Help with a puzzle, please

[OldenGnarley]

So i am reading about the Linkwitz Orion speaker on his webpage. I know some of you are EE's and others are good at math, PLEASE explain
this riddle. it's starting to bother me:
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/Fitz/acoustics-hearing.htm (near the bottom) let me try a cut and paste:

Here it is:

" A bat and ball cost $1.10
The bat cost one dollar more than the ball
How much does the ball cost?"

[OldenGnarley]

Someone has to explain this before i declare myself stewpid. Especially since it involves money.
I especially enjoy the insult on the bottom of page2.

[billfitzmaurice]

How much does the ball cost?"

Five cents. I calculated that before looking at the attachments. The reason why most people get it wrong is that they jump to a quick conclusion, rather than making sure that they understand the question before answering.

[neildavis]

Someone has to explain this before i declare myself stewpid. Especially since it involves money.
I especially enjoy the insult on the bottom of page2.

Given:
(1) bat + ball = $1.10
(2) bat = $1 + ball

Substitute the value of bat from equation 2 into equation 1:

($1 + ball) + ball = $1.10

Simplify and solve for ball:

ball + ball = $.10
ball = $.05

[OldenGnarley]

Thank you, sincerely, Neil for the explanation....and that makes sense mathematically .........BUT

I walk into your store,
sign says Ball= $.05...get the bat for $1. more...
I go up to the register and you ring up $ 1.10 ???

i say: But the sign says $.05 plus $1.00 .......thats $ 1.05

at $1.10 i get Two BBals

[Sydney]

Neil set it up as the Algebra that is was:
A+B=110, A+100=B etc
I believe you missed the MORE part

[billfitzmaurice]

I walk into your store,
sign says Ball= $.05...get the bat for $1. more...

That's not what the question says.

'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire' often has questions that people get wrong because they don't take the time to understand the question and see the embedded clues. This, for instance:

Which of these former Soviet Republics still calls their foreign intelligence agency the KGB ?

1. Albania
2. Belarus
3. Romania
4. Lithuania

The contestant got it wrong, because he didn’t think it through. Of those four countries only Belarus was a Soviet Republic, making the answer Belarus.
(Note: Moscow sometimes considered Lithuania and the other Baltic States to be Soviet Republics, but their inhabitants didn't, nor did the West, preferring to call them Soviet satellites.)

[neildavis]

Neil set it up as the Algebra that is was:
A+B=110, A+100=B etc
I believe you missed the MORE part

Actually, it's the "than the ball" part that is tricky. We are used to hearing the phrase "$1 more" as adding $1 to the running total. But the wording was out of the ordinary, as it said "$1 more THAN THE BALL". So people naturally don't add in the cost of the ball when figuring out the cost of the bat, because this is unusual and unexpected wording.

If you do a Google search on "bat and ball word problem", there are many links that describe this and other similar puzzles. Most of the discussion seems to over-analyze the puzzle and the results. For example:

If you answered 10 cents you are inclined to believe in religion. If you answered 5 cents you are inclined to disbelieve. Why? Because according to research reported in the journal Science, the 10 cent answer indicates that you are an intuitive thinker, and the 5 cent answer indicates that you solve problems analytically, rather than following your instincts.

This analysis seems goofy to me. I think a better explanation is that we recognize the phrase "$X more" and know what it means, but that when someone slips in that qualifier: "THAN THE BALL", we simple don't hear it and think about it because people don't normally talk that way. That qualifier changes the problem, but it is an unusual use of language, and most people overlook it because they recognize the commonly used "$1 more" phrase and expect that is what the question is asking. My own opinion is that the question is a poor use of language, intended to trick people. And I question the thinking of people who use linguistic tricks to deceive people, and then try to claim that tricks like these expose some weakness in human nature.

[Sydney]

Yeah - I've heard my share of - "That's a trick question."

[Æ]

Darn, I was thinking that you would be needing help with a "Picture Puzzle." Read the box first and tell me how many pieces it is and what ages it is approved for. LOL

[Æ]

Kind of reminds me of this:

While a friend and I were visiting Annapolis, we noticed several students on
their hands and knees assessing the courtyard with pencils and clipboards in
hand. "What are they doing?" I asked our tour guide.

"Each year," he replied with a grin, "The upperclassmen ask the freshmen how
many bricks it took to finish paving this courtyard."

"So what's the answer?" my friend asked him when we were out of earshot of
the freshmen.

The guide replied, "One."

[Psycoacoustics]

Kind of reminds me of this:

While a friend and I were visiting Annapolis, we noticed several students on
their hands and knees assessing the courtyard with pencils and clipboards in
hand. "What are they doing?" I asked our tour guide.

"Each year," he replied with a grin, "The upperclassmen ask the freshmen how
many bricks it took to finish paving this courtyard."

"So what's the answer?" my friend asked him when we were out of earshot of
the freshmen.

The guide replied, "One."

That's very much like, "How many groves are there in an LP record?"

[Pete Schumacher]

That's very much like, "How many groves are there in an LP record?"

One of Monty Python's had 3 . . .

[Geoff Millar]

The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief had two grooves on one side, so playing it was a bit of a lottery! The first time I played the album I thought it was a rip off as the side only lasted about twelve minutes.

Just a bit of fun

[Jeff B.]

If you answered 10 cents you are inclined to believe in religion. If you answered 5 cents you are inclined to disbelieve. Why? Because according to research reported in the journal Science, the 10 cent answer indicates that you are an intuitive thinker, and the 5 cent answer indicates that you solve problems analytically, rather than following your instincts.

That seems rather silly. I believe in God, I can see that the answer is .05 at a glance.