My recent entry, where I asked you to choose the odd one out among these images
was extremely popular. It was republished all around the world and brought my blog as much traffic in one day as I used to get in a month. Not only did I read the many comments I received, I also followed up on other peoples’ blogs who reprinted my puzzle — at least those that were in either Russian or English. I also got private emails and had many conversations in person about it. The diversity of answers surprised me, so I would like to share them with you.
As I’ve said before, I do not think there is a correct answer to this type of question, but I was disappointed by some of the answers. For example, those who simply said, “The green one is the odd one out,” made me feel that either they hadn’t read the question or hadn’t thought about it very much. It’s a shame that these people spent more time sharing their opinion with the world than thinking about the problem in the first place.
I wouldn’t mind someone arguing that the green one is the odd one out, but in this case an explanation is in order. Many people did offer explanations. Some told me that we perceive the color difference stronger than all other parameters I used, and the green figure pops out of the picture more than anything else. In fact, I personally perceive color difference the strongest among all the parameters, but since there are people who are color blind, I would disregard my feelings for color as being subjective.
You can create a whole research project out of this puzzle. For example, you can run an experiment: Ask the question, but flash the images above very fast, so there is no time for analysis — only time to guess. This allows us to check which figure is the first one that people perceive as different. Or you can vary the width of the frame and see how the perception changes.
Color was not the only parameter among those I chose — shape, color, size and the existence of a frame — that people thought was more prominent. My readers weighed these parameters unequally, so each argued the primary importance of the parameter they most emphasized. For example, one of my friends argued that:
The second figure should be the odd one out as, first, it is the only one without a frame, and, second, it is the only one comprised of one color rather than two. So it differs by two features, as others differ only by one feature.
A figure having one color is the consequence of not having a frame, so this particular friend of mine inflated the importance of not having a frame.
However, I can interpret any feature as two features. For example, I can say that the circle is the odd one out because not only is it a different figure, but it also doesn’t have any angles. Similarly, the last one is the smallest one and the border width is in a different proportion to its diameter.
On a lighter side, there were many funny answers to the puzzle:
- The one that says I am special.
- The right one because it is right.
- The fourth one, because four is the only composite index.
- The one that says I am not special.
For the which-is-the-odd-one-out questions, the designer of the question is usually expecting a particular answer. So here’s the answer I expected:
There is only one green figure. Wait a minute, there is only one circle. Hmm, there is only one without a frame and there’s only one small figure. I see! The first one is the only figure that is not the odd one, that doesn’t have a special property, so the first must be the odd one out. This is cool!
And the majority of the answers were exactly as I expected.
Since this is a philosophical problem, some of the responses took it to a different level. One interesting answer went like this:
All right, the last four figures have special features; the first figure is special because it is normal. Hence, every figure is special and there are no odd ones here.
I like this answer as the author of it equated regular features with a meta-feature, and it is a valid choice. This answer prompted me to write another blog entry with a picture where I purposefully tried to not have an odd one out:
Though I wrote that the purpose of this second set of images is to show an example where there is no odd one out, my commentators still argued about which one was the odd one out here.
Finally, I would like to quote Will’s comment to my first set of images:
The prevailing opinion is that the first is least unique and is therefore the oddest. But it is the mean and the others are one deviation from it. Can the mean be the statistical anomaly?
And Cedric replied to Will:
Yes, I think the mean can be a statistical anomaly. The average person has roughly one testicle and one ovary. But a person with these characteristics would certainly be an anomaly.
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