#riddles

Before I jump into anything, I’d like to ask you guys a question:

How many animals did Moses take onto the ark with him?

…

If your answer was 2, you’d be wrong. If your answer was “none” you’d be correct since it was Noah that took animals onto an ark–but the answer 2 probably popped up into your head before that alert went off.

Here’s another similar question:

A large red ball and a small white ball costs $1.10. The large red ball is one dollar more than the small white ball. How much is the small white ball?

10¢ ?

I’m afraid not. It’s 5¢. Even if you’ve heard it before or expected some brain trickery you most likely still came up with 10¢ along the way, and no there’s no trick to it like the red ball being taxed.

But why is that? What the heck is going on in our heads that we fall for these insinuatingly inconsiderable inquiries? Is it that we’re really slow? Quite the opposite in fact. The reason we jump to the incorrect answers like that is because our brains process information in two extremely different ways– fast thinking and slow thinking. It’s the fast thinking that attempts to solve problems as quickly as possible so we won’t waste time doing things like thinking about our breathing(until someone mentions it–sorry guys) or moving our legs (until you get around certain people like an unrequited crush and you imagine you’re walking funny).

So that’s neat and all but this isn’t doucebagbrain.tumblr, this is the experimental game society, right? What’s this junk got to do with playing and making games? Well, have you ever thought about how you were thinking while playing a game?I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had a pissed girlfriend screaming at them for ignoring them while playing the game. Interestingly enough, when we’re completely in our slow thinking mode,we’re effectively blind–MOTHER 3 WILL MAKE YOUR WIFE INVISIBLE. Videogames are one of the things in life where we not only constantly switch between the two processes,but willingly go into slow thinking!

Quick what’s 36x 69 ?

Thought something along the lines of: ‘I could solve that if I wanted…but meh.’, right? Hey at least most of recognized it as a multiplication problem right? Not so with our beloved puzzle games. Shout outs to combustible lemons. I’d love to droll on since I’m obsessed with the brain and how we humans work, but now that I’ve said 'droll’ you may have noticed this post is a bit lengthy so we’ll cut it here on these notes:

Gamers!

Our brains can be tricky,keep these processes in mind the next time you get stuck on a puzzle!

Remember, priming–or setting up a context to think in–may force your brain into fast thinking, but having a conscious awareness over it may help you get past the impossible puzzle and defeat that cheap opponent’s undefeatable strategy.

Intelligent game designers!

Low blows like this are ok,don’t be afraid to get into the nitty gritty and make players think!

Listen,if they’re playing your game in the first place they probably enjoy thinking and won’t mind going from one type of processor to the other. 

And with that I bid you all adieu. -9