Scientists discover most people can't recognize the correct letter G
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Johns Hopkins University
Research has found that most people simply can't recognize the correct letter G.
It sounds bizarre but I tried the test myself and - to my surprise - it seems I am most people and also couldn’t identify the letter.
As long as the internet has been widely available there have been short tests and quizzes online.
Normally it's just a bit of harmless fun or, at worst, trying to steal all your credit card information.
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But this quick test carried out by researchers at Johns Hopkins University revealed a shocking truth.
For some reason, a lot of people can’t correctly recognize the letter G.
A video that was posted to the university's YouTube channel in 2018 shows just how easy it is to make the mistake despite looking at the letters and words since you could learn to read.
You can only imagine my own surprise when I failed considering I spend every day at work looking at words and letters from start to finish.
But give the test a go yourself and you’ll see how easy it is to make the blunder...
The video states: “Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say most participants in a study couldn't pick out the correct form of lowercase G, a letter shape most of us have seen millions of times. Play this game to find out if you can spot the right G.”
Sounds simple enough, but the video then shows four slightly different variations of the lowercase letter and then you can see how quickly you’ll be second guessing yourself.
Give it a try yourself. The answer is at the end of the article.
The study asked 38 participants and was for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance.
"They don't entirely know what this letter looks like, even though they can read it," co-author Gali Ellenblum said in a statement.
Senior author Michael McCloskey explained: “What we think may be happening here is that we learn the shapes of most letters in part because we have to write them in school. 'Looptail G' is something we're never taught to write, so we may not learn its shape as well.
“More generally, our findings raise questions about the conditions under which massive exposure does, and does not, yield detailed, accurate, accessible knowledge."
McCloskey also considered the possibility that children growing up using devices with screens could put them at a disadvantage in learning how to read.
"Do they have a little bit more trouble with this form of G because they haven't been forced to pay attention to it and write it?" McCloskey said. "We could ask whether children have some reading disadvantage with this form of G.”
The answer? Number three.