The 'World's Shortest IQ Test' Is Comprised Of Three Simple Questions

Want to know just how thick you are but can't be arsed putting your thick brain through a whole IQ test? Well look no further, you can now see just how thick you are in next to no time.

Dubbed the 'world's shortest IQ test', the Cognitive Reflection Test is comprised of only three questions, so it could hardly be shorter; it's just whether or not it can be considered an IQ test that is really up for debate.

The test was developed by psychologist, Shane Frederick who, beginning in 2003, got 3,428 respondents to complete the test in 35 separate studies over a 26-month period. He found that only 17 per cent of students from top unis such as Yale and Harvard were able to answer all three questions correctly - so let that offer you some preemptive comfort before you have a bash yourself.

In a paper in The Journal of Economic Perspective, Frederick explains that the questions were selected because they were found to 'yield impulsive erroneous responses', or in normal speak, cause immediate wrong answers.

The test was rolled out across the world in 2005, but if it passed you by, here it is - good luck:

1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
2. If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?

If your answers were 1. 10 cents, 2. 100 minutes and 3. 24 days, then well done, you have passed the thick test... And by that I mean you are thick.

The correct answers are in fact 1. Five cents, 2. Five minutes and 3. 47 days.

Now, personally, I didn't think those questions were that tricky; certainly not tricky enough to deceive more than 80 per cent of Harvard and Yale respondents. But then again, the found to 'yield impulsive erroneous responses' background sort of put me on lookout for my own impulsive erroneous responses... So basically, if you were still duped, then there really is no hope.

Topics: Interesting, Community

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey