Declaration of Independence Quiz

This one has some pretty tough questions. I got 9 of 12 right.

Pew Research Center Misidentifies Me as a Libertarian

Although I have some libertarian positions, any actual libertarian reading this site for even a short time knows that I'm not a libertarian. But the Pew Research Center's "Political Typology" Quiz gets it wrong. Looking over the results, I think these were the key factors that caused me to be mislabeled:

• Accepting of homosexuality
• Less religious than the average American
• Moderate views about immigrants compared to other GOP-oriented groups

In fairness to Pew, I'm hard to pin down exactly, and they do have this caveat.

Most people, but not all, are good fits for their group. Some patterns of responses to the value questions and party affiliation just do not match up well with any of the groups. The procedure will assign everyone to the group that fits them best, even if they are not a very good fit with any of the groups. And some people may actually be good fits for more than one group, since some of the groups are quite similar in many of their views.

Check out the quiz and see if it identifies your political outlook correctly.

Positive Bias Test

Take this interesting psychological test.

h/t The Lessons of Evolution

Could You be a U.S. Diplomat?

The Christian Science Monitor has a quiz based on the foreign service exam.

The 20 questions here are based on the job knowledge portion of the Foreign Service Officer's exam. The real exam consists of 60 questions and is administered over 40 minutes. Think you know enough to become a US diplomat? Take our quiz.

I once considered taking the foreign service exam so I thought this was interesting. I got 20 out of 20, so if it's anything like the real thing I would have been it good shape.

Not Politcally Radical

I'm not a political radical according to the quiz, "Are You a Political Radical?"

You Are 28% Politically Radical
You've got a few unusual political ideas, but overall you're a pretty mainstream person. Chances are that you're turned off by both the radical right and looney left.

My more radical ideas tend to be in foreign policy, and the quiz focuses on domestic issues.

h/t blonde sagacity

How Progressive Am I? Guess.

Left-wing operation Center for American Progress has an interactive quiz called, "The Progressive Quiz," that evaluates how progressive or conservative you are. Let's see what they think of my answers.  According to the quiz I got 102/400, with 400 being a full-blown communist progressive. This makes me "very conservative." Supposedly the average score for Americans is 209.5.

Either this quiz is horribly designed, or is yet another representation of just how clueless and out of touch the activist left is with ordinary Americans. If someone like me qualifies as "very conservative," what does that make Rush Limbaugh? This type of attitude is typical of the fringes on both left and right, the tendency to label even moderate political opponents as far right or far left. When people are ideological extremists themselves, anyone who disagrees with some of their fundamental beliefs is automatically labeled as an extreme political enemy.

Republican Loyalty Quiz

While reading other blogs I came across references to some amusing quizzes. First up, the Republican Loyalty Quiz.  Here are my results: 

Your score is 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. You are a solid Republican. You are not as fiercely ideological or uncompromising as others in the party, but nonetheless remain a reliable supporter. If you could have your way, you'd like to see Republican leaders take a slightly more pragmatic approach on certain issues – and dial down some of their nakedly partisan and bitterly divisive rhetoric.

That actually sounds like a pretty decent description.  And just for fun, I tried the Democratic Loyalty Quiz.  It's basically a mirror image of the other one, and not surprisingly, I got 3 out of 10, with the exact same description.

h/t Blond Sagacity

Libertarian Purity Test

An interesting quiz to find out how libertarian you are. My score was 39 out of a possible 160, which, according to the quiz means:

Your libertarian credentials are obvious. Doubtlessly you will become more extreme as time goes on.

Hmm. A better description for me would be: you have some libertarian positions. See how you score.

h/t Thoughts on Freedom

Belief-O-Matic

Here's a quiz that attempts to categorize your religious beliefs (or lack thereof). As an atheist, my most common answer was "not applicable." These are the results it gave me:

1. Nontheist (100%) 
2. Secular Humanism (100%) 
3. Unitarian Universalism (86%) 
4. Theravada Buddhism (65%) 
5. Liberal Quakers (49%) 
6. Neo-Pagan (29%) 
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (26%) 
8. Taoism (16%) 
9. New Age (8%) 
10. Baha'i Faith (0%) 
11. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (0%) 
12. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (0%) 
13. Eastern Orthodox (0%) 
14. Hinduism (0%) 
15. Islam (0%) 
16. Jainism (0%) 
17. Jehovah's Witness (0%) 
18. Mahayana Buddhism (0%) 
19. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (0%) 
20. New Thought (0%) 
21. Orthodox Judaism (0%) 
22. Orthodox Quaker (0%) 
23. Reform Judaism (0%) 
24. Roman Catholic (0%) 
25. Scientology (0%) 
26. Seventh Day Adventist (0%) 
27. Sikhism (0%)

85 Questions

Luke at Common Sense Atheism has an interesting post up that I linked in the HOT5 for today. It takes a look at questions about the nature of existence. I thought I'd give my own brief answers.

