摘要：The classic Bat and Ball puzzle provides a simple demonstration. Try to answer this question as quickly as possible: A bat and a b

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节选自：Skeptical Inquirer - May-June 2025

The classic Bat and Ball puzzle provides a simple demonstration. Try to answer this question as quickly as possible: A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? Quick! What's the answer?

经典的球棒与球的谜题提供了一个简单的思维实验。请快速回答以下问题：一支球棒和一个球总共花费1.10美元，球棒比球贵1美元，那么球的价格是多少？立刻回答！你的答案是什么？

Now, take your time and consider it slowly. For many people, the intuitive answer (i.e., ten cents) is different than the correct one (i.e., five cents).

现在，请慢慢思考。对许多人而言，直觉答案（10美分）与正确答案（5美分）存在差异。

I do not share puzzles with counterintuitive solutions with the aim of saying that our intuition is useless or to suggest we should not listen to it. There is a good evolutionary reason for having the capacity to think fast, even at the cost of accuracy.

分享这类反直觉谜题的目的并非否定直觉的价值，也并非建议人们完全摒弃它。从进化角度看，人类具备快速思维能力（即使牺牲准确性）具有合理性。

If you walk into a room and see something snake-like, your intuition will kick in and tell you to jump back. If the figure turns out to be a rope, you are wrong but safe. That's better than being correct but poisoned from a bite you received during a slow, careful analysis of the shape. In urgent scenarios, speed is usually more important than accuracy.

例如，若你走进房间看到一个蛇形物体，直觉会促使你立刻后退——即使最终发现那只是一根绳子。这种情况下，错误但安全的反应胜过因缓慢分析而遭受毒咬的“正确”判断。紧急场景中，速度往往比精确更重要。

While our intuition has its purpose, it becomes troublesome when we cling to its judgments even when we have time to slowly and rationally think about something. In the Bat and Ball puzzle, our rational answer can easily override our intuitive judgment.

尽管直觉有其作用，但若在拥有充足时间理性分析时仍固执于直觉判断，则可能引发错误。在球棒与球的谜题中，理性思考能够轻松修正直觉偏差。

核心词汇：

来源：日光灯下的璀璨