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Take The Ultimate Intelligence Test
The 12 Pillars of Wisdom
By Adrian M Owen
You might think that it is obvious that one person is smarter than another.
But there are few more controversial areas of science than the study of intelligence and, in reality, there's not even agreement among researchers about what the word 'intelligence' actually means.
Nonetheless, over the decades, legions of scientists have devised tests that can show that one person is smarter than another just as surely as Olympic events can shed light on how much you can lift or how far you can jump.
Now my team at the UK Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge has come up with what we think is the ultimate test of intelligence.
We began by looking for the smallest number of tests that could cover the broadest range of cognitive skills that are believed to contribute to intelligence, from memory to planning.
But we went one step further. Thanks to recent research using MRI brain scanners, we were able to make sure that the tests used as much of the brain as possible, from the outer layers responsible for higher thought, to the deeper, older structures that are involved in more basic mental processes.
The result is a set of tests that probe what might be called your '12 Pillars of Wisdom'. In all, they take about half an hour to complete.
You can test your own brain online by CLICKING HERE. There's a longer explanation of the tests, and how we devised them, on the New Scientist website.
Do take part! You can see how sturdy your pillars are. And you will help us to place the concept of intelligence on a firmer footing.
Adrian Owen is a Senior Scientist at the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, UK
Below are a couple of related videos that Dr Owen's team sent through to us. The video below describes the rotations task. The rotations task could help you if you get lost easily. If you do well at this test then you have good mental imagery skills and are able to navigate more easily.
The following video explains the spatial span part of the test. Remembering where you left something requires visuospatial memory, the spatial span test can help if you can't find things such as your car.
- Click here to take the 12 Pillars of Wisdom Test
- Find out more about the Anatomy of the Brain
- Visit the New Scientist website for more information
question 10 doesn't work. tried it in both firefox and IE.
Posted by: User | 11/03/2010 at 06:07 PM
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Posted by: Olga | 02/09/2011 at 08:47 AM
I can´t open the test´s link. Could you pls help me ?
Posted by: Antonio | 03/02/2011 at 08:32 AM