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The Nerdity Test (version 3.1415   8-February, 1993)
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INTRODUCTION:

        Hello, and welcome to the nerdity test.  This test is designed to help
you analyze your nerdity quotient.  In the past, someone may have watched you,
or listened to something you said and then exclaimed, "You geek!  What do you
think you are doing?"  Or maybe it's just us.  In any event, we here at the
nerdity testing lab were prompted to ask "just what is a nerd?"  In response,
we came up with this test.  By taking it, you will determine your current
nerdity quotient (from 0% to 100%), with 100% roughly corresponding to a pile
of sludge unable to communicate with anything human except through a device that
is a miracle of modern medicine and engineering, and whose only connection to
the outside world is through the computer internet system.

GRADING:

        As this test is being distributed primarily in places of high
concentrations of known nerd, and nerds in turn tend to have nerd friends, that
someone who has never heard of or seen the nerdity test is assumed to be 0%
nerd.  However, once such knowledge comes to them, they are immedietly placed
in the 100% nerdity category.  This is done because it is also assumed that
only a true geek would utter something to the effect of: "Nerdity test?!?
What a stupid concept!  I'm too cool to take something as dumb as that."
The values in between are determined by taking the test and scoring it as
follows.
        For each question below for which you can answer "yes" or "true", take
one point.  At the end of the test, divide the total number of points you scored
by the total number of questions in the test.  Treat this number as a percentage
that represents your nerdity quotient.
        Some of the questions will have parentheticals at the end of them.  What
is contained within the parentheticals is a short list of examples relating to
the given question.  The list is not to be taken as all inclusive but merely as
suggestions that might apply.
        All technicalities count - after all, being technical is half of what
being a nerd is all about.

RECOMMENDATIONS and HINTS:

        It is felt that for maximum enjoyment, you should respond out loud with
your answers.  You should treat "yes" that you say as a personal catharsis of
what you are doing wrong (or right depending on your opinion of nerdity) and
each "no" may then be disputed by your peers.  In this way, errors due to
lying or personal oversight are avoided and the test also has a therapeutic
effect for the closet nerd.  As an aside, information gleaned about others
should be treated confidentially.  Each of us has a dork-side that we don't
want others to know about.
        Experiment shows that nerdity CAN be cured!  With effort and personal
sacrifice...  The nerdity quotient is a cross between proclivity toward as
well as actual current status in nerd-dom.  Some questions are "have you
ever..." while others are "do you now...".  The former register the fact that
you have a propensity toward nerdity, while the later acknowledge the fact that
you are currently geeking.  Obviously, as your answers toward the "do you now"
type questions change, so will your nerd quotient.
        Please use only a number two pencil.  Mark all answers in your blue
book.  Shake well before using.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat as desired.  Show all
work.  Refridgerate after opening.  No partial credit will be given.  A table
of useful formulas is included at the end.  You may begin....  NOW!

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SECTION 1: education and knowledge

1.      Have you ever taken a "higher" math course?  (Trig, Calculus)
2.              at the college level?
3.              and received an A (3.7 grade point)?
4.      Are you still capable of doing what you learned in the course of #1?
5.      Have you ever taken a science course?  (Biology, Physics, Chemistry)
6.              at the college level?
7.              and received an A (3.7 grade point)?
8.      Are you still capable of doing what you learned in the course of #5?
9.      Have you ever majored in the "hard sciences"? (engineering, physics
          chemistry, etc. but excluding psychology, economics, etc.)
10.     Have you ever taken Latin?
11.     Have you ever asked a question in lecture?
12.     Have you ever answered a question asked in lecture?
13.     Have you ever corrected a professor in lecture?
14.     Have you ever answered a rhetorical question?
15.     Have you ever given a lecture?
16.     Do you sit in the front row more than 20% of the time?
17.     Have you ever had a "perfect attendence record"?
18.     Do you take notes in more than one color?
19.     Have you ever tutored someone else?
20.     Have you ever done homework on a Friday night?
21.     Have you ever pulled an all-nighter?
22.     Have you taken any classes pass/fail just to preserve your GPA?

    Do you know any of the following computer languages...
23.        ...BASIC?
24.        ...PASCAL?
25.        ...FORTRAN?
26.        ...assembly language?
27.        ...C?

28.     Can you count in binary?  (up to decimal 10)
29.     Can you count in hexadecimal?  (up to decimal 20)
30.     Do you know Maxwell's equations?  (integral or differential form)
31.     Do you know Schroedinger's Equation?
32.     Have you ever solved Schroedinger's Equation?
33.     Do you know the difference between a scalar and a vector?
34.     Do you know the difference between a vector and a tensor?
35.     Do you know the right-hand-rule for cross-products?
36.     Do you know the biological latin name (genus and species) for anything?
          (fruit fly, human being)
37.     Can you understand the owner's manual for electronic equipment?
38.     Can you understand the electronic schematic for electronic equipment?
39.     Can you name the first nine elements of the periodic table in order?
40.     Can you translate more then half the chemical symbols into the
          name of the element they represent?  (H, He, Li, Be, etc.)
41.     Do you know the wavelength of the visible spectrum?

    The next few questions deal with physical constants.  Mark yes for any
    that you can give the value (2 or more significant digits) for.  Knowledge
    of the units attached is NOT necessary, just the numeric portion.

42.     gravitational constant? (G)
43.     earth's gravity near the surface?  (g)
44.     mass of an electron?
45.     charge of an electron?
46.     speed of light?
47.     speed of sound in air at STP?
48.     Planck's constant?  (h or h-bar)
49.     permitivity of free space?  (epsilon naught)
50.     permeability of free space?  (mu naught)
51.     Avogadro's number?
52.     molar gas constant?
53.     pi?  (exception: must know more than 5 digits)
54.     e?   (exception: must know more than 5 digits)

    Can you give the conversion factor between...  (2 or more sig. digits)
55.     ...centimeters and inches?
56.     ...kilometers and miles?
57.     ...joules and electron-volts?
58.     ...atomic mass units and kilograms?
59.     ...celsius and kelvin?
60.     ...celsius and fahrenheit?

61.     Can you briefly outline the biological process that occur due to
          alcohol when it is consumed by a human?
62.     Can you do the above while drunk?
63.     Have you ever interpolated?
64.     Have you ever extrapolated?
65.     Do you know the difference between interpolation and extrapolation?

    Answer YES if you know what the following acronyms stand for.
66.     ...RADAR?
67.     ...MODEM?
68.     ...DNA?
69.     ...ATP?
70.     ...NADP?
71.     ...CRT?
72.     ...CRC?
73.     ...STP?
74.     ...NORAD?
75.     ...NASA?
76.     ...LED?
77.     ...AI?
78.     ...LASER?
79.     ...RPG?
80.     ...TLA?
81.     ...SCUBA?
82.     ...DAT?
83.     Did you not know one of the above, but took a wild guess at in anyway?
84.     Have you ever created an acronym in order to simplify your writing?

85.     If, while answering any question in this section, you said someone
          else's answer was wrong and were right, mark this question true.
          (e.g. "you nob! Pi isn't 3.1425.  It's 3.1415!")
86.     If while answering any question in this section, you checked a reference
          book to find out the correct answer, mark this question true.
          (e.g. "AARRGGH!  What's that last R in radar stand for?")

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SECTION 2: lifestyle and possessions

