Wednesday, February 06, 2008

How Observant are you?

Need something to occupy your time for 3-5 minutes? Thanks to Julie for this little quiz. Take it to see how observant you are about everyday things. I scored 20 out of 25 and I didn't cheat. Take the quiz here and then let me know what you scored!

http://www.oldjoeblack.0nyx.com/thinktst.htm

7 comments:

david and michal said...

i scored 13. some of those questions didn't really seem like observation to me, though--more like random trivial pursuit questions...

Anonymous said...

I got 18. Oooo. Now, that really proves that is a bad test because I have extremely poor powers of observation. I never notice the simple things. However, I am good at making educated guesses and performing well on multiple choice tests. And the test assumes you have observed each of the things mentioned. Um, what if I've never seen a "standard book of matches?" I've always used large boxes of over 100. Anyway. Good thing my self-worth isn't based on quizzes like this.

Anonymous said...

Interesting little quiz, but I have some disagreements with a number of the questions. Some are either wrong, not universal, or poorly worded.

For example, one question asks about the direction a tub or toilet drains, apparently referring to the Coriolis effect.

While it's true that a small rotational force appears to be exerted due to the rotation of the earth, the Coriolis force is very minimal when compared to other factors, such as the geometry of the toilet or the direction in which the water enters the bowl.

The Coriolis effect deals with macro-scale effects (ocean flow or rotation of hurricanes, for example), and does not exhibit itself with small systems like a toilet.

Just think back to the last Foucault pendulum you saw: 60 feet of wire for maybe 2-3 feet of sway.

So, like I said, it's interesting. But it's not something I'd use to try to get into Mensa.

cos111 said...

Yeah, I couldn't believe that Coriolis question. And when was the last time I saw a VHF dial?

Jenny said...

WOW! I can see that this post has gotten a lot of responses. Why can't you just let your little sister feel smart about something just once?

Anonymous said...

I guess we don't tell you often enough how smart we think you are. Jenny, you are smart! I'm just more impressed with your Jeopardy knowledge than your score of this quiz.

Anonymous said...

I got 18, so you are way smarter than I am--or maybe you've played more cards and used more matches.