Most of us have heard the adage that 2 heads are better than 1. Certainly during the course of my personal psychotherapy this has been proven to me over and over again. Not least of all my self deception, whether it be egoic identity, cognitive bias, or lazy heuristics are far more readily seen by my therapist than by myself.
As it turns out, even deductive reasoning is demonstrably more effective and accurate as a shared activity than by the action of an individual.
Wason selection task
The Wason selection task, or 4 card problem, is a simple test comparing the quality of deductive reasoning between individuals and groups of people. The task itself appears relatively simple.
You are shown a set of four cards placed on a table, each of which has a number on one side and a coloured patch on the other side. The visible faces of the cards show 3, 8, red and blue. Which card(s) must you turn over in order to test the truth of the proposition that if a card shows an even number on one face, then its opposite face is red?
Even when this test is given to people of a reasonably high level of intelligence the outcomes are surprisingly poor. Less than 10% of individuals are able to deduce the correct answer. When the correct answer is explained it is understood and agreed as correct.
4 heads are better than 1
It turns out that when 4 people in a group are given the same task, and told that they can work together to solve the problem the success rate leaps reliably to 80%. Not 40% but 80%, our collective capacity is more than the sum of its parts.
What is this telling us?
The essential takeaway from this is that deductive reasoning is dialogically not monologically enacted. Even the most intelligent of us performs poorly when acting alone.
For deductive reasoning to function reliably it needs multi-perspective interaction. We need each other, to work together, to enter conversation, to employ dialogos.
Improving our signal detection and creating a better fit with reality is more easily achieved through open minded cooperation. Finding people who are intelligent, insightful, and able to engage in dialogos will be invaluable in this endeavour.
You may know some of these people already, you may be one of them, others you are yet to meet. Finding groups and networks of people who share genuine curiosity is a good starting point. Work on yourself, work with others, by putting our heads together we are exponentially more capable and will be more successful.
Wason solution
For anyone that is interested here is to the correct response to the Wason selection task.
Turn over the 8 card and the blue card.
The rule was “If the card shows an even number on one face, then its opposite face is red.” Only a card with both an even number on one face and something other than red on the other face can invalidate this rule:
- If the 3 card is red (or blue), that doesn’t violate the rule. The rule makes no claims about odd numbers. (Denying the antecedent)
- If the 8 card is not red, it violates the rule. (Modus ponens)
- If the red card is odd (or even), that doesn’t violate the rule. The red color is not exclusive to even numbers. (Affirming the consequent)
- If the blue card is even, it violates the rule. (Modus tollens)
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