87.     Have you ever used a computer?
88.             for more than 4 hours continuously?
89.             for more than 8 hours continuously?
90.             past 4 a.m.?
91.             on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the same weekend?
92.             with someone you were physically attracted toward?
93.             for money?
94.             as a source of entertainment?  (computer game)
95.                     in the last three months?
96.                     in the last three weeks?
97.     Have you ever programmed a computer?
98.             to write a computer game?
99.             to write a computer virus?
100.    Do you still own any computer with less than 512k of RAM?
101.    Have you ever taken your computer on vacation with you?
102.    Have you ever used a mouse?
103.    Have you ever used a trak-ball?
104.            for something other than a video game?
105.    Have you ever used a modem?
106.    Have you ever telnet'ed from one computer system to another?
107.            to gain access to a system you had no authorization on?
108.            to call a government computer?  (NASA, FBI, NORAD, etc.)
109.            to call a research institution?  (CERN, JPL, etc.)
110.    Do you have an electronic mail address?
111.            more then one e-mail address?
112.    Have you ever sent e-mail?
113.            to yourself?
114.            to someone who was in the same room as you at the time?
115.    Have you ever FTP'd?
116.            anonymously?
117.    Have you ever uploaded?
118.    Have you ever downloaded?
119.    Have you ever taken something apart?
120.            and put it back together correctly?
121.            without worrying about voiding the warrenty?
122.    Do friends and/or family ask you to fix things?
123.    Do friends and/or family ask to borrow your tools?
124.            because you are the only person they know who OWNS that tool?
125.    Have you ever put something together without reference to the assembly
          instructions?
126.    Have you ever bought something primarily for the pleasure of taking it
          apart to "see how it works"?
127.    Have you ever rewired something?
128.    Do you frequently find yourself with more plugs then outlets?
129.    Do you currently own a can of WD-40?
130.    Do you currently own a can of compressed air?
131.    Do you watch more than 4 hours of TV on any given day in the last week?
132.    Can you name more than 5 shows on PBS?  (inc.: A&E, Discovery Channel)
133.    Have you ever watched a PBS documentary?
134.            in the last three weeks?
135.    Have you ever watched Dr. Who?
136.    Can you name or discuss the plots of more than 10 Star Trek episodes?
137.    Have you ever watched a TV or movie and said: "that's physically
          impossible (due to Newton's xth law, etc.) ?"

    Can you whistle, hum, sing or snap the theme songs to...
138.    ...Gilligan's Island?
139     ...Flintstones?
140     ...The Brady Bunch?
141     ...The Jetson's?
142     ...The Addam's Family?
143     ...Dobbie Gillis?
144     ...I Dream of Genie?
145     Do you know most of the words to "The Lumberjack Song" by Monty Python?
146     Have you ever played a non-sexual role-playing game?  (D&D)
147.            since leaving high school?
148.    Have you seen all of the Star Wars movies?
149.            in one 24 hour period?
150.    Have you ever owned a light sabre?
151.            that wasn't made of plastic?
152.    Have you seen all of the Star Trek films?
153.            in one 30 hour period?
154.    Have you ever owned a pair of Spock ears?
155.           and worn them in public?
156.    Have you ever been to a trek convention?
157.    Have you ever been to a RPG convention?  (GenCON, etc.)

    Have you ever read anything by...
158.    ...Douglas Adams?
159.    ...Isaac Asimov?
160.    ...Robert H. Heinlein?
161.    ...Piers Anthony?
162.    ...J.R.R. Tolkein?
163.    ...TSR Hobbies?  (i.e. a novel published by the D&D people)
164.    ...Richard Feynman?  (e.g.  his lectures, etc.)
165.    ...Stephen Hawkings?
166.    ...Carl Sagan?

167.    Have you ever read -Cultural-Literacy- or any other book on "what, you
          as an intelligent person, should know"?
168.    Have you ever read -Innumeracy- or any other book about mathematics
          made popular?

    Do you have magazine subscriptions to...
169.    ...Popular Mechanics?
170.    ...Popular Science?
171.    ...Omni?
172.    ...any computer oriented magazine?
173.    ...Discover?

