Imagine: You come across this strange sentence while scrolling through your news feed. « A woman was born in 1975 and died in 1975. She was 22 years old. » It stops you in your tracks. Incomprehensible? Disconcerting? Obviously, there’s a catch somewhere… But where? Hold on tight, because this enigma challenges our logic, our reflexes, and requires a touch of imagination. What if the key was precisely not to think as usual?
A riddle that confuses the tracks
We all love little logic puzzles: they make us think, amuse us… or even send us spinning our wheels! This one, in particular, has been circulating on the internet for years, sparking confusion wherever it goes. And for good reason: appearances can be deceptive.
The opening sentence seems illogical: a woman is born and dies in 1975, but would be 22 years old? Unless you’re a time traveler (and even then!), it seems impossible. So, naturally, we come up with explanations. A typo? A different calendar? We’re complicating things… when the answer is much simpler than we think.
The trap everyone falls into
This kind of riddle relies on a well-known trick: it exploits our automatic thought processes. As soon as we read « 1975, » our brain automatically makes the connection with a year. This is normal: we spontaneously associate this type of number with a date. And that’s precisely where we get trapped!
Because in reality, nothing says that « 1975 » is a year. It’s just an interpretation… and everything rests on that.
