Pop quiz! Are you becoming an idiot? Wouldn’t you hate to wake up one day and suddenly realize,”Oh my! Over the past 10 years, I’ve become an idiot!” It would be better to know now and take corrective action before you reach the point of no return.
This is a ten question quiz to determine whether or not you are becoming an idiot.
- Have you read at least two non-fiction books during the last 12 months?
- Do you spend more than 2 hours a week channel surfing?
- Have you taken any formal college training in the last five years?
- Has it been more than 5 years since you did a long division problem by hand?
- Have you been to at least one cultural event in the last year? (Museum, opera, play, symphony, etc.)
- Do you dislike conversations with people with whom you disagree?
- In the last 12 months have you read at least one book more than 50 years old?
- Do you spend more time sitting in front of the television than reading?
- Have you been to your local library two or more times in the last 12 months?
- Has it been more than 18 months since you attended a non-required seminar, talk or presentation?
Here is how to score the test. Start with 0. For every “yes” answer to an odd numbered question, add one. For every “yes” answer to an even numbered question, subtract one. Your score can range from -5 to +5.
| -5 to -4 = | You’ve arrived, but at a very poor destination |
| -3 to -1 = | Sliding down the slippery slope toward idiocy |
| 0 = | You might be able to maintain what you’ve got |
| 1 to 3 = | Headed the right direction |
| 4 to 5 = | Intentional self improver |
Obviously this test isn’t 100% accurate. There are things you may be doing that don’t show up on the list on both the plus and minus sides of things. However, it does give you a pretty good starting point to gauge your personal improvement trajectory.
The true value isn’t to put you in a particular bucket, but to help you take note of how your daily activities affect your intelligence. After all, no one wants to wake up and discover that they have slowly become an idiot without noticing.
Hi Mark.
I like the concepts brought up in this quiz. While I go to the library multiple times a month, as well as to bookstores, I haven’t gone to any cool seminars recently. I also very rarely read old books. Basically all I read is fairly new non-fiction material.
This reminds us that we have to keep our minds active by choice, or else we don’t even know what we lost.
I don’t want to become an idiot.
I don’t read as much classic literature as I wish I did, but I find it fascinating to see how our concepts of language and thought has changed. A few years ago I read Moby Dick for the first time and was amazed at just how much encyclopedic knowledge was packed into the story. It was as if no one told Melville that people would get bored and put the book down if he went off on a 100 page discussion of how to extract oil from whale blubber. The thing is, it all tied together to make a wonderful educational story, but in a style that is entirely different from our modern books.
Mysterious Island by Verne is another book where I remember being amazed at the breadth of knowledge that was presented.
This is a good quiz. To round things out a bit i’d add about five more questions related to exercise and nutrition. Thats just me though.
With the strong link between exercise and cognitive performance, that might not be a bad idea. Some questions on sleep habits might not be out of line either.
If people like it, maybe I should try to do a more detailed self scoring version.
I am so excited they created a test for this. It is exhausting having to tell people they are becoming an idiot without any merit. Just kidding. I can honestly say that there are several questions on the list where I am missing the mark. At least I know where to focus. By the way, what is long division? LOL!
I have to pass this along. Thanks
I don’t really recommend using this to show other people that they are idiots. :) And I’m not responsible for any horrific consequences of using it in that way.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I can becoming an idiot. I scored -1 :( I was about to argue that watching television rather than reading doesn’t make you an idiot. What if you watch all those documentaries etc…then again I thought those documentaries are merely summarized versions of the written work. So yeah, it’s kinda the idiot version…no more arguments from me.
Well don’t take it too personally. It isn’t a definitive test by any means.
Regarding television: If you subtract out the time you spend watching educational programming do you still spend less time reading than watching non-educational television or channel surfing?
It isn’t that all TV watching is bad, but it does encourage a kind of passive mindset and you don’t want that to be the majority of your activities.
Nah, I’m not taking it personally. It’s actually a fun quiz.
I am not sure an idiot is the proper word but it is an eye-catcher. The entertainment graphic art of today’s world has led people not to think for themselves. A suggestion would be to read a fairly old (but always current) book the “Holy Bible”, KJBible that is.
I don’t channel surf, I know exactly what channel my hockey games are on. ;-)
While the quiz is obviously designed for someone 5+ years out of college I think it might wrongly “penalize” those who strongly embrace technology. I don’t frequent the brick and mortar library too often but I’ve downloaded several eBooks and audiobooks in the last year. Likewise, even though my iPod is always on I listen to actual music maybe a couple hours a month…but I download dozens of podcasts each day. Some are purely entertainment but there’s also science, history, current events, business strategy, etc. And I’m tackling an iTunes U program about Game Theory right now. Two mythology classes are next.
Yep, with that, er, rationalization I can safely proclaim that I am NOT becoming an idiot.
Thanks for the fun post!