174.    Do you own an encyclopedia?
175.    Have you ever read an encyclopedia entry that you weren't researching?
176.    Have you ever wanted to know something for no apparent reason?
177.    Have you ever been laughed at for wanting to know something?
178.    Do you own an almanac?  (World, Farmer's)
179.    Do you own an atlas?
180.    Do you own a globe?
181.            and have it on display?  (on a desk, bookshelf...)
182.            that has bumps corresponding to mountain ranges?
183.            that lights up?
184.    Have you ever used a chemistry set?
185.            since the age of 13?
186.    Have you ever used a rare earth element?
187.    Have you ever dissected something?
188.            while not involved in a biology class?
189.    Have you ever bought something from Radio Shack?
190.    Have you ever used an oscilloscope?
191.    Have you ever used a microscope?
192.    Have you ever used a telescope?
193.            not for peering through someone's bedroom window?
194.    Do you own a voltmeter?
195.    Do you own any remote controlled vehicals?
196.    Can you program the time on a VCR
197.    Have you ever faxed something?
198.    Have you ever received a fax?
199.    Do you own a cellular phone?  (car phone)
200.    Do you own a non-standard calculator?  (scientific, programmable)
201.    Do you have a slide rule?
202.            and now how to use it?
203.    Other then a thermometer, do you own any meteorlogical equipment?
204.    Do you own any orienteering equipment?  (compass, sextent, etc.)
205.    Do you own a pencil case?
206.    Do you own a mechanical pencil?
207.            and have refills for it?
208.    Do you own an electric pencil sharpener?
209.    Do you own a laboratory notebook?
210.    Do you own any graph paper?  (quadruled)
211.    Do you own any log or semi-log paper?
212.    Do you own a table of integrals?
213.    Do you play chess?
214.    Were you ever on a chess team?
215.               ...on a math team?
216.               ...on a debate team?
217.               ...on a "trivia" team?   (college bowl, JEOPARDY)
218.              ...the captain for any of the teams listed above?
219.    Were you ever in a science fair?
220.            that you placed in the top three?
221.    Have you ever made a technical joke?
222.            that no one around you understood?
223.                    and you found yourself trying to explain it?
224.            that everyone around you understood?
225.                    but their reason for laughing wasn't the same as yours?
226.    Have you ever used the word "asymptotic"?
227.    Have you ever referred to something as an L.E.D.?
228.    Have you ever referred to a ruler as a "straight-edge"?
229.    Have you ever said "quartz crystal"?
230.    Have you ever called something a "print out" or "hard copy"?
231.    Have you ever referred to a curve/object as hyperbolic, parabolic, etc.?
232.    Do you own a slinky?
233.    Does a slinky make you think about oscillations?
234.    Do you own a Rubik's cube?
235.    Are you able to solve Rubik's Cube?
236.            without using the book?
237.            in less than two minutes?
238.    Have you ever tried to calculate the number of possible permutations
          a Rubik's Cube can have?

     Which of the following have you used to prevent sleep...
239.    ...Caffeine?
240.    ...exercise?
241.    ...Vivarin?
242.    ...NoDoz?
243.    ...Something you made in chem lab?
244.    ...Something you found in chem lab?

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SECTION 3: clothing and personality

245.    Do both of your socks match?
246.    Do you own a digital watch?
247.            that plays music?
248.            that's currently set to chime on the hour?
249.            that has a calculator built in?
250.    Do you own a pocket protector?
251.            and are you wearing it?
252.    Do you have acne?
253.    Do you have greasy hair?
254.            without realizing it?
255.    Do you own any clothing with scientific knowledge printed on it?
          (e.g. t-shirts with Maxwell's equations)
256.    Are your pants too short?
257.    Is your outfit coordinated?  (have someone else evaluate this)
258.    Have you ever worn a button-down shirt and left the tails hanging out?
259.    Do you wear glasses?
260.    Is your vision worse than 20/40?        (in either eye)
261.    Is your vision worse than 20/80?        (in either eye)
262.    Are you legally blind?                  (in either eye)
263.    Are you socially inept?
264.    Are you taking this test alone?
265.    Do you talk to yourself?
266.            when other people are around?
267.    Do you talk to imaginary people?
268.            do they talk back?
269.            do they seem to be more/less intelligent then you?
270.    Do you have a tough time remembering people's names?
271.            but no trouble with their numeric data? (phone#, SS#, address)
272.    Mark this true if you did NOT go to your senior prom.
273.    Did you go stag to your Senior Prom?
274.    Have you ever found a grammatical error in a published book?
275.    Have you ever eaten pizza cold?
276.            do you like it that way?
277.            because you're too lazy to reheat it?
278.    Have you ever gotten pizza delivered to the lab/office/science building?
279.    Is any leftover delivery food currently residing in your refrigerator?
280.            that's been there so long, you can't remember ordering it?
281.    Is any food in your refridgerator moldy?
282.    Have you ever contemplated the meaning of life/existance of God?
283.            while not drunk?
284.            while alone?
285.    Have you ever thought about extra dimensions/parallel universes?
286.            and discussed their possibilities with others?
287.    Have you ever commented: "If I drive fast enough at the red light,
          it'll appear green."
288.    Have you ever thought about reviving the dead? (Frankenstein)
289.            for sexual purposes?
290.            and had some degree of success?
291.                    but been laughed at by a leading medical institution?
292.    Have you ever given an inanimate object a name?  (inc: stuffed animal)
293.            Was the object something electronic or mechanical?
294.            Did the object also have a "personality"?
295.    Was your SAT math more than 300 above your verbal?
296.    Did you score higher than 1200 combined on the SAT?
297.    Is your IQ greater than your weight?
298.    Is your purity test score higher than your nerdity test score?
299.    Have you asked for a technical clarification of anything on this test?
300.    Have you ever thought of a question that belongs on this test?
        ***Please send it to:  ICTX@vax5.cit.cornell.edu

