Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

Senses Challenge

Posted by "GrrlScientist" on March 20, 2006
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Do your eyes deceive you? Can you really trust your senses, or do they sometimes deceive you? Take this quiz to find out! It’s a lot harder than you think. This quiz also includes an explanation for each question that helps you understand how your brain is “tricked” by your senses.


My score: 14/20. I guess all that Anatomy and Physiology teaching served me well! (i got 19/20 on the second try — that line graphic is tricky).

I found it interesting that a crying baby is so danged loud (I thought my perception was simply a measure of my own annoyance level) — nearly as loud as a pop concert and louder than a motorbike! I also got lucky on several questions, like the white chocolate and caviar question (I HATE white chocolate), the musical notes and the Godzilla/King Kong questions. Did the timer make you nervous? Did you guess correctly on some questions?

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Comments

  1. #1 pough
    March 20, 2006

    I did neither well nor poorly (10/20), but at least I now find I’m justified in being repulsed by parmesan cheese!

  2. #2 coturnix
    March 20, 2006

    I got 12/20 but I was irreverent in a couple of places and experimented as if it was not a life-and-death situation.

  3. #3 Sean Foley
    March 20, 2006

    18 out of 20, but I was guessing on both of the food combination questions (I don’t like white chocolate or pineapple, so all of them sounded pretty unappetizing).

  4. #4 Kele
    March 20, 2006

    Haha, 7/20. I got a couple wrong because I skipped the obvious answer because I figured it was a trick question.And what was with the food questions? I would assume people have different opinions as to which is better…

  5. #5 Lab Cat
    March 21, 2006

    I got 11/20. Relieved to have done well at the food questions as that is sort of what I do all day. At least I read about it. Actually, food tasting and food combos are much more “controlled” (not the word I am really looking for)than we realize.

    I didn’t like the fact that the test was timed though. Hasn’t anyone told the Beeb that it ruins quizzes for dyslexics? I missed a few of the earlier questions as I panicked into answering before reading the instructions as there was this d*mn counter ticking down.

  6. #6 Kevin
    March 21, 2006

    15/20 – and I know that I lost a couple of points simply by being colour-blind! (And yes, I agree that the food questions were all pretty yucky…)

    I’ve always been able to smell butyrate in cheeses. At least ever since I knew what it is. (Foul, acrid, putrid, bitter, …)