posted
I'm writing a paper on matching educational theory with technology based education, and I'm trying to find something that I think would make the point that statistical analysis and computing power can be used to assess subtle changes in cognitive development.
I once saw a web site that asked you to answer questions with largely irrelevant answers. Based on your answers, it would determine your gender. It also gave a percentage of confidence in its prediction.
questions were like (Pick one) a red oval, or a purple pentagon
Stuff like that. The point was that based on statistical analysis, the test would become more accurate as more data were entered into it.
posted
You're thinking of The Gender Test by theSpark. It used to be hosted on thespark.com, but they've since devoted their webspace to SparkNotes. The test is still hosted there:
posted
Does not...28% sure you're a man mean 72% sure you're a woman?
And about those pictures. I very oddly do not have a flower in my pants, and nor do I have a rectangular red colored stick. How quaint.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
They are 0% sure I am a woman. That was worth registering. Though I feel bad for choosing "sparkyusuck" as my user ID. The disturbing proof
It's odd that I still came up as a woman when 51% (of total respondents?) are more female than me. I guess more women than men take the test.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:Originally posted by erosomniac: You're thinking of The Gender Test by theSpark. It used to be hosted on thespark.com, but they've since devoted their webspace to SparkNotes. The test is still hosted there:
Sounds interesting, I just wish that it didn't require registration. Too bad bugmenot doesn't have login info for them.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by ricree101: Sounds interesting, I just wish that it didn't require registration. Too bad bugmenot doesn't have login info for them.
I find it interesting that one of the required questions in the registration that must be completed to take the test is a disclosure of gender.
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Either this test sucks, or we're just a wierd bunch. According to Sparky, <i>92%</i> of respondents are 'more female' than me.
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posted
It got me right. I thought it usually got people right.
I asked a psychology prof about this. He said, yes, it's well established: pick questions completely at random, and you can learn answers and weights for a binary grouping (dropping questions that break down 50-50). Cool idea.
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Either this test sucks, or we're just a wierd bunch. According to Sparky, <i>92%</i> of respondents are 'more female' than me.
It just means that the level of correspondence between the responses to these questions and the gender of the respondents is low (not surprising, considering the questions are random). Hence the low certainty percentage we are all getting.
Posts: 1762 | Registered: Apr 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: Some of the question are SO stupid! I mean -- which is the best way to ship - truck or ship -- TOTALLY depends on where the shipment is going!
And the 'does your middle name end in a vowel' is a give away for them -- more female names end in vowels than male names do.
Yeah, I think I left the ship/truck one blank. It was like, whaaaa????? And my middle name not ending in a vowel was, I'm sure, one of the reasons it thought I was male. There were several questions that, as I answered, I thought "probably more men than women say this." Like the importance of the Internet one: I said information over communication, but I had to sit and think about it for a long time. And I figured more women probably said communication.
But normally I think I'm a pretty girly thinker!
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Apparently I'm 28% a woman... And here my parents tricked me into believing that I'm a boy my entire life *rolls eyes* well that'll show them. The secret's out now!
Posts: 1158 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
What I find funniest about this thread is that when my friends and I took it back when it was new (5? years ago or so), it was so accurate it was...well, scary. I told pretty much my entire high school class about it, and we all sort of marveled at it together. I'm wondering whether the test has been changed since then, or you are all just a big 'ol gender bending bunch. Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of people have deliberately messed up their results.
Yeah, it occurs to me that Hatrack's general attitude would be to try as hard as possible to prove that the test doesn't work by answering how they feel the opposite gender would answer.
It also occurs to me that I can see whether the test has changed much by retaking it myself.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
When this thread comes to the top, the main "Active Forums" page displays it as "Help me find a gender..." I find that far more amusing.
And, no, I'm not going to take a test. Instead, I'm going to go in to my garage and break stuff with my hammer, drink a beer, watch a football game and belch loudly.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I'm sure you didn't mean that the way it came out...
Sorry, that wasn't very PC of me, I was implying that they thought only 8% of me existed, I'm sorry if I offended anyone while not being funny.
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