Newsflash: I'm a bitch, and a man. :: 09:28 PM :: easyjetsetter

So I took this test, which measures the "female" and "male" sides of your brain, empathy quotient (EQ) and systematising quotient (SQ.) I answered a bunch of questions, and here are my results.

SQ:
20-39 You have an average ability for analysing and exploring a system...On average women score 24 and men score 30.
Your score: 35

I am more manly in my brain than the average man. Hmmm... The questions were a bit mean to boys: "when I read the newspaper I am drawn to football scores and stock market indices" and "do you try to avoid household chores if you can?" It's a bit "one size fits all." Poor blokes, no-one stands up for them anymore and they're not allowed to stand up for themselves. Anyway, onwards to the female side.

EQ:
0-32 You have a lower than average ability for understanding how other people feel and responding appropriately. Most people with Aspergers' Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 20. On average, most women score 47, and most men about 42.
Your score: 13

I am less able to empathise than someone with Aspergers' syndrome, an affliction whereby you can't read body language and misread cues constantly. See here for details.

I went to school with a lot of kids with aspergers', autism, a bunch of learning difficulties, high-IQs and Germanic nationality. The school provided small group teaching at the pace that the student could go, and all these groups benefit from such teaching.

This is why I have such an erratic academic career: I was streamed to take literature and language exams super early, and not broadened into things I found hard, like maths, physics, and chemistry (actually, I never took physics or chemistry because Alan M., the coolest guy in school who once actually smiled at me, said they were shite.)

Now, of course, I realise that I am more abnormal than Nick F. and Dominic J., who used to freak out and overturn tables if anyone asked to borrow their pens, and were the only people in my class with Aspergers'. Hmmmm.

Of course, this test included questions like "when watching animals suffer, do you feel pain?" and "when you see a stranger on their own at a party, do you think it is their responsibility to join in a conversation?" They were soft, sappy questions. It *was* in the Guardian after all.

UPDATE: Actual Factual directs me here. Very awesome.