A Riddle

I knew it was his mother! Nice riddle Joanna. Okay I’m going to share one with you, if you like it let me know! Cant Be Touched

I use this riddle a lot in my workshops and trainings, esp on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It’s CRAZY to me that some people don’t get it and still look confused when I give them the answer. What’s funny, is that sometimes people will say, “God” or “a priest”, but have a hard time thinking of it being his mother. It’s a great way to talk about bias in a way that’s not as off-putting as others.

I asked my 10-year-old niece this question recently, and she answered immediately, “His other daddy, of course!” Seeing such progress in our own lifetime is so amazing. Interesting to think the issue of gay marriage has seemingly leapfrogged over women’s equality in this case, though…

I’m a female surgeon, and remember bring stumped by this riddle as a kid.

As an aside, we can in fact operate on family members in an emergency. Certainly if someone else were around better to have them do it, but for some of us who work outside of major cities we may nor have a choice.

I did get this because I remember it as a kid being told on the Cosby show. Anyone remember that episode?? Cliff didn’t get it either, but Claire Huxtable points it out to him at the end. lol.

much to my chagrin, I did not get it….and I’m a female doctor! Aaarggh!!

I know I heard this when I was younger, but when I read it just now, I kept trying to remember the answer (because I used to know it!) and couldn’t do it. I wonder if I had never heard it before, if I would have gotten it.

Also, I understand why a lot of readers are saying that this riddle emphasizes the fact that old stereotypes are still ingrained in our heads, and that children are simply more open-minded. While that may be the case, I actually think it has more to do with the differences in children and adults, and how our brains process information. For instance, when many adults hears this riddle (myself included), the part that stumps us is that we have just heard the word “son” used in relation to his father. So for the rest of the riddle, we associate the son to the father, and imagine they are the only two characters in the story (making this a successful riddle). However, when a child hears it, they aren’t so stumped by the bounds of a story. They can separate the sentences, and don’t make as many associations. When they hear that the doctor can’t operate on “my son”, they are able to see the sentence alone and out of context. And, obviously, sons have two parents!

Maybe I am wrong, but that was my first thought on the difference in how children hear the riddle, as opposed to adults. I think this stuff is so interesting! :)

In the 10 seconds I pondered the answer before I clicked through, it didn’t occur to me that the physician was the mom, and I AM A MOM AND A PHYSICIAN/SURGEON!!

I have heard this riddle before. I didn’t get it for ages, but when I was told, it was so obvious and I couldn’t believe I didn’t get it. I am studying to be a nurse and then am going to study medicine afterwards, which made me feel bad for not getting it myself. It does make you think about the gender assocation with different job titles. However, I also believe that the mention of many male titles in the riddle plays a huge part in why people may assume the answer is associated with a male.

-xx

I’m a female medical student and I didn’t get this, which is hilarious.

I was stumped for longer than I care to admit when my brother asked me this riddle 20 years ago- a month before I (a woman) started medical school. Also at the table? My mother, also a physician. It is seared in my memory as a reminder of all my subconscious biases. Of note, I heard it with “surgeon” not “doctor,” and I’ll bet fewer of those 5th graders would have gotten the answer using that word. We still have a long way to go.

I didn’t get this right either and I’m a female doctor. This is mortifying!!!

I remember this from being a kid, and I am so happy to see that kids had such good & creative answers. 2 dads! AMAZING! We have come so far.

Lady scientist-in-training here. Thank you, Joanna, for including the link to This Is What A Scientist Looks Like. :D

My father told me this riddle when I was a child in the early nineties and I solved it instantly. Conversely, when my grandmother was told this riddle she was completely stumped. And she was a gynaechologist!

I’ve always loved riddles. The one you posted is a long time favorite.
Here is one for you…
A plane crashes on the border of the US and Canada. Where do they bury the surivivors?

I remember this from when I was a kid. it’s stuck with me, actually, because it really challenges your assumptions. looking forward to sharing it with the girls when they understand what a riddle even is…

Argh! I accidentally read the answer before I had a chance to think about it!

But I have sent it to my husband, he loves a good puzzle/riddle. :)

I heard this riddle on an episode of The Cosby Show when I was a kid. Cliff got it wrong and Claire delighted in telling him the correct answer. :)

I think this is really interesting. When my daughter was three, she told her psychiatrist grandmother that “ladies can’t be doctors,” and I was astonished–because her pediatrician is a doctor, and we are friends with many female physicians, both by chance and because my husband is a physician (who, obviously, trained with and is friends with many women!). I am at home with her, although I do freelance editorial and translating work when she is asleep. After that day I started really emphasizing what I had thought was obvious–that women can do anything–and also that I work–just not when she is awake!

I remember that. His mom was a doctor so she couldn’t operate on him.

I guessed that one of the parents was the biological father and the other was the adoptive one. This riddle just brings to attention that there are still so many gender stereotypes to overcome, ones that we don’t even mean offensively or know we have! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

Haha, I remember my dad telling me this as a kid, and I didn’t get it, because my mom was a doctor!

Joanna and I are about the same age (I’m 34) and I remember this riddle well from school. At the time I couldn’t get it, and I still remember the kids coming up with all sorts of weird theories, such as a ghost dad. I am so glad to see that it doesn’t stump kids anymore.

Haha! I got it immediately – but then again I’m a pediatrician and a woman and practically everyone I know are doctors. I’d love to hear my friends kids answers though, they probably won’t even get why it’s a riddle seeing that most of them have a doctor as a mom! :-D

How interesting that children and adults answer so differently! I had heard it before and did eventually guess the right answer, but only have seriously thinking about it!

I’m so embarrassed to say my first instinct was to think, “The guy in the car was a priest?”

What a dope. I’m glad I’m not smarter than a 5th grader on this one…

Funny how riddles work – I first heard this one as “a father” and “a son” so the answer is supposed to be the father in the car was actually the son’s GRANDfather (but father to the dad/doctor).

Dang, this doesn’t work in spanish! :) Also, the 5th graders ROCK.

I have another:

Following an anonymous call, the police raid a house to arrest a alleged murderer. They do not know how he looks like, but they know his name is John and that he’s inside the house. Police find four people playing poker: one dedicated to woodworking, the second is a truck driver, the third one a mechanic and the last one is a firefighter. Without any questions, without hesitation, the police immediately arrest the firefighter. How they were sure they arrested the right person?

We had done this riddle 5 years ago in school – in a class full of 18-year-old girls. I do remember that I was one of the few, who solved it. This was a bit a shocking, as all the girls in this classroom were strong women.
The riddle was a bit different to this one, as the mother was a mayor. This is an even stronger example I think.

When I worked at the university we worked with kids and asked them to draw a scientist. The scientists in the pictures were nearly always male scientists. That’s what the society and the media teaches children.

Love, Nina
http://ninaitwanina.blogspot.co.at/

I remember this one from a book of riddles I had as a kid–sad to think it was considered a brain teaser! I love that the younger generation easily got this!

Oh man am I disappointed in myself for not getting this one, especially as a future doctor myself (the PhD kind, that is). Thankfully you included “This is what a scientist looks like” at the end of this post to cheer me up! Thanks for helping spread us spread the word that we scientists should not be pigeonholed!

Of course, the doctor could have also been the boy’s OTHER dad. Hello 2014!!

I got it instantly as well and doubted myself that the answer was too obvious. What a fun little Wednesday morning read. Thanks for making me think differently this morning Joanna!