• EXISTENCE
  Why do we exist? We don't know the initial origin of life. Humans exist now because of evolution. 
  What is the best thing about existing? I can't pick just one thing. There are many good and bad things about existing.
  What is our purpose?  Why does there need to be a purpose?
  Is the world a better place for having had humans in it? Yes, from the human perspective. We have no other perspective from which to view that question.
  How can we improve humanity? If anyone in a position of power claims to be able to improve humanity, be afraid.
  What is the best advice or philosophy for living? There is no one-size fits all answer.
• RELIGION
  What is religion? A human creation that attempts to define and give meaning to the universe.
  Why are there multiple religions? Because people differ and have differing ideas.
  Should religions be challenged? Of course.
  Is skepticism a good thing? Yes.
  Why do people get angry when their beliefs are challenged? It appears to be a natural human reaction to get irritated when someone rejects your deeply held beliefs.
  Which One Is Right? Can all religions be correct? None that I've seen. No.
  What does fear have to do with belief? It depends on the belief in question.
  Do we have a need to believe in something? Many people seem to, yes. But not all.
  What is spirituality? A concept that attempts to describe something beyond the mere physical.
• SCIENCE
  Can religion and science coexist? Obviously yes, since they do.
  What’s the difference between religion and science?  Science is falsifiable, and constantly advanced and changed as new data becomes available. Religion is based on  faith and  assertions without evidence.
  Can a religion change with society? Yes.
  Was man created or evolved? Evolved.
• GOD
  Is there a God? The evidence says no.
  What is the definition of God? A mythical supernatural creator of the universe.
  What gives you certainty in your belief? I don't have certainty.  I could be wrong.
  How do you deal with doubt? Embrace it. Doubting strong beliefs is a good thing.
  Who created God? Humans created the myth of God.
  Is God male or female?  It depends on the religion.
  What does God need from us? It depends on the religion.
  Who is/are the Messiah(s)? It depends on the religion.
  Who is the Devil? A mythical incarnation of evil.
• FAITH
  What is faith? Belief based on something other than hard evidence or fact.
  What is a fact?  Observable reality or a claim backed by overwhelming evidence.
  How can we tell which is which? It depends on the situation.
• TRUTH
  What is truth? Reality.
  How do we determine truth? Science, and reason.
  Which truth is right? The question makes no sense.
• SCRIPTURE
  Is the holy-book(s) literally true? There may be certain parts of holy books that are. For example, some holy books contain historical facts. But as a whole, no.
  What is the origin of the holy book(s)?  Human writings that at some point were deemed to comprise all or part of  holy books.
  How do we accept a holy book that positively portrays unacceptable behaviors like slavery, incest, murder, etc.? We accept it as a piece of historical literature and consider it accordingly.
  Can we take what we like about a religion/belief system and make our own version and throw out the rest? People certainly do.
• MORALITY
  What is morality? A human being's internal beliefs regarding right and wrong.
  Is there a moral yardstick that applies to all cultures? No.
  Where does morality, or our “conscience,” comes from? Evolution , culture, upbringing and other factors.
  Is altruism or morality possible without belief in a deity? Yes.
• SIN
  What is sin? A religious definition of something that is offensive /prohibited by God/gods. In other words, it's a made-up concept.
  What is the punishment for sin?  Depends on the religion.
  Is thought the same as deed? Of course not.
  Does God want to test us? Why? Myths don't test us.
• SEX
  Should a person have sex before marriage? Depends on the situation. But there is nothing magical about marriage that suddenly makes sex after it ok,  and sex before it bad.
  Is masturbation a sin?  Of course not. Sin is an artificial concept based on myth.
  What determines sexual orientation? We aren't certain, but probably genetics in the majority of cases.
  Why is God interested in our sexual behavior?  What god?
  Should women be treated differently than men? In what sense, what situation?Question is way too vague.
• FREE WILL 
  Do we have free will? It depends how you define free will.
  Is everything predetermined? Not that I know of.
  What entity predetermines fate or destiny? None that I know of.
• SUFFERING
  Why is there suffering? Because it is part of life.
  What is best path to happiness? Depends on the individual.
  Does God intercede in human tragedies? Myths don't actually do anything, because they aren't real.
• PRAYER
  Does prayer work? Define "work." Does it create psychological effects? Probably.  Does it regrow limbs, cure disease or actually get an answer from  god(s)? No.
  If so, why does God allow holocausts, and disasters? Myths don't do anything.
  If not, why pray? For purposes of self-delusion.
  Does meditation work? Work for what?
  How does meditation work? I don't know.
  
