A lateral-thinking riddle: a spaceship lands with seven astronauts on a planet inhabited by the Krocks (500 male, 500 female, and 500 child Krocks). How many aliens are on the planet in total?

Seven — the astronauts are the aliens, because "alien" means foreigner, and on the Krocks' home planet it is the humans who are the outsiders.

The trick:

• The question is designed to make you add up the 1,500 Krocks
• But the Krocks are native to their own planet — they are not aliens there
• The only beings that are foreign/alien on this world are the seven visiting astronauts

Why it matters:

• The puzzle forces a change of perspective: "alien" is relative to where you stand
• This is non-conformist thinking — switching viewpoint to see what the framing tried to hide
• Attackers do exactly this: they look at a system from the "wrong" side (the outsider's view) to reveal what insiders overlook

Tip: When numbers are dangled in front of you, first check that the question is even asking about them.