how many 'f's?This puzzle has been fooling people for decades....

how many 'f's?
This puzzle has been fooling people for decades. You can use it to demonstrate how our mind sometimes plays tricks on what we believe. The puzzle can also be used to support themes of concentration, accuracy, assumptions, and creative or lateral thinking (which can be employed to devise an alternative method of arriving at the right answer; for example using the 'find' feature in your computer program).

The layout is probably important in the way that it works. Show the box below to people and ask them to read the words and count the number of times the letter f (or F) appears. Most people get it wrong. Try it yourself, and then check your answer carefully. It's not a trick question - the trick is the way that the mind works in identifying letters.

How many 'f's?

FINE POINT

It is easy to miss the finer
points in life. Folk are
frequently guilty of falling
into this trap.



And if you found that one too easy, try this one.

Again, how times does the letter f (or F) appear in the following item?


Finished files are the
result of years of scientific
study combined with the
experience of years.