Please put your pencils down.  That's it, hope you enjoyed.

This version compiled by yours truly: J. Bennett, Cornell U., Ithaca, NY.
Any questions or comments?  Drop me a line at
                ICTX@vax5.cit.cornell.edu

A special big thanks to the following:
        unknown:RMG3@psuvm.psu.edu   who is rumored to have written version 1.0.
This version is the widely known 100 question version that circulates in the
back corners of every true nerds' computer.
        Rahul Verma: RV0S+@andrew.cmu.edu     for giving me the original 100
question version which started it all.  Thanks so much.
        Thomas Marlowe:  KYRIE@coos.dartmouth.edu   for writing and sending me
copies of versions 2.0, 2.1 and 2.1.pi^2.   It provided a lot of new ideas and
sparked some new train of thoughts.  Many of the questions contained within were
lifted directly from that edition.
        Kiet H Tran: KHT@kepler.unh.edu   for pointing out the fact that a true
nerd only uses a computer with a mouse.
        Cynthia Pettit: Pettit@CS.unc.edu   for providing me with a whole bunch
of related questions, all of which I used.  Thinks for sparking thought in some
new directions.
        Andrew: CS1122@snowwhite.cis.uoguelph.ca   for making me think a little
about the technical joke's section.
        And a big thanks to the "late-night, post prelim/problem set" Beer and
alcohol crew for being just, plain wierd and geeky.
        THANK YOU ALL

For additional information or a copy of the current version, send me e-mail to
the above address.  If you'd like to make a contribution please send me the
questions you feel appropriate (please, just the questions, NOT the entire test)
as well as how you'd like to be referred to in the credits.

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History:

        -In the beginning there was a large, dense ball of matter at the center
of the universe.  For reasons unknown and beyond the scope of this course, this
mass exploded, spewing matter outward.  Eventually (derivation skipped, but
shown explicitely in the recommended readings) everything cooled down, life
developed and someone, somewhere created...

        no version number : containing the original 100 questions from which
the following is all derived.  Origin unknown.  Format rough and crude and
showing obvious derivation from the purity test.
        version 2.0 : fabled and never seen by this author.
        version 2.1 : the first such version 2.1 (the two were created
independantly) - no data available and may be mere rumor.
        version 2.1.pi^2 : Rumored to exist somewhere.  This author saw a
copyof it once, but has since lost it somewhere on his desktop...  Some of
its
was utilized in the creation of version 3.1415
         version 2.1 : (3-12-92)  Prequel to the current edition.  Essentially
the 100 question version reformatted, made user-friendly and expanded to 200
questions.
        version 3.1.xxx : a version that contained work-in-progress.  It was
never intended for distrubution but found its way into the airways nonetheless.
        version 3.1415 : (2-8-93)  a further evolution of V.2.1.  It contains
300 questions and was somewhat reworked and rewritten.

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