Look Closely at These 4 Picture Puzzles and See If You Can Find the Odd One Out

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How observant are you? This series of fun puzzles has the ability to put your observation skills to the test, each puzzle slightly more difficult than the last.

To make the challenge especially stimulating for the brain, there’s a time limit; see if you can decipher all of the “odd ones out” in just 60 seconds. If you succeed, you can count yourself among the upper echelons of highly observant folk.

So, set a timer for 60 seconds, scroll down, and see how long it takes you to spot the odd one out in each of the four pictures. Can you beat the clock? The answers are revealed down below.

Puzzle 1:

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Upon first glance, all four stick figures may look the same; however, there’s one very subtle yet crucial difference. If glancing at the picture in its entirety doesn’t reap results, then concentrate your attention on the finer details within the drawing: the body, the limbs, the head, the hair. Can you spot the odd one out?

Puzzle 2:

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In this second of four puzzles, the challenge is made slightly more complex by the figures being upside-down. Our eyes are used to taking in visual stimuli according to a consensus about how things are “supposed” to look, so a figure turned on its head presents a comprehensive conundrum all by itself.

Puzzle 3:

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Puzzle number three is even more complex than the previous two; while two stick figures are rendered the right way up, two are upside-down. You may have to look even more closely at the finer details of this illustration in order to decipher what’s different about one of the characters.

Puzzle 4:

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The fourth and final puzzle is the trickiest of all, with all four figures facing in completely different directions: up, down, left, and right, and some flipped. For those who have solved all the puzzles so far, this final test could be your crowning achievement. For those who may have struggled, here’s one last chance to exercise your observational prowess!

Now for the solutions. To confirm your own conclusions to the “odd-one-out” challenges above, here are the definitive answers to each puzzle, outlined in purple.

Puzzle 1 Answer:

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Puzzle 2 Answer:

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Puzzle 3 Answer:

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Puzzle 4 Answer:

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According to Cambridge Brain Sciences, “odd-one-out” exercises are commonly used in psychological reasoning tests. As the problems become more complex, the subject has to consider several pieces of information at the same time, a process known as “deductive reasoning.”

Puzzles such as these are “suitable for training reasoning abilities,” say the experts at Cambridge, “as you cannot learn the answers to specific problems by rote.” Readers are instead required to deduce a brand-new set of visual information each and every time.

Illustration - pathdoc/Shutterstock

Deductive reasoning has real-world application. Every time a person makes a case in favor, or against, an idea or proposal, they are looking at the facts and using deductive reasoning to reach their conclusion.

So, take advantage of the fact that brainteasers provide excellent cognitive training and share this four-part puzzle with all the deductive reasoners you know!