There are 36 reader comments
• Nov 22 2003 • 10:33AM
168. could have done better -- shouldn't have talked through math class. they really need to have another scoring bracket. 170+ "you need to get out more."
• Nov 22 2003 • 10:42AM
I was disappointed. Just because I don't use a cellphone to access my email doesn't mean I don't know how to. And how do I avoid the RIAA? I don't, I'm Canadian.
• Nov 22 2003 • 10:45AM
196! I scored a 196! Full-blown nerd-dom is mine. Incidentally, anyone who posts a comment here should automatically add 10 (20?) points to their final score.
• Nov 22 2003 • 11:53AM
sad to say 199 but i am a bofh so its to be expected ...
• Nov 22 2003 • 11:56AM
159! A nerd, but only a middle range nerd. All you guys scoring in the 180+ range frighten me.
• Nov 22 2003 • 12:11PM
131! Does that mean I'm cool (as opposed to, well, a nerd)? I'd like to think it does. All thanks to my WAP-less cellphone and my non-existent PDA. And the RIAA can't catch me either, I'm Norwegian.
• Nov 22 2003 • 12:51PM
Can some ultra-geek figure out the perfect score? (what's BOFH, chris?) I'm a designer and reluctant nerd who needs to know how my computers work in order to stay in business, but I did scare myself when I knew that Bluetooth was a Viking. I know I must have gotten 5-10 questions wrong tho ...
• Nov 22 2003 • 1:29PM
BOFH = B*st*rd Operator from H*ll - people who make company networks work. (or not work depending on how much we like you ;) See www.theregister.co.uk/content/30/index.html.
Some of the questions are PC biased which will result in mac users getting a lower score
• Nov 22 2003 • 2:07PM
79. I think that's a good sign. Answering this on a Saturday afternoon, +70 = 149.
• Nov 22 2003 • 2:23PM
i scored a 121, and i'm 14, so i couldn't answer the ones relating to work and coworkers. and i don't have a cell phone or a PDA, so i think i scored pretty darn well.
• Nov 22 2003 • 2:38PM
160. I'm proud to be called a nerd ... and agree with Heather. (about it needing another scoring bracket).
• Nov 22 2003 • 3:47PM
167.
• Nov 22 2003 • 5:04PM
41. Hah. And I'm in the final year of a computer science degree. It makes me obscurely proud, somehow.
Definately biased towards those working or with money though (laptops, PDA, etc).
• Nov 22 2003 • 5:51PM
91. I'm happy with that. Not bad for a computer hobbyist.
• Nov 22 2003 • 8:17PM
Answering honestly I got 219. Then I saw all the Microsoft flash ads all over the page and realized what it was and re-took it and scored 234. [Hint: click YES to any feature of Windows XP and Office XP and newer and you too will score high.] Some of the heuristics seemed, though normal for a tech-savvy person, strange for the average user. Like not gaining points for alphanumeric passwords or not having anyone's name/dob as password, but losing points if it weren't the case. Same for opeing file attachments from strangers. No points if you don't, but losing points if you do. I wonder why they gave points for writing a virus. Same for blogging and googling.
• Nov 22 2003 • 8:59PM
Major problems with this. The biggest problem is that you can't select more than one answer to a question like "Do you read your personal e-mail at home or at work?" Well duh -- both! The fact that the UI element used for this is a checkbox leads you to believe that you can select multiple answers.
But I abandoned the test when I saw they knock 5 points off for opening files sent to you by people you don't know. This is basically harmless on a Mac, which is why I do it, and in any case they didn't say what kinds of attachments. (I wouldn't open an executable.) I should get 5 points added for using a platform nobody writes worms for, rather than having 5 points knocked off because they assume I'm using Windows.
On the other hand, I got 5 points because my OS has a firewall built-in. I don't use the firewall, since there's really no need to, but I do have one, which is what they actually asked. So I guess it's a wash.
• Nov 22 2003 • 9:52PM
I got a 210 the first time I took it, and answered honestly (Using Wintel at work helped a good bit). Second time I got a 240. It is a pretty poorly designed survey.... Doesn't even record the actual scores, the only record keeping is a second form that's highest number is 110. Why not just submit the score after the survey is taken?
• Nov 23 2003 • 2:58AM
Jerry: Holy over-analysis, Batman.
• Nov 23 2003 • 7:41AM
39. beat you all
• Nov 23 2003 • 8:59AM
106. You... men and your PDA's. Pah.
• Nov 23 2003 • 1:13PM
One thing I don't get is why I didn't get extra points for *not* having my homepage set to msn/yahoo/aol. My homepage is a home-brewn, dynamically generated php page with rss feeds from my friends blogs, webradio, search fields and the likes. I tought I should get nerd points for that. Anyway, I got 205. I'm a nerd. Yeah
• Nov 23 2003 • 1:21PM
Believe me, I have not begun to overanalyze! ;)
• Nov 23 2003 • 4:40PM
186......personalising a portal should be replaced with hand coding php or perl for your web site
• Nov 23 2003 • 4:42PM
Well, it looks like the highest score possible is a 240. They actually got one of their answers wrong: they give you points for saying that Mac files can be read and written in Windows and vv, but they seem to have forgotten the fact that Mac files have a resource fork and a data fork; if you pass a Mac file around a win or unix network, it's quite likely that the file you get back won't be the one you sent out.
• Nov 24 2003 • 12:43AM
240 is the highest? Now I feel better about my 195. I'm nowhere near as hopeless as I thought.
• Nov 24 2003 • 11:08AM
sad to say that i used .net on my mac to sort out my home page ... just to see if could be done ... Happy to report it was possible ...
• Nov 24 2003 • 12:28PM
Aside from Pierce, I think I tanked out with a 78. This is definitely skewed results, though, based on the fact that it's an internet test. Obviously more people who are tech-savvy are going to use than internet than those who don't. Also, I'm in agreement on the PC/Mac thing. I can use a PC but have used Macs since age five, so who cares if I know how to get rid of Clippy? My OS doesn't treat me like a 3-year-old.
• Nov 24 2003 • 6:08PM
186
• Nov 28 2003 • 8:00PM
141 on 1st try which ain't not too bad for a 48+ English guy who lives in the scorching northern US-of-A!! Searched MSNBC site in vain (digital iq test) for this d*mned quiz after spotting commercial (Newsweek rag) -- went after it on Copernic...Kottke's blog pages popped up as #8 (of dozens) which led me here...FYI, try Google which quickly pops up several pages (as usual) with a preferred link to an "Einstein" IQ test which may be a chuckle!!
• Dec 03 2003 • 10:09PM
i got 82 .. -82 that is
• Dec 31 2003 • 4:16PM
what?
• Jan 06 2004 • 12:29AM
I was disappointed. Just because I don't use a cellphone to access my email doesn't mean I don't know how to. And how do I avoid the RIAA? I don't, I'm Canadian.
• Jan 25 2004 • 10:14PM
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
• Feb 18 2004 • 6:36PM
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Regards
• Feb 24 2004 • 7:55PM
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This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.
Tom Dolan • Nov 22 2003 • 10:13AM
That's pretty scary, I scored 189 and I'm sure there will be people that will kick my ass.