My wife is an amazing person. No, you're not reading a rehash of a post I did a few days ago. She's a brilliant thinker, and a pure spirit (though she may not agree with the last part in particular, because her stress level is so high - given my current job situation - she's been more fragile than normal and has been a bit snappish). Anyway, I've often told her that she's much smarter than I am. I tell her I'm a one-trick pony, reasonably skilled in math, but other than that, a complete mental midget.

Yesterday, she found an IQ test online. She took it and scored remarkably well. Then she gave me the URL for the test, and the implication was try to beat this. Well, it's been over 35 years since I took my last official IQ test, and I'm not someone who can just walk into a room and be prepared for a snap-quiz. I had to think... do I take this test, and prove she's superior? Do I take this test and hope I outscore her?

Frankly, it was a no-win situation. I decided to take the test. But first, I had to make sure I would be able to stay relaxed during the 13-minute exercise (the time allotted for the test). So, I went to the washroom, then did some deep breathing, and finally jumped in.

To get me "in the mood", the test included instructions on how to time yourself (so I got a stopwatch handy - I like to be precise), and gave a 3-question warm-up exercise. To tell you the truth, I can't even remember the practice questions - the trauma of the test has left me without much recall, but they didn't seem that daunting. After filling out my email address (so the results could be emailed to me), I was ready to roll. I pressed the Start button on the watch, and dove right in.

"This is easy", I thought, as I sailed through the questions. In no time at all, I came to the point where the test indicated it was half done. I checked my watch. Just over 4 minutes gone - 9 to go! Yeah, this is a breeze. Then it started... the questions grew harder. I had to stop and think. Mentally count on my fingers and toes (I say mentally because the test specifically forbid the use of mechanical aids), and try to visualize situations and physical items described by the test. Visualization is difficult for me. I can analyze any picture you put in front of me. But tell me to imagine the same picture, and I am completely overwhelmed by the details. Anyway, I digress. As I scroll down the test, answering question after question, I finally get to the point where the last question scrolls onto the bottom of my screen. Just 6 questions to go! A quick glance at my watch reveals that I'm almost at the 11 minute mark! Eleven minutes gone already!!! What-the-f*!!! How am I supposed to do six questions in two minutes? These are HARD!!! So, I go into the football 2-minute drill. A quick read of the remaining six questions lets me decide which to concentrate on first - which can be solved quickly. OK. I've done three questions and I still have a minute to go. There are three equally-tough questions to go. They will take maybe 30 seconds each to do. I have under 60 seconds remaining. The first question answered, another glance at the watch. Thirty seconds remaining... I can feel the knot in my stomach. Failure is staring me in the face. The second question is answered. Only six seconds left in the test.

I click on a random answer for the last question, and click the STOP button on my watch. I finished at 12:56. The test allows 13 minutes, after which point, the scores are reduced by a time penalty factor.

For any of you that take the test, be aware that at the end of the test, there is a form to be filled out. The test does not even attempt to tell you that this form is OPTIONAL, and if you fill it out, you will be charged for a hardcopy printout of your test results and analysis. Instead, just check your email box. You should already have the results waiting for you.

OK, I got my results. And they were better than my wife's. But let's look more closely at those results. To compare, if my score was 100%, then her score was 90%. And the total time she spent on the test??? Nine minutes - just 2/3 as much time as I needed to do the same test!!! I don't even want to think what her score would have been if she had slowed down, taken a few more seconds on each question, and given herself the opportunity to kick ass! Yup, like I said, I am married to a remarkable lady!

If anyone's interested in the test, here's the link.