It is generally accepted that the resistivity of the top layer largely influences the apparent resistivity measured through conventional surface electrode arrays. Thus, intuitively it would be assumed that the overlaying of a conductive layer would give an apparent resistivity which is less than the value obtained without the conducting cover and an opposite result would be obtained by introducing a resistive top layer. Though this belief is valid for many geoelectric sections, it is here shown that for a two‐layer section with [Formula: see text], if the top portion of the first layer is replaced with a layer of higher or lower resistivity, the apparent resistivity value changes in an opposite manner after a critical value of the electrode separation: the apparent resistivity for large separations is decreased due to the introduction of the resistive top layer. It is intended in this note to elucidate this paradox through a suitable example.