You spot a bright orange t-shirt with two rips across the front. Below, you're presented with four options: 2, 4, 6, or 8 holes, accompanied by the ironic headline: "The number of holes you see on this t-shirt determines whether you're a narcissist." Before judging you, consider this a fun and easy-to-share little riddle that reveals more about your mindset than your mental health.
Below, I offer you the riddle, the generally accepted answer and, for fun, a personality analysis for each option.
The riddle: what counts as a "hole"?
The secret to many visual puzzles lies in the definition. When you look at a t-shirt, do you only count the visible tears? Or do you include the openings (neck, sleeves, waist)? Different interpretations, all perfectly valid, yield different answers.
Let's examine all the possible "holes," visible or implied, in the illustration:
The two tears at the front (large and obvious).
The neckline (the opening for passing the head through).
The armhole of the left sleeve.
The armhole of the right sleeve.
The opening at the waist (through which the torso passes).
If we only count the tears, we get 2 holes.
If we only count the classic openings of the garment (neckline + armholes + hem), we get 4 holes.
If we count both the tears and the openings, we get 6 holes.
If we start counting possible internal holes, buttons or other devices, we could arrive at 8 holes, but this hypothesis is less common.
The generally accepted answer:
