h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I took this online test:
http://openpsychometrics.org/tests/NPAS/

It was recommended by The Post, and I thank them for that.

People who self-identify themselves as nerds have some common traits, which the people who designed the test organized, and developed into a test. It was a little scary to see some questions that were almost exactly the way I thought (I would rather read than talk, and one of the questions came close to expressing this thought ).

I 50 is an average score, and 70 is the highest possible degree of nerdiness (sp?), then my score (61) is somewhat nerdy though not extreme.

Therev was a list of words, and quiz-takers were asked to indicate the ones that they were sure they could define. I remember that there were only three words I wasn't sure of. Wouldn't you know I wish I had thought to jot them down and then look them up and elarn them .

My only concern had to do with the fact that when I was in high school, According to Wikipedia, the term "nerd" was "Originally derogatory..., but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity."

Maybe that's all right, then. What would have been a downer of a term in the 1960s might have positive connotations now. In any event, I still don't want to be put into too narrow a category, just in case. In school, you were either a nerd or a jock. I have cultivated enough athletic pursuits to pose as a jock, as long as I'm not compared to someone who is very athletic. .

The score that I got was 68.

48! Probably due to never reading a Terry Pratchett book?

50. Doesn't get more average than that. Only 30% of us self identify as nerds. I can live with that

paulh, can't you just take the test again and see the words?

Yes, I can take it again. I'll check my social calendar and see if there's a slot open for doing that.

Or I could just mention the words I got here

genius or nerd ? gotta try this one

Just remember, prof, that your mileage may vary.

score 45 But hey! Then again! Modesty is hard for a genius like me

Paulh, I was given three words I was not sure about and after trying to google them I'm not any wiser

Whatever does "florted", "cuivocal" and "verdid" mean

Florting is a nerdy verison of flirting.

Cuivocal and verdid are apparently nonsense words used to see how many people claim to know them. Perhaps you and I got credit for *not* saying we knew what they meant.

I got 52. But how can you answer "Have you voted in a National Election in the past year" with "Yes" if there hasn't been an election?

It was rather US-centric. The question about the library for example. Only in America do people go into public libraries and spend ages there, reading and using the computers, while the kids play in the well-equipped play areas. In most European places, if you're lucky enough to have a library, you go there, hand in your books, pick out a couple of new ones, and leave. I never re-joined our library in town after it went digital some 20 years ago. When I was at work, it wasn't usually open at times I could go there, and nowadays, I just haven't got into the habit.

And WTF with the "diagnosed for autism" question? People can be nerds and still have normal social skills, can't they?

Paulh, I believe "florted" is just as much nonsense as those other words. "Flort" does only appear in *one* place and that is the Urban Dictionary which is created by nerds (!) or maybe even only geeks from the interwebs and can't be held accountable for anything.

TC, you may be right about this being rather US-centric. But I am surprised you would write "only in America do people go into public libraries and spend ages there".
Here in Denmark libraries are centers for all things cultural: Books, CD's, DVD's, concerts, work shops, computers, lectures - you name it.
I'm sure this goes for the rest of Scandinavia too and I would be surprised if it's not the same in Germany - at least in Schleswig-Holstein. Not sure about the UK but I know a friend in Bradford who uses the computers in his local library almost every day.
My local library recently merged with the municipal citizen service center, where you can get help filling out tax papers, apply for pensions, get your passport and driver's license and the like.
The library is open 24/7 but of course only staffed during the daytime.

As for the "diagnosed for autism" question: Sure, people can easily be nerds and still have normal social skills, but so can people diagnosed for autism. I find it valuable to research the boundaries.

I did the test again and got 65. I go to the library once every two weeks for a social support group. I also listen to audio-books and I have started buying books about learning how to forecast the weather. I prefer factual books and I also learn about the weather by watching on-line videos, forums and blogs. The library in the UK is not just for getting books out, but there are audio books, ebooks and DVDs as well as community groups, housing officers as well as being used by the Jobcentre, NHS and councillors. The libraries in Thurrock are open mainly Monday to Saturday which have volunteers help run it. The library staff on Saturday are only there until 12pm and some areas in Thurrock, the libraries are closed two or three times a week.

It was a fun thing to do, and I also thank The Post for finding it

I managed to score 70 on my first go, but I think I interpreted the library question a bit too loosely - the Liverpool Central Library is a place I have spent ages in as they have computers, computer games, play areas, a cafe and a reading room and I am often found in my virtual library, but in public I am more often found in a museum or nature reserve these days.

This time I got 68

It's all good.

F1926355?thread=3190261&skip=0&show=20

I you don't want to be a "nerd"

Sorry, I sold my sapphire leather thong in *2007*.