• SOUL
  What is a soul? The concept that there is a mystical spiritual self  comprising a consciousness apart from the physical body.
  Do animals have souls? Evidence is lacking that souls actually exist.
  Does a soul have the same thoughts and feelings when outside the body? Evidence is lacking that souls actually exist.
  If a soul does not carry our memories, then what is a soul since it is our memories that make us up? Evidence is lacking that souls actually exist.
  What purpose does a brain serve if a soul can exist and feel without it?Evidence is lacking that souls actually exist.
• AFTERLIFE
  Is there an Afterlife? No one knows. But I think not.
  Where is it, where do we go after death? Nowhere.
  Why do we need an afterlife? Many people have a strong desire to believe in an afterlife, particularly that they'll be reunited with love ones who have died.
• LIFE
  When does life begin? I'm not sure.
  When should abortion be allowed? At any time before birth. The mother should have total control over her own body, including over another life living inside her.
  Is it ever appropriate to kill another person? Yes, of course.
• SUPERNATURAL
  What are supernatural beliefs? Beliefs about things outside reality.
  Are there extraterrestrials? Who are they? Maybe. We have no idea.
  Do psychics work, and if you are religious, are they allowed? No.
  Where do the voices in our heads come from? Our brains.
• DOOMSDAY
  Will there be a doomsday? Unless we find away to prevent the sun from eventually going nova.
  What is the greatest danger facing man’s existence?  Impossible to say with any certainty.
  How do we stop conflict? We don't. Conflict is part of human nature.
  Should different cultures be preserved, or are our cultural differences the source of strife? It depends on the culture.
  Should political leaders invoke a deity in decisions or policy? No.
  
  

There you have it.  Some of these obviously require longer answers, but that took quite awhile even with short ones.

The Liberal Quiz

Just for amusement I took the "How Liberal Are You?" Quiz at Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal activist organization that rates members of Congress on their voting records. The quiz has you vote "yea" or "nay" on actual bills, and then scores your votes as if you were a congressman or senator. My score was 15 out of 100, not a big surprise.

International Driving Quiz

I stumbled across this quiz in the Canadian National Post. Most of the questions are obvious, but some aren't. 

Science Quiz

The Pew Research Center has a twelve question science quiz. You can take it and see how you score relative to others. It's pretty simple, but many people did not score well -- no surprise.

h/t Phil Plait at Skepticblog

Libertarian Quiz

Libertarian Republican had a link to an interesting quiz called, "What Kind of Libertarian Are You?" Obviously it is for libertarians, but I thought I'd take it anyway.

You Scored as Minarchist Minarchists are libertarians who advocate a strictly limited government and usually a more decentralized form of it. Minarchists may vary in the degree to which they think that government should be limited, although the bare bones position is essentially nothing more than police, courts and the military. Minarchists tend to think that some minimum level of government is a necessary evil, or at least an inevitability. The contemporary libertarian movement in America is dominantly minarchist, although it has had a long history of dialogue and debate between minarchist and anarchist libertarians. Paleo-libertarian 92% Neo-libertarian 83% Minarchist 83% "Small L" libertarian 67% Left-libertarian 50% Agorist 42% Geo-libertarian 25% Anarcho-capitalist 8% Libertarian socialist 0%

 

Foreign Policy Philosophy Quiz

This is an interesting quiz that evaluates your foreign policy philosophy.

My top result for the SelectSmart.com Foreign Policy Philosophy is Realist
Emphasis on power, strength, realpolitik; all states are aggressive and warlike and any chance to improve relative strength will be seized. We must judge our interests and do whatever is necessary to advance them, lest our country be destroyed. Nixon, Morgenthau, Kissinger!

Interesting Intelligence Test

Here is a test supposedly measuring intelligence. It is fairly unusual and requires that you figure out what a code of numbers and letters stands for, such as 24 H in a D. Some are easy and obvious like that example, others are not.

h/t The Atheist Blogger

The Problem With Political ID Quizzes

I just stumbled on another political quiz. My score was 93.7% personal, and 87.6% economic. According to the quiz, I'm a "Radical Libertarian." Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows I'm not actually a libertarian -- let alone a radical libertarian -- although I do hold some fairly radical libertarian positions on domestic issues. The problem with most of these political identification quizzes is that they ignore or undervalue foreign policy, and issues involving nationalism/exceptionalism. 

More Interesting Quizzes

Check out YourMorals.Org. They have a whole list of interesting quizzes on various aspects of morality and other things. Unlike some of the quizzes on the web, these are serious attempts at study. As the site states

This website is a collaboration among five social psychologists who study morality and politics. Our goal was to create a site that would be useful and interesting to users, particularly ethics classes and seminars, and that would also allow us to test a variety of theories about moral psychology. One of our main goals is to foster understanding across the political spectrum. Almost everyone cares about morality, and we want to understand --and to help others understand -- the many different ways that people care.

I've been working my way through them.

Economic Quiz

Here's another quiz, this one a fairly detailed economic one at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, called, "Are You an Austrian?" Most of the answers fall into one of four categories: Austrian school, Chicago school, Keynesian/Neoclassical, and Socialist. My score: 74/100. The result measures how close you are to the Austrian school.

Political Spectrum Quiz

Here's my political compass from the Political Spectrum Quiz. It's pretty accurate.

My Political Views
I am a right social libertarian
Right: 6.48, Libertarian: 3.67

Political Spectrum Quiz