Ridiculous Survey Questions: Exposing Mundane Attempts at Intelligence

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around humorous and nonsensical survey questions that participants find frustrating or amusing. It includes examples of questions that seem to test intelligence or philosophical outlooks, as well as hypothetical scenarios that provoke debate about moral choices. The scope includes conceptual exploration of the absurdity of certain questions and the reactions they elicit.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with survey questions that seem to lack depth or meaningful answers, such as the classic "half full or half empty" scenario.
  • There is a humorous suggestion that drinking the beer is a pragmatic response, with some participants debating whether this reflects realism or pragmatism.
  • A hypothetical moral dilemma involving a boy and a girl tied to a railroad track is discussed, with varying opinions on how to approach such a question and the implications of gender in decision-making.
  • Participants share additional nonsensical questions, such as the chicken or egg dilemma, and discuss their validity or absurdity.
  • Some participants critique the assumptions behind certain questions, arguing that they do not accurately reflect real-life decision-making processes.
  • There are references to personal anecdotes and cultural differences regarding beer glasses, highlighting how context can influence interpretations of questions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the validity or purpose of the survey questions discussed. Multiple competing views remain regarding the interpretation and significance of the hypothetical scenarios presented.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the questions often lack context or necessary details, which complicates the responses. There is also mention of cultural differences that may affect how certain questions are perceived.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those who enjoy exploring philosophical dilemmas, humor in absurdity, or the social implications of survey questions in various contexts.

  • #31
Danger said:
Was your dad a follower of Timothy Leary? :D

No idea.
 
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  • #32
Drakkith said:
No idea.
Then he probably was.
 
  • #33
Yup, teachers at middle school always tried to play us dumb with their psychological questions with unreal choices. Then they would literally force us to choose only one of the choices. I never answered anything. While they wasted their time doing that I was scribbling C code in my notebook or in my mind.

One question they one made:

If your best friend has a girlfriend/boyfriend and the fiancee is cheating on your best friend. Would you tell your best friend or keep it to yourself?

Those who answered they would tell their best friend got insulted by the teacher by saying that they are gossipers and that they shouldn't get involved with what is not of their business. That you shouldn't get involved in other people's lives.

Those who answered they would keep it to themselves where insulted as hypocrites for not telling the truth.

In the meanwhile I was working on an algorithm and didn't care.
 
  • #34
Surveys where the questions are delivered rather than read usually have an unspoken option of "no answer" and maybe "other".
In most countries you always have the option to refuse to answer any question you like.
 
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  • #35
Psinter said:
Yup, teachers at middle school always tried to play us dumb with their psychological questions with unreal choices. Then they would literally force us to choose only one of the choices. I never answered anything. While they wasted their time doing that I was scribbling C code in my notebook or in my mind.

One question they one made:

If your best friend has a girlfriend/boyfriend and the fiancee is cheating on your best friend. Would you tell your best friend or keep it to yourself?

Those who answered they would tell their best friend got insulted by the teacher by saying that they are gossipers and that they shouldn't get involved with what is not of their business. That you shouldn't get involved in other people's lives.

Those who answered they would keep it to themselves where insulted as hypocrites for not telling the truth.

In the meanwhile I was working on an algorithm and didn't care.
The teacher was (I guess) trying to force students to think about difficult choices.
 
  • #36
Psinter said:
Yup, teachers at middle school always tried to play us dumb with their psychological questions with unreal choices..
I don't want to use up memory space with a full quote, but this is an excellent example coming from a direction that I wasn't expecting. I have to say that in my less than humble opinion, those teachers should be fried in their own fat. Pulling that kind of garbage on an adult is sadistic enough; subjecting a child to it is horrendous and possibly child-abuse in some jurisdictions. As disturbing as it is, I thank you for bringing it to light. It reminds me, bitterly, of my Southern Baptist 6th grade teacher who convinced the students (except for the lone Atheist :D) that they would go to hell if they didn't do their homework correctly. (Of course, because I was the only Atheist in the county, she instructed them to beat the dang out of me at least once a week... the whole class, that is, not a fair one-on-one fight. That was when little Danny started morphing into Danger. To this day, I regret that she died of natural causes before I could get my hands around her throat.)
Although I originally had a comedic theme in mind when I started this thread, you have changed my outlook to the point that I would also like to learn of other manipulative rather than simply stupid questions.
Still, though, funny is better for the environment. I'm thinking that perhaps I should ask the Mentors to split this off into two separate threads; one for humour and one for serious social issues arising from stupid questions. I have no problem integrating the two, but some might find it disorienting.
 
  • #37
Danger said:
...

e.g.: There's a 12 oz. beer glass on the bar with 6 oz. of beer in it. Some dip wants to play amateur psychologist and asks whether I'm an optimist who says that it's half full, or a pessimist who says that it's half empty. My response is always: "I'm a realist, you idiot! It's full. It's half-full of beer and half-full of air."

...
Engineer: "It's 200% of the required volume."

Edit: replied before seeing Vanadium and zooby's exchange.

zoobyshoe said:
Someone posted a list here once of about 50 answers like this one to this question; answers from many different perspectives. It was pretty funny.
I think it's this one:

http://www.businessballs.com/glass-half-full-empty.htm
 

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