Mental Faculties, Brainbench Benchgames, IQ testing, Cognitive function

[Guest guest]

I've talked with a few of you about the Benchgames. I just logged in to start the exams and found that the dates have been changed!! eeekkkk I've been gearing up to start today and now they are delayed two weeks!! I feel like I'm all dressed up with no place to go!!! eeeekkkkkk

Anyway, they have a neat page set up now to introduce the event so I thought that I'd post the link:

http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/landing/offer/promotion.xml?contentId=2310

In a nutshell, it's a chance to take certification exams for FREE with over 500 exams available they cover a TON of interesting and worthwhile areas. This free promotion is what they call an 'international intellectual competition" Participants from all over the world test during this event to see which country has the smartest folks, there are prizes given for the highest score on each test....

You can use the certifications on resumes and to nudge your boss into a raise when you've qualified in areas that pertain or when you want to show that you are qualified in particular areas and seeking a promotion...

Now... why am I bring this up here? Several reasons. It's a Free thing... I LOVE to share Free things. Registration is free too..... no money involved here at all. It's a great way to see how your mental faculties are progressing. I saw the most interesting thing in my scores for my typing tests over the years that's what prompted me to post to the group....

Typing Speed & Accuracy

2.83

12/18/00

Typing Speed & Accuracy

2.93

02/16/01

Typing Speed & Accuracy

3.77

07/10/04

That was a funky paste... but anyway... look at the scores... and the dates.... I ran out of meds (and insurance) in November of '99. The company that I worked for went belly up in January of '01 and I started spending more and more time on the puter and typing.... I started on natural meds in July of '02. Between November of '99 and July of '02 I was only able to take meds that I could scrounge out of others folks leftovers, down to only 25 mcg of T4 on Fridays by the spring of '02.... Look at the jump.. Now I have to take it this year and see what has changed, if anything.

Now... part of what I want to show is what the results can show you as far as changes, this kinda ties in with what we've been messing with over the last couple of years here on TTSG with our IQ scores, I'm due to do that again too.. I think all that stuff is in the DATABASE section of the group site.... Anyway... Brainbench breaks things down so that you can see your strengths and weaknesses.

Yes, I just KNOW I'm gonna embarrass myself with this... but if I can't show what I'm talking about you guys may not get what I'm trying to say about how we can test ourselves and watch for changes in mental strengths and such as we go from hypo to normal.... We can see how heart rate and body temp and even weight changes, but it's harder to know how our brains work... that's why I'm watching this stuff closer in myself... and why I'm posting this 'book' so that if any of you want to take advantage of the free exams you can... And also to bring up the IQ testing... we've not talked about it in quite a while.

Here are two examples showing what info that Brainbench gives after you complete an exam, pass or fail, you'll get the info.

For Typing:

Typing Speed & Accuracy

2004-07-10

3.77

Scored higher than 93% of all previous test takers.

Raw Words Per Minute (WPM):

66 WPM

Accuracy-Adjusted WPM:

63 WPM

Overall score represents the accuracy-adjusted score placed on a scale of 1.0 - 5.0. Raw WPM represents the words per minute typed without regard to accuracy. Accuracy-adjusted WPM represents words per minute typed correctly.

I was trying to find another example that would show how they pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and spotted this one and HAD to use it.... I show 'strength' in analogies! hehehehe

English Vocabulary

2003-12-10

2.79

Scored higher than 50% of all previous test takers.

Demonstrates a solid understanding of core concepts within this topic. Appears capable of working on most projects in this area with moderate assistance. May require some initial assistance with advanced concepts, however.

Strengths

Analogies

Challenging Words

Foreign Words Used In English

Weak Areas

None Noted

Sub-Category Scores

Problem-Solving

3.0

For anyone that is now curious about how they can use this to check themselves, or are interested in just participating in the games to help your country in the race for best.... you contact me off list topper2@... if you want......

I wish I had more samples to show.. but most of the other stuff is technical and there is an increase in the knowledge base over time... so it's doesn't make as much of an impact, not like the typing which is a brain to action reflex kinda thing.

The link: www.brainbench.com

In the links section of the group you'll find the link to take a free IQ test...then you can enter the results for that with the rest of us.... I believe all the instructions are still there about anonymous posting.

.....I'll check quick.....

They site we've been using for that, they've revamped it, I'll cover it in a separate post. I have to change the link in the links section of the site, it's changed.

I have 8 certs that I have to renew this year, they are good for three years and then expire so you have to retest to keep them current. I still have 21 that are valid..... and have 66 (including my renewals) on my list of "I'd like to take these" list.

One of the values of these exams, even when I fail, is that I get to see where I need to study more. It's a great way to keep your mind growing... Yeah, I know, I'm weird. I don't pass every exam, but those that I fail let me know what I have to work on and next year I'll know that much more.

Preachy part.

When you feel like crap and your brain has the farts and everyone around you is putting you down for being lazy or fat or dumb....... Prove to yourself that you're not dumb. Even taking a test and failing it shows that you were curious enough to see what you could improve, passing is a coup, but even passing an exam can show you where you can still improve more. One thing I've learned in the three years since and I started this group is that we are in a pretty smart segment of the population, it's our intelligence that has us online seeking to learn more, seeking answers, and seeking solutions to improve our health and quality of life.

It takes a very basic and strong intelligence to get someone to stand up and ask why?

Think about it... if you're shy to talk about it here, in front of everyone, contact me off list.... I honestly think this is a big deal, to find out how our brains are doing, how things improve as we get our hormone levels optimized and learn to better care for our new bodies... it's all tied together, body and mind.... and together they make us what we are.

End of preachy part....

I'm gonna go check out the new IQ testing stuff and post that separate. It's a quicker shot at a base line and you can take it any time of the year. I saw a new thing there just now about cognitive function.. that is very pertinent to what we want to monitor with our mental health.

Topper ()Yahoo IM: toppertwo