What am I: "Einstein" (Homo sapiens), or "Neanderthaler" (Homo erectus)?

( Part 1)

 

Homo sapiens is the human species of our times as we know it, Homo erectus preceded Homo sapiens.

A Homo sapiens may be intelligent, or a human with common sense, or ignorant.

Homo erectus is a human that walks on two legs and has a brain well equipped and geared for survival against all odds and environmental adversity.

Find out to what category you and the majority of your social circle belongs to. At the extreme ends you have the “Einsteins” and the “Neanderthals”. None of it is meant to be judgmental as both have value as humans in their own right.

The test consists of a short text and will ask you to pick one answer from the given options that suits you best. 

There are four choices: A, B, C, and D. At the end of the test count the letters and send the result to us, or await the evaluation that will be published next time in Part 2. If you wish to get a personal appraisal feel free to ask for one. It is however not difficult to work it out yourself and appraise others. 

To keep it simple but entertaining there will be 10 vignettes, but take your time, no need to do it in one go, and be as honest as you can be, as it is food for your thoughts because the options may have at times only subtle differences.  

So, let us begin!

1)

You are in the city and as it is lunch time and you are hungry you look for a café or restaurant. Finding one you like among a cluster of eateries, you enter. There, in the middle of the entrance somewhat blocking the way sits on an upside down bucket a decent sized live crab. It is motionless, but it looks at you as you stop in front of it. The dining room is nearly full of customers, obviously a busy place, filled with noises and commotions as the guests get served and enjoy themselves.  The crab, like a beacon at the entrance that continues as the main passage right down the center of the dining area, cuts a lonely figure, but everybody has to pass it on the way in or out. 

You decide to

A: enter and have lunch assuming you will get good value for your money

B: leave in disgust, feeling sorry for the crab and doubt the quality of “fresh food”

C: find a seat and order the crab

D: have lunch spotting some empty seat

 

2) 

You are on the beach and observe a family enjoying the day. The father has a fishing rod trying to catch fish. His two little children, a boy and a girl have a fishing net chasing the shawls of tiny fish in the shallow water while another son who is a little older has a fishing line dangling in between the rocks of the little man-made island. It is home to fish that may look nice but are not considered good for eating. The children are successful in their endeavor, showing the father the content of the net while the other boy has a colorful hand sized fish caught with the line. Father is obviously pleased and praises his kids. The net is emptied and the fish unhooked, all emptied on to the sand, and the family carries on enjoying the day. 

 

A: You judge the family as simple minded folks and lose interest in them.

B: You would like to give the father some child rearing and educational advice. 

C: You are pleased to see a father having a good time with his children.

D: You think the father has no idea about fish or the purpose of fishing. 

 

 

 

3)

You are at the supermarket to get some cereal for breakfast. The aisle is full with plenty of choices. You have to make sure that your kids will like it and you want certainly good quality food for them as well. 

So you take your time and

A: look at the labels that specify the ingredients choosing the most nutritious one. 

B: get annoyed with all the confusing labeling deciding to make your own ‘muesli’

C: you pick one that is labelled organic with nuts and dried fruit too.

D: find a popular brand as “special of the week”, two packs for ½ the usual price.

 

4)

As you are in the shopping center you remember a good clean up of your home is on the agenda. You will have your partner’s parents and another sibling with a young child coming to visit for the spring break. You are house proud and want to show off a bit too, so all of your family would have to help as well to make the best impression. You discuss with your partner if or what you should do to make the job easier.                                 

You decide 

A: after weighing up time and costs of cleaning materials, to get the cleaners in.

B: to buy a good quality steam cleaner that will be handy any time in future too.

C: to get the high potency antibacterial cleaning agents designed for special tasks

D: on sugar soap water for a sweeping clean up and let nature do the rest.

