““As part of this research, one group of participants was asked which two countries are more similar to one another, East Germany and West Germany, or Sri Lanka and Nepal. Most of them said that East and West Germany are more similar. A second group of participants, however, was asked which two countries are more different from one another, East Germany and West Germany, or Sri Lanka and Nepal. The majority likewise said that East and West Germany are more dissimilar. This leads to the seemingly impossible conclusion that East and West Germany are both more similar and more dissimilar than Sri Lanka and Nepal. How can that be?””
