Barometer question information

A *storm glass* or *Goethe's device*, an early practical type of barometer. Calandra's essay does not name the *type* of the device, although the answers provided by the student suggest the use of a portable aneroid barometer.

The barometer question is an example of an incorrectly designed examination question demonstrating functional fixedness that causes a moral dilemma for the examiner. In its classic form, popularized by American test designer professor Alexander Calandra in the 1960s, the question asked the student to "show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer."^[1] The examiner was confident that there was one, and only one, correct answer, which is found by measuring the difference in pressure at the top and bottom of the building and solving for height. Contrary to the examiner's expectations, the student responded with a series of completely different answers. These answers were also correct, yet none of them proved the student's competence in the specific academic field being tested.

The barometer question achieved the status of an urban legend; according to an internet meme, the question was asked at the University of Copenhagen and the student was Niels Bohr.^[2] The Kaplan, Inc. ACT preparation textbook describes it as an "MIT legend",^[3] and an early form is found in a 1958 American humor book.^[4] However, Calandra presented the incident as a real-life, first-person experience that occurred during the Sputnik crisis.^[5] Calandra's essay, "Angels on a Pin", was published in 1959 in Pride, a magazine of the American College Public Relations Association.^[6] It was reprinted in Current Science in 1964,^[7] in Saturday Review in 1968^[8] and included in the 1969 edition of Calandra's The Teaching of Elementary Science and Mathematics.^[9] Calandra's essay became a subject of academic discussion.^[10] It was frequently reprinted since 1970,^[11] making its way into books on subjects ranging from teaching,^[12] writing skills,^[13] workplace counseling^[14] and investment in real estate^[15] to chemical industry,^[16] computer programming^[17] and integrated circuit design.^[18]

^ Calandra, Alexander (December 21, 1968). "Education in America: Angels on a Pin". The Saturday Review: 60.
^ http://naturelovesmath-en.blogspot.in/2011/06/niels-bohr-barometer-question-myth.html ^{[user-generated source]}
^ Kaplan, p. 52.
^ Reader's Digest Treasury of Wit & Humor, p. 303
^ Calandra, Alexander, "Angels on a Pin". Reproduced in Barnes et al., pp. 228-229. p. 229.
^ Pride, volumes 3-4 (1959). American College Public Relations Association. p. 11.
^ Attribution and date (Current Science (Teacher's Edition), 44 (January 6–10, 1964), pp. 1-2.) as in: Van Cleve Morris et al. (1969). Modern movements in educational philosophy. Houghton Mifflin. p. 82.
^ Attribution and date (Saturday Review, December 21, 1968) as in Weimer, p. 234.
^ Attribution and year of publication ("Published in the AIChE Journal vol. 15 no. 2, 1969, p. 13. ") as in Sanders, pp. 196-197.
^ Discussed by Calandra et al. in: Van Cleve Morris et al. (1969). Modern movements in educational philosophy. Houghton Mifflin.
^ Reproduced in entirety in: Muse Milton (1970). Selected readings for the introduction to the teaching profession. McCutchan Pub. Corp. ISBN 0-8211-1218-X, pp. 100-103.
^ Reproduced in entirety in Barnes et al., pp. 228-229; paraphrased in Herson, pp. 21-22 etc.
^ Reproduced in entirety in: Skwire, David (1994). Writing with a thesis: a rhetoric and reader. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. ISBN 0-03-079101-4. pp. 40-42.
^ Reproduced in entirety, in German, in: Otto F. Kernberg (2005). WIR: Psychotherapeuten über sich und ihren "unmöglichen" Beruf. Schattauer Verlag. ISBN 3-7945-2466-7. pp. 318-319.
^ Reproduced in part in: Allen, pp. 12-13.
^ Paraphrased in: Sanders, pp. 196-197.
^ Paraphrased in Peter van der Linden (1994). Expert C programming: deep C secrets. Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-177429-8. p. 344.
^ Reproduced in entirety in: Jim Williams (1992). Analog Circuit Design: Art, Science and Personalities. Newnes. ISBN 0-7506-9640-0. pp. 3-4.

[1] Calandra, Alexander (December 21, 1968). "Education in America: Angels on a Pin". The Saturday Review: 60.

[2] ttp://naturelovesmath-en.blogspot.in/2011/06/niels-bohr-barometer-question-myth.html ^{[user-generated source]}

[3] Kaplan, p. 52.

[4] Reader's Digest Treasury of Wit & Humor, p. 303

[C229-5] Calandra, Alexander, "Angels on a Pin". Reproduced in Barnes et al., pp. 228-229. p. 229.

[6] Pride, volumes 3-4 (1959). American College Public Relations Association. p. 11.

[7] Attribution and date (Current Science (Teacher's Edition), 44 (January 6–10, 1964), pp. 1-2.) as in: Van Cleve Morris et al. (1969). Modern movements in educational philosophy. Houghton Mifflin. p. 82.

[8] Attribution and date (Saturday Review, December 21, 1968) as in Weimer, p. 234.

[9] Attribution and year of publication ("Published in the AIChE Journal vol. 15 no. 2, 1969, p. 13. ") as in Sanders, pp. 196-197.

[10] Discussed by Calandra et al. in: Van Cleve Morris et al. (1969). Modern movements in educational philosophy. Houghton Mifflin.

[11] Reproduced in entirety in: Muse Milton (1970). Selected readings for the introduction to the teaching profession. McCutchan Pub. Corp. ISBN 0-8211-1218-X, pp. 100-103.

[12] Reproduced in entirety in Barnes et al., pp. 228-229; paraphrased in Herson, pp. 21-22 etc.

[13] Reproduced in entirety in: Skwire, David (1994). Writing with a thesis: a rhetoric and reader. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. ISBN 0-03-079101-4. pp. 40-42.

[14] Reproduced in entirety, in German, in: Otto F. Kernberg (2005). WIR: Psychotherapeuten über sich und ihren "unmöglichen" Beruf. Schattauer Verlag. ISBN 3-7945-2466-7. pp. 318-319.

[15] Reproduced in part in: Allen, pp. 12-13.

[16] Paraphrased in: Sanders, pp. 196-197.

[17] Paraphrased in Peter van der Linden (1994). Expert C programming: deep C secrets. Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-177429-8. p. 344.

[18] Reproduced in entirety in: Jim Williams (1992). Analog Circuit Design: Art, Science and Personalities. Newnes. ISBN 0-7506-9640-0. pp. 3-4.

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