 

5) 

While you are frolicking in the water you observe how a hobby fisherman tries his luck but, nothing bites that he desires and as time goes by he gets more and more frustrated. The only thing he catches are little blow-fish. He angrily tears the catch from the hook and throws them on the ground stomping on them. You are sad to watch this so you swim up to him and ask why he does what he does, because usually fisherman would throw the unwanted or undersized fish back into the water. His explanation simply is that this type of fish is good for nothing not even the seagulls would eat them. There are too many of them, being a nuisance to anybody who wants to catch the good fish. Getting rid of them is better.                  

You are 

A: aware that this man is likely to settle differences by fighting rather than talking  

B: frustrated but swim away. Nothing you may say would make a difference.

C: impressed that he thinks of others despite being angry himself

D: dismissing him as an ignorant who does not know how to catch the good fish.

 

6)

You watch a TV program on a reputed channel investigating obesity and modern life style choices. The availability of food is an important aspect and in that context the reporter visits a chicken farm, an industry worth millions. He takes you along the production line. Eggs in crates to the hundreds or thousands are incubated in special rooms. As they hedge, many at the same time, the newly hedged little chicken fall on to a conveyor belt that at the end drops them into empty boxes. The full boxes are transported to where they are raised until they reach eating size. They are placed in huge halls in long rows that run side by side. Thousands of them in one hall, temperature controlled, food in pipelines and what appears on sandy ground. The reporter is impressed how functional, clean and spacious the plant is and how much room the chicken actually have to move along the rows they are confined too. He is surprised and he comments on how peaceful and docile the chicken are as they crowd together rather than picking at each other, and showing no inclination to utilize the whole length of their long lines of habitat.

 

A: You question the competence of the reporter and reputation of the TV station

B: You are glad to be informed by the program but not what it means for you

C: You are as impressed as the reporter marveling at the industry’s standards

D: You are pleased because chicken supply will remain stable and affordable

 

7)

A delicatessen selling top quality small goods and boutique breads and pastries has a new baker supplying them with freshly baked dark rye bread that is sold out every day as soon as it goes on the shelf. The shop and even outside smells enticingly and the demand for this bread is growing faster than the shop owner ever anticipated. However, not for long. The authorities insist the baker add preservatives to fulfill the food regulator’s laws, which immediately reduces the taste and overall health of the bread and as one can expect, demand dwindles. The baker tries to argue the point with the authorities that his breads are made according to proven and healthy traditions, but is unsuccessful. He gives up baking.                                                                                                                  

You, as the potential consumer

A: use the social media to shame the bureaucratic decision makers  

B: buy a bread maker and start to bake your own

C: agree with the law, which is there to keep the public safe

D: do not worry as there is plenty of choice, you will find another one you like.

 

8)

The government reacts to the incidents of shark attacks on popular beaches by putting out drum-lines to bait potential predators and kill them being over a certain size. The justification of such measures is to protect precious human life regardless how many people in fact are at risk to be attacked or that other methods could be employed. 

You disagree with a government

A: that thinks itself above scientific evidence, environmental and public concerns

B: that has irrational “eye for an eye” mentality instead of true concern for all life

C: that does not keep the public safe; therefore you support this decision

D: that values sharks more than human life; you would kill any “man eater”

 

9)

You are in the park very close to the ocean. A young couple unpacks a nylon bag carrying their lunch. As they enjoy their food a wind gust picks up the empty bag and whirls it from the bench a few meters down towards the water where it comes to rest again. The couple are aware of the incident but make no attempt to catch or retrieve the bag. They leave after finishing their meal.

 

A: You are for biodegradable bags

B: You go and pick up the bag

C: You know council has their rubbish collectors to keep the area clean.

D: You think of getting something to eat as well. 

 

1o)

You sit on the veranda having just finished your snack. Crumbs and a few droplets of honey are on the table. It does not take long and ants, flies and bees arrive to take up the opportunity for a feed. 

 

A: You use the napkin to clean the table.

B: You sweep the crumbs off the table, leave the honey to the bees.

C: You rush into the house to get the insect spray

D: You take a nap       

 

 

Nota bene!

Though the test may be used by anyone at any time, Sozieterna is the original owner of the test and no claim of ownership by others is permitted.