There’s no joke; the 4th choice (in addition to 25%, 25%, 50%) is arbitrary; it could be 0%, 100%, or anything other than 25% or 50%. The only purpose it serves is to be a 4th option (thus making the probability of choosing any individual answer 25% when choosing randomly).
The question would work just as well if it had 3 options:
You first think it’s 25% because 1/4, then you see there’s two 25% options, so 2/4 and now you’re at 50%. But wait a minute, now 50% is the right answer so it’s 1/4 so 25%…
I’m wondering if the correct answer somehow becomes 60% too since then you could’ve progressed through all the answers without any of them actually ending up as correct
Logical progression. You see four answers and think 25%. You see two 25%s and think 50%, but then you don’t know how to square that because 50% is there too!
Delightful, had to come to the comments after a minute - certified brain* breaker!
I honestly don’t understand the joke with the 60%. I understand the progression until then.
There’s no joke; the 4th choice (in addition to 25%, 25%, 50%) is arbitrary; it could be 0%, 100%, or anything other than 25% or 50%. The only purpose it serves is to be a 4th option (thus making the probability of choosing any individual answer 25% when choosing randomly).
The question would work just as well if it had 3 options:
1/3, 1/3, 2/3.
I think having 0% as the 4th choice would have actually made it more interesting.
What progression?
You first think it’s 25% because 1/4, then you see there’s two 25% options, so 2/4 and now you’re at 50%. But wait a minute, now 50% is the right answer so it’s 1/4 so 25%…
I’m wondering if the correct answer somehow becomes 60% too since then you could’ve progressed through all the answers without any of them actually ending up as correct
Logical progression. You see four answers and think 25%. You see two 25%s and think 50%, but then you don’t know how to square that because 50% is there too!
Delightful, had to come to the comments after a minute - certified brain* breaker!
*peabrain at least
It’s a little easier to figure out if there is one answer that is clearly and unequivocally wrong.
25/25/50/75 or something just doesn’t have as neat a mapping of numbers into conceptual categories, for some reason, to me