January 12, 2006

  • Unamerican Me

    Can it be true?

    Am I just too laid back to be living in America?

    I took this quiz based on Peter Whybrow’s new book.

    It told me:  “In America, you can’t be that relaxed.  Take the quiz again.”

    I took it again, giving the same answers and getting the same
    results.  Some of the questions didn’t apply to me because I don’t
    have a cell phone, I live too far from town to eat a lot of fast food
    and am too poor and physically disabled to shop as a recreation.

    I took that into account and fudged some of my answers.  Still, I
    got a weird result.  It asked me, “Are you living in a
    monastery?”  No, stupid, I’m living in Alaska.  We don’t give
    a dam how they do it Outside.

    Even so, I appreciate Whybrow’s take on our cultural mania.  He’s
    a neuroscientist, head of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and
    Human Behavior at UCLA.  He has written a book on The Hibernation
    Response, which I have on hold at the public library.  That should
    be a good read.

Comments (14)

  • ROFL! I was asked if I was dead and to take the test again. I feel pigeon holed somehow… *scratches head*

  • See… we’re too broke to eat out once a week… I utterly despise shopping… we own no credit cards and work on a cash basis only so it’s hard to accrue debt that way… uh… cell phone? I hardly ever remember to even carry the thing with me… I must be at death’s door all right.

    *still vastly amused*

  • “It asked me, “Are you living in a monastery?”  No, stupid, I’m living in Alaska.  We don’t give a dam how they do it Outside.”

    LOL! Cassie and I loved this.

  • well I’m glad to see you’re online again.

  • it told me, In America, you can’t be that relaxed.  Take the quiz again…. I guess I’m not american…. I knew alaska was better then the rest of the u.s.

  • I got “Excellent self-discipline!  Reach out and help a friend.”  I’m really not sure what that’s supposed to mean.  In any case, I’m not American, so I probably shouldn’t put too much faith in the results.  :)

  • I need to take that quiz

  • Awesome! You should feel soooo good about yourself!
    And of course Alaska is a part of the US, but hello, we are not all the stereotypical Americans, and maybe they should have polled a few more Alaskans before designing that quiz. :)

    I answered honestly to all of the questions, and it asked if I was living in a Monastery…c’mon! I live in Southern California for goodness sake! We are the most wasteful, shopoholic bunch of overusers in the world!!! Apparently because I don’t eat at my desk, don’t take 3 days to relax on vacation, and don’t shop for recreation, I live in a Monastery, I think the test is very biased.

  • Hmmm… gonna go take that test now!

  • I scored 2, you can’t be that relaxed in America, take test again.  And I live in Washington, DC!  I guess it all depends on attitude.  All the people that I know that would score high are grumpy, unhappy people anyway.

  • Hehehe…I took the test and it asked if I was living in a Monastery. I think the quiz didn’t take into consideration that some Americans are older, as you and I are.

  • i got the same  “you can’t be that relaxed…”, but i am…even in my deepest, foulest moods i would score the same.  guess it’s about attitude more than lifestyle.

  • I got the same scores you did.   Even took the test twice and fudged.  The test is silly and trivial–good idea, but mediocre execution.

  • I got the monastery result. I live in LA (or as we say here, LA proper. We’re so snooty about it!)

    Then again, I have no TV, no car, and no debt. That could be the thing right there.

    I am really interested in this book now — thanks for cluing me in! :wave:

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