Third, please suggest a decent, quick, and at least somewhat accurate Internet IQ test I can stick in a new section, Unreasonably Long Bonus Questions.
GJP had a quick IQ test as part of their surveys, but it’s not public. http://iqtest.dk takes about 20-30 minutes but is normed very hard, so you certainly don’t have to worry about IQ inflation...
Blur the “modafinil” question to “modafinil, armodafinil, or adrafinil”, since the modafinil question is theoretically incriminating, so people are more likely to lie (or use the survey results to say bad things about us), but the blurred one isn’t because adrafinil is unscheduled.
Respondents are instructed to flip a coin; if heads answer yes, if tails answer truthfully. The overall difference from 50% is the real overall percentage while giving every yes answer deniability. I forget what this is called but it’s common on touchy topics.
There should probably be a general question like “how often do you take any of the following nootropics.” Tyrosine, melatonin, tryptophan, 5htp, come to mind.
I seem to recall gwern mentioning his score on that test somewhere on PredictionBook, and me being very surprised as it was way lower than I had expected.
I vaguely remember (but can’t now find) previous discussion that taking http://iqtest.dk more than once would skew scores upward from training effect. Any idea how large that effect might be?
Not really, it varies per test. (Such norms and info is what professional psychologists & psychometricians are paying for when they pay through the nose for IQ tests.)
My general impression from looking at before-afters for the RAPM/BOMAT-using dual n-back studies was that the controls would improve on average something like half a question, which would translate to maybe 2 or 3 points?
Hmm. I got 138 yesterday, and I’m pretty sure the 120 I remember entering in last year’s survey was from that same online test. Wondering what’ s up with that.
Nope. FWIW, I think they should be in the same category for purposes of the survey, I’m just not sure what to call said category. I’d also put methcathinone in said category (though I hope nobody around here is using it for productivity purposes). Cocaine might deserve its own category.
Unless they are really new, they could guess by multiplying by 12 or the appropriate number. If they are really new, they can also be pretty sure it isn’t much over this month.
EDIT: Spelling, not strictly endorsing this strategy, someone would have to weigh the pro/con but I wanted to add more information.
Bonus questions:
Do you approve or disapprove of Eliezer’s moderation of Roko’s basilisk?
How many times have you read or edited the LessWrong.com wiki in the last month?
Drug use: caffeine, the amphetamine family (eg. Adderall or Ritalin), modafinil, nicotine (could be phrased to be either binary or weekly or monthly)
Perhaps a question about whether one reads Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality?
Big Five personality test? Shortest, short, long.
GJP had a quick IQ test as part of their surveys, but it’s not public. http://iqtest.dk takes about 20-30 minutes but is normed very hard, so you certainly don’t have to worry about IQ inflation...
Blur the “modafinil” question to “modafinil, armodafinil, or adrafinil”, since the modafinil question is theoretically incriminating, so people are more likely to lie (or use the survey results to say bad things about us), but the blurred one isn’t because adrafinil is unscheduled.
Yes, that’s not a bad idea. Would using the coinflipping technique be overkill?
Overkill for modafinil, maybe not overkill for the amphetamine family.
What’s that?
Respondents are instructed to flip a coin; if heads answer yes, if tails answer truthfully. The overall difference from 50% is the real overall percentage while giving every yes answer deniability. I forget what this is called but it’s common on touchy topics.
It’s called randomized response. I remember hearing about it first a year or two ago on LW.
Maybe alcohol and marijuana too?
And what about LSD? I would love to know how many folks here tried it.
Yeah, that too (maybe “Psychedelic drugs (e.g. mescaline, psilocybin, LSD)”).
That’s the spirit!
Those are more recreational, I was leaning toward enhancement.
Yeah, but I still think it would be an interesting question.
There should probably be a general question like “how often do you take any of the following nootropics.” Tyrosine, melatonin, tryptophan, 5htp, come to mind.
It is? Heh, +2 self-esteem right there!
I seem to recall gwern mentioning his score on that test somewhere on PredictionBook, and me being very surprised as it was way lower than I had expected.
I vaguely remember (but can’t now find) previous discussion that taking http://iqtest.dk more than once would skew scores upward from training effect. Any idea how large that effect might be?
Not really, it varies per test. (Such norms and info is what professional psychologists & psychometricians are paying for when they pay through the nose for IQ tests.)
My general impression from looking at before-afters for the RAPM/BOMAT-using dual n-back studies was that the controls would improve on average something like half a question, which would translate to maybe 2 or 3 points?
Hmm. I got 138 yesterday, and I’m pretty sure the 120 I remember entering in last year’s survey was from that same online test. Wondering what’ s up with that.
Also, P(the above comment will be deleted by the mods).
The mention of the basilisk was the main reason I didn’t upvote gwern’s comment.
0.05
Too high. It’s the use / mention distinction. Mention of (existence of) basilisks is permitted, use (detailed description) is prohibited.
Or such appears to be the rule to me.
I get the impression that mentioning it in prominent places also gets deleted.
Quite a few of the recently observed mass deletions have started from what was a mention.
I missed those (as in ‘didn’t notice’, not as in ‘was nostalgic about’).
Nitpick: Ritalin is not an amphetamine (no alpha methyl group), though it is a phenethylamine.
Ah, my bad. I thought Ritalin was another mix of salts like Adderall.
Nope. FWIW, I think they should be in the same category for purposes of the survey, I’m just not sure what to call said category. I’d also put methcathinone in said category (though I hope nobody around here is using it for productivity purposes). Cocaine might deserve its own category.
This would be better asked over the course of a year for me. It might be 4 edits over the past year. I would be unsure what to say for month.
I don’t think people would remember how often they visit the wiki over a year.
Unless they are really new, they could guess by multiplying by 12 or the appropriate number. If they are really new, they can also be pretty sure it isn’t much over this month. EDIT: Spelling, not strictly endorsing this strategy, someone would have to weigh the pro/con but I wanted to add more information.