The immutability of the syllogism

Premise (1): Scientists have discovered that bears which live in the far north are white.

Premise(2): Polar bears live in the far north.

Question: What color are polar bears?

Soviet researchers once asked this question to Uzbek peasants. The correct answer/conclusion is "white". The peasants answered: "We don´t know. We have never seen a polar bear. We only talk about things we have actually seen".

I know, I know, the point of the exercise was to ascertain whether or not the poor Uzbeks understood syllogistic reasoning, which can be "right" even when "wrong". (A syllogism can be empirically useless, although still logically correct.) And without syllogisms, no Sputnik!

Still, it sounds like a conversation between a cranky apparatchik who wants to turn entire rivers around cuz formal logic, and a down-to-earth farmer who prefers a more concrete-operational approach...