Krogerus Mikael - The Test Book

Also by Krogerus/Tschppeler:

The Decision Book Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
The Change Book Fifty Models to Explain How Things Happen
The Question Book

www.rtmk.ch

MIKAEL KROGERUS

ROMAN TSCHPPELER

THE TEST BOOK

Assistance: Cdric Hiltbrand

With illustrations by Carla Schmid

Translated by Jenny Piening

The original edition was published in 2014 under the title Das Testbuch by Kein & Aber, Zrich.

Copyright 2014 by Kein & Aber
Translation copyright 2014 by Jenny Piening
First American Edition 2015

All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed editions as follows:

Krogerus, Mikael, author.
[Testbuch. English]
The test book / Mikael Krogerus, Roman Tschppeler; with illustrations by Carla Schmid;
translated by Jenny Piening.
First American edition.
pages cm
The original edition was published in 2014 under the title Das Testbuch
by Kein & Aber, Zrich.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-393-24704-6 (hardcover)
1. Psychological tests. 2. Personality tests. 3. Intelligence tests.
I. Tschppeler, Roman, author. II. Title.
BF176.K7613 2015
150.287dc23

2015024782

ISBN 978-0-393-24705-3 (e-book)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street,
London W1T 3QT

WHAT ITS ABOUT

Never before have humans had to undergo as many tests as today. Theres a test before it all starts (a pregnancy test) and one when its all over (a test to determine the cause of death). And in between? From the cradle to the grave, from head to toe, were subjected to a barrage of evaluations, standardizations and formulae: prenatal diagnostics, PISA, GCSEs, driving test, army physical, IQ, EQ, fitness test, depression test, dementia test life is one long test, and we are just the candidates.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS BOOK

We have compiled sixty-four tests famous and obscure ones, historical and brand-new ones that interpret your life. You can do some of the tests right away (Am I in the right job? How well do I know my partner? Do I drink too much?). Others give you a taster and tips on what to do if push comes to shove (polygraph, Rorschach test, GMAT). In every case you will find out about the tests origins, how it is evaluated, and what the result reveals about you.

Dont expect any tests that assess machines, products, or methods the tests in this book are to do with you and your life. And dont expect any gossip-magazine horoscopes; the tests are (on the whole) reliable and based on scientific testing methods. What you can look forward to is tests that are fun and quick to do, and that might produce some surprising or thought-provoking results.

WHAT IS A TEST

A test is a measurement method. A basic distinction can be made between binary, quantitative, and qualitative tests. Binary tests divide results into two categories: positivenegative, rightwrong, pregnantnot pregnant. Quantitative tests locate your result on a scale and compare it to other peoples results, for example IQ tests or sport tests. Qualitative tests produce descriptive, typological results, like the MBTI. But tests are also powerful instruments. They decide who belongs and who doesnt. They draw the line between normal and crazy, between us and others, between below and above average.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

You can open this book at any page and dip in and out as you please. Test yourself, your friends, colleagues, or family members. The Test Book is written for anyone who is curious. Because tests dont only serve the purpose of compartmentalizing, they also provide orientation: Who am I? What can I do? Where do I stand in comparison to others? Only when you know where you stand can you find out where you want to go.

GETTING STARTED

If you are more practically minded and want to start by evaluating your own life, then go straight to the first test . Or if you want to first find out about the origins of testing, begin with the prologue, A brief history of the test.

Tests are as old as humanity, and there are four fundamental questions that we have never stopped asking: Are you guilty? Are you able? Who am I? and Am I sick?

We all know the guilt question from the Bible. In the guise of a wily snake, God tested whether Adam and Eve could resist the temptation of the apple. They couldnt. In the Book of Numbers we find the famous infidelity test: a wife whose husband suspects her of adultery is made to drink a potion of bitter water. Her belly swelling and thigh falling was proof of her guilt. A psychologically convincing lie test can be traced back to early India. The suspected liar is led into a dark tent. Inside there is a donkey, whose tail has been coated in lamp oil. The man is told to pull on the donkeys tail. If he is a liar, the man is told, pulling the donkeys tail will cause it to scream, because it is clairvoyant. The man is left alone with the animal and after a while brought back out of the tent. It doesnt matter if the donkey screamed or not, the evidence is on the mans hands. If they are clean it proves his guilt as he didnt touch the donkeys tail, and according to the inventors of this test, you can tell a liar by his fear of being found out. Modern lie detector tests are based on the same principle ( Polygraph Test and Reid Method, ).

DIVINE JUDGEMENT

The very first documented test in human history also dealt with the question of guilt. Divine judgment was a well-known method for establishing guilt in ancient China, India, and Asia Minor. To establish the accused persons guilt, he had to go before God. One of the oldest written records, the Code of Ur-Nammu (2100 BC) describes such divine judgments. For example, in the ordeal by water the accused is thrown into water; if he drowned, he was guilty. This method continued to be used for thousands of years, albeit in many variations. In the witch trials in the Middle Ages in Europe, for example, the trial by water was interpreted the other way round. If the woman didnt drown, she was guilty, if she did drown she was innocent (but unfortunately dead).

INITIATION AND ASSESSMENT

Are you guilty? is the first question that tests have dealt with since time immemorial. The second is Are you able? We know from early documentation of initiation rites, trials of courage, and inauguration ceremonies that joining a community often involved passing a test. Before being accepted into a group, the aspirant, or novice, first had to prove himself to the community. Little has changed: from religious communities to fraternities, indigenous tribes to street gangs, becoming a member involves passing a test. In the United States, if you want to join one of the powerful frats, you have to go through a hazing ritual, the unofficial admission test. At Dartmouth College, for example, candidates have to eat a vomelet (an omelet made of vomit). And those who want to join the white supremacist prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood have to kill a fellow prison inmate. After being circumcised, Masai boys have to set up a camp deep in the bush and live there for ten years with other freshly circumcised boys before returning to the community. And those who want a Christian baptism have to first spend a year proving their faith.