-bias/#comment-7240559, the findings were that the true reversed version: >Ive done a very similar informal experiment with my colleagues (we are all chemists a very male-dominated field). But when the child arrived at the hospital and was rushed into the operating theatre, the surgeon pulled away and said: "I can't operate on this boy, he's my son". New television shows are showing us the way things will be. But, then, that doesnt fit your narrative, does it? Riddle: The first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great person, while the entire word signifies a great woman. Theres Plenty to Do, Video: The Mystery behind BUs Record-Breaking Indoor Track, BU Opts against Forswearing Investments in Gun Manufacturers, 11 Books to Read in Celebration of Womens History Month, Today I Learned: The Smell of Formaldehyde Makes You Hungry, New Music March 2023: Local Boston Concerts, New Album Releases, Comics Artist Joel Christian Gill Launches BUs New Visual Narrative MFA Degree, POV: Lincoln Struggled with Depression. 2. If you are aware of the father being gay then you are enlightened. I also thought up the male nurse version (so Im happy to see it was proposed here, too) and am going to try that out next. All you need to do is watch the newest medical TV shows to know that things are changing. A control scenario would be one in which the gender is not ambiguous. Look at the words in the sentence "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son." We are being subconsciously cued into expecting a male. . If you havent heard it, give yourself time to answer before reading past this paragraph: a father and son are in a horrible car crash that kills the dad. All of the responses have different views because they were brought up differently. I was thinking same about Slavic languages and probably more languages has words for men and woman. Looking at the portrait of a man, Harsh said "His mother is the wife of my father's son. To my opinion it could be a case of adoption. Answer: A candle. Heres my problem with the riddle: The way its asked makes you expect a clever answer. Riddle starts like,A father and son. It is hypocritical because it approves of the clear bias by the author. It would be embarrassing to not be able to guess that the surgeon is the mother. I can't operate on this boy. Ask a subgroup of people the following question and see if they are more likely to solve the riddle: A mother and daughter are in a horrible car crash that kills the mother. Gender bias continues even if we become more and more aware about it, because it needs a long time to change own behaviors. Which is why its the control. I think that as a species we are collectively ignorant and consistently ignorant when it comes to this as we are learning and shaping our language to accommodate all of us. If you watch the movie tin cup you would already know the answer. The father dies immediately, but the son gets taken to the hospital for surgery. Your email address will not be published. My mom was a high ranking officer in the military and yet when I think of people in that position, I mostly imagine men. Descriptions: A father and his son were in a car accident. he guides us but he is a divine mystery. It is a complex situation in a complex society; And the answer to this real life riddle is not always a straight one, because we are all equally different and we all generally respond based upon how we perceive our life and the marks the world around us have left. Youre making a biased assumption there assuming that biological parents are never involved in their childrens lives whatsoever after adoption. Im not sure if the story was about Black people that would have change the number of people thinking she was his mother? It would be interesting for them to add a control group or correct the language and redo the study so we could have a more accurate picture of what is happening here. May be if there was a story line. How is this possible? 6 saves. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation and assumption. Posted October 31, 2006. All the view points were very interesting. I have no brothers or sisters"? Quite a sad excuse for a doctor. The man is killed instantly. I have seen this before and therefore knew the surgeon was the boys mother! Then are you saying that 86% of Boston University psychology students are very, very stupid? The daughter is rushed to the hospital; just as shes about to go under the knife, the surgeon says, I cant operatethat girl is my daughter!. Easy Riddles for Kids. The son is rushed to the hospital; just as he's about to go under the knife, the surgeon says, "I can't operatethat boy is my son!" Explain. -IIRC, when I used to watch ALL IN THE FAMILY reruns as a teenager (!) The operator is a female. How could this be? The daughter is rushed to the hospital; just as shes about to go under the knife, the surgeon says, I cant operatethat girl is my daughter!. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Western society has identified the male/female centered family relationship as the norm. Nearly forty years ago on a famous episode of All in the Family called "Gloria and the Riddle," Gloria posed a riddle to Archie, Edith and Meathead. And back to my original point, the scenario of the riddle is gender-ambiguous. These things come out of otherwise very intelligent people. 5. The thing is, if asked a direct question, the respondents may have given a more enlightened answer. Moreover, if presented with a choice of actions, I suspect many would have made an enlightened choice. Measuring gender bias is like measuring the water depth at Niagra Falls drop off. You're my son." How is that possible? Many of you will probably have heard the following riddle: A father and his son are involved in a horrific car crash and the man died at the scene. We think past the obvious. In Nigeria and in most African countries where extended family system is the norm the fact that the doctor calls the boy their son is not strange because the doctor may be a member of the boys extended family. Two ambulances came and took them to different hospitals. Yet, I found myself thinking faster in the recognition of the opaque geographic and religious bias within the piece. Being aware that schemas and biases exist is the first step to untangling them. Seems like I am six years late to this board but let me answer that anyway for anyone who has yet to see this page for their first time in life. That is to say, the sons father was not in the car. The mans son was in the operating room and the doctor said, I cant operate on you. Could this be what those BU students had in mind as well? This inspires critical thinking. Try this riddle out but change the gender of the child. I have been playing people with this riddle for about 30 years, since discovering it in Scientific American. One out of every ten graduate students and professors that I asked were able to answer the original riddle correctly most people say some variation of second father. What you are seeing in this experiment is not only a narrow view of the sexes but a lack of critical thinking skills. Again, as others have stated, you would need to analyze a control group, or at least a case-control and see if there is a correlation with the mother daughter incident at seeing if the father being a surgeon is concluded. I easily figured out I do believe that schemas exist in our brains and our fairly similar to unconscious biases in that were often not aware of their existence and they dont always align with our personal values and experiences. For example, the boy and his parents are at home, as they leave the Father says to the Mother Have a wonderful day at work. You may ask one question, to one guard, to help you decide which door is the correct one. The father dies instantly, and the son is taken to the nearest hospital. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. I asked the mother-daughter question to a unique set of individuals from my department, and 100% of them got it right. One leads to the castle; the other, to certain death. After reading several of these comments, I can see that people are rather critical of this article, mainly because the structure of this experiment in that it uses a riddle as its main component and doesnt take into consideration influences such as priming, language, creative thinking, control conditions, and alternate versions of the riddle. I have good long time friends who are black but I dont look at them like that. I personally didnt have any difficulty with the riddle. I remember the character Gloria talked about it on an episode of All in the Familyway back in the day. It had me thinking. Lets get professional, people. I would say, regarding this last point about how the riddle should be presented (with the solution witheld) , that most of those who here have dismissed the riddle with such comments as that its so obvious only a stupid person would not see the solution, would not have seen it themselves had it been presented properly.