Name that Scientist Quiz

How did you fair? Check out the NYTimes Name that Scientist Quiz.

Name that Scientist

I scored 8/10, missed #6 and #8.


H/T WEIT

My Political Compass: 2011 edition

The political compass test. My leanings are in line with Gandi, Nelson Mandela, and The Dalai Lama. That seems like respectable company. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, all 2008 candidates for US president, excepting Ralph Nader, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel, were in the top right corner.

Your American civics acumen in 33 questions

This is kind of fun....

Civics Quiz

You answered 31 out of 33 correctly — 93.94 %
Average score for this quiz during January: 74.2%
Average score: 74.2%

You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.
If you have any comments or questions about the quiz, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.
You can consult the following table to see how citizens and elected officials scored on each question.

Where to from here?

Answers to Your Missed Questions:

Question #31 - A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person

31) International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
My choice B. a decrease in a nation’s economic growth in the long term
C. an increase in a nation’s import tariffs
D. a decrease in a nation’s standard of living

I could take this test again and I would still get this wrong. Well I wouldn't now, but my thoughts (incorrect based on the answer) led me to answer B and would again. Clearly, I need to obtain more education in economics.

33) If taxes equal government spending, then:
My choice A. government debt is zero
B. printing money no longer causes inflation
C. government is not helping anybody
D. tax per person equals government spending per person
E. tax loopholes and special-interest spending are absent

This one was a case of identifying an answer that looked good and not reading any others carefully. If I thought about the answers I would have answered this one correctly, trust me.

More fun, check out the website to see how people do based on a variety of criteria. I particularly like that those who identify as being in politics do worse than the general public.

H/T Sandwalk

My Current Political Testing

You are a Social Liberal (76% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (21% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist (21e/76s) Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Interesting philosophy quiz - Battleground God

Battle ground God quiz

How I did...

Battleground Analysis

Congratulations!

You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.

The fact that you progressed through this activity without being hit and biting only one bullet suggests that your beliefs about God are internally consistent and well thought out.

A direct hit would have occurred had you answered in a way that implied a logical contradiction. The bitten bullet occurred because you responded in a way that required that you held a view that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, because you bit only one bullet and avoided direct hits completely you still qualify for our second highest award. A good achievement!

Bitten Bullet 1

You answered "True" to questions 6 and 13.

These answers generated the following response:

You stated earlier that evolutionary theory is essentially true. However, you have now claimed that it is foolish to believe in God without certain, irrevocable proof that she exists. The problem is that there is no certain proof that evolutionary theory is true - even though there is overwhelming evidence that it is true. So it seems that you require certain, irrevocable proof for God's existence, but accept evolutionary theory without certain proof. So you've got a choice: (a) Bite a bullet and claim that a higher standard of proof is required for belief in God than for belief in evolution. (b) Take a hit, conceding that there is a contradiction in your responses.

You chose to bite the bullet.

The questions...
Question 6. Evolutionary theory maybe false in some matters of detail, but it is essentially true.
Question 13. It is foolish to believe in God without certain, irrevocable proof that God exists.

I bit the bullet but think these questions are loaded. If there was any evidence to support the existence of god, then things might be different.

Hat Tip: Sandwalk

My personality defect results

Your Score: Smartass

You are 100% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 71% Brutal, and 71% Arrogant.

You are the Smartass! You are rational, extroverted, brutal, and arrogant. In fact, you could very well be the anti-Christ, as you are almost the exact opposite of everything Jesus was supposed to be. While Jesus says love your enemy, you say love beating the crap out of your enemy. While Jesus raises the dead, you raise hell. While Jesus walks on water, you tend to sink. You probably consider people who are emotional and gentle to be big pussies who are obviously in lesser stature than you. You have many flaws, despite your seeming intelligence and cool-headedness. For instance, you aren't very nice. In fact, you're probably an asshole. And you are conceited and self-centered. Not only that, but you are very loud and vocal about all this, seeing as how you are extroverted. There is no better way to describe you than as a "smartass", I'm afraid. Perhaps just "ass" would do, too. But that's a little less literary and descriptive. At any rate, your main personality defect is the fact that you are self-centered, mean, uncaring, and brutally logical.

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive.

2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted.

3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle.

4. You are more ARROGANT than humble.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Emo Kid.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Capitalist Pig, the Braggart, and the Sociopath.

If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

Be sure to take my Sublime Philosophical Crap Test if you are interested in taking a slightly more intellectual test that has just as many insane ramblings as this one does!

Link: The Personality Defect Test written by saint_gasoline on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Well not too surprising there, realizing and accepting that it is statistically likely I could also fall in the sociopath group. Glad to have my deep antipathy for emo kid.

What kind of Atheist am I?

You scored as Scientific Atheist, These guys rule. I'm not one of them myself, although I play one online. They know the rules of debate, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and can explain evolution in fifty words or less. More concerned with how things ARE than how they should be, these are the people who will bring us into the future. Scientific Atheist 100% Apathetic Atheist 83% Militant Atheist 67% Angry Atheist 58% Spiritual Atheist 42% Agnostic 25% Theist 0% What kind of atheist are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Well damn, I took this quiz yesterday and scored 83% as an angry atheist compared to a militant atheist also rolled in at 7% theist. Less angry and less godly today...Must need more coffee this morning.