Attention Span Test

[JasonM]

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I can get up to 11, no more. I like this test as a measure of cognitive ability. It has no educational bias and you cannot practice for it. In fact, I had my brother take this test and he got up to the same level as myself. To me, that says something.

EDIT: I can get to 12, but I have to use tricks, such as remembering the last four digits as a year.

[Xenolar]

I made it all the way to the very end (15, that is). I always end up seeing patterns and visual connections with numbers.

[JasonM]

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This is another site. I can get up to 12 on this one using tricks. For example, if I'm presented 156579536, I remember the first four numbers, with the 1 being remembered as the beginning of a long distance phone number, and 565 being remembered since 5 comes directly before 6 and there is a pattern to it. With that already in my head, I just have to keep rehearsing 79536.

[Asylum]

On the first linked test I got up to 6...

[JasonM]

On the first linked test I got up to 6...

I think that's pretty much in the average range. The average person has a digit span of 7 +/- 1 digit.

[Capwolf]

Isn't that (7) just when someone says it to you once, though, not when you get to look at it for as long as you want?

[JasonM]

Isn't that (7) just when someone says it to you once, though, not when you get to look at it for as long as you want?

It might be, but I've taken a test with the type of digit span that you've mentioned and I usually get 10 (whereas here I normally get 11), so it might be pretty close. I'm not sure. It also depends on whether or not you follow the directions that come with the test. If you just try to remember the numbers by visualizing them, as perhaps that poster did, then you might not even be able to handle 7 digits. However, I posted the test without the instructions so that people would just try to remember as many digits as they can, any way that they can.

[Victoria Silver]

A mere 7 for me. I didn't try any tricks, just tried to remember the digits.

[ShaiGar]

Yeah... I didn't read to the end of the word attention. This is the second time I looked at the title.

[Jakalwarrior]

7 for me too. Too many noises and distractions in my work space and im used to memorizing phone numbers. Only looked at the numbers for a few seconds though too much crap going on at work to concentrate.

[Latte]

I could remember 15. Some cousins tested me with 20 when I was 16'ish.

I remember it as a sort of fluid-solid chain of numbers, where you can have smaller units that make up the larger number, with several brackets overlapping each other, the number being remembered as purely a sequence (with different small units that overlap each other), not a whole number. Sort of like one remembers music (at least I think others remember it that way too).

[Caramel]

Got up to 12, got bored, stopped.

[Asylum]

Directions? Hn, I just started clicking stuff to see what worked. I tried a second time and got up to 7, at which point I was thoroughly bored. Hmm...

[Capwolf]

It might be, but I've taken a test with the type of digit span that you've mentioned and I usually get 10 (whereas here I normally get 11), so it might be pretty close. I'm not sure. It also depends on whether or not you follow the directions that come with the test. If you just try to remember the numbers by visualizing them, as perhaps that poster did, then you might not even be able to handle 7 digits. However, I posted the test without the instructions so that people would just try to remember as many digits as they can, any way that they can.

Jason

Maybe, but I think there's a difference still between hearing it once and being able to look at it more than once or in a different order. For example, I managed 10. Partly by luck, probably: I skipped from 3 to 7, looked at the numbers, clicked the button, and repeated what I saw. I don't have the patience to try to visualize or rehearse strings of numbers, even for a small amount of time--but still, 10. When I had a similar test done verbally, I didn't do nearly as well. I was having trouble at 7.

[capricornintj]

Are we sure this isn't a test for "how quickly do you get bored?"

[Genuine]

13...

[TheLastMohican]

13. I'll try it again later, since I'm running on not much sleep...but up through 13, it was really easy. Then 14 was suddenly too hard. Weird.

[Motor Jax]

i ended up in the 9/10 frame

[Rick]

There is a book I used to have called, "How to develop a superpower memory".

I've lost it and need to order it again.

It used mnemonics to remember things. Specifically, there was a section on remembering numbers, and I got up to the point where I could remember numbers up to 30 digits using their techniques.

The basic technique involved associating sounds to numbers. All numbers 1-100 had a simple word associated with them then you linked those words in your mind thru another technique to remember large numbers and events.

If memory serves, the number '1' was associated with the letter 'T', and zero was 'S' or 'Z', so the number 10 would have been represented by the word 'toes', for example. Only consonants had meaning - vowels did not.

[Elfrun]

There is a book I used to have called, "How to develop a superpower memory".

I've lost it and need to order it again.

Does anyone else find this highly ironic? :thinking:

Lv15 :thumbsup:

[lnb203]

I did 14.

[Beery Swine]

Atten what? I'm sorry, I got distracted and stopped reading.

[TheLastMohican]

13. I'll try it again later, since I'm running on not much sleep...but up through 13, it was really easy. Then 14 was suddenly too hard. Weird.

I tried it again, and this time I made it through 15 with no trouble. :)

[ElstonGunn]

If you're a dork, and you read the number chains as that "1337-speak" deal, it's quite a bit easier.

[Antares]

Level 15

[Duncan Cade]

Are you sure you are doing the right thing? As far as I can read in the instructions, you are not supposed to actually remember numbers in the right order.
You should look at the row, close your eyes and visualize it again in your mind. Thus, you need to see them all (in your memory) at the same time, as a picture.

I could be wrong.

[Malotis]

15

[szaxazs]

15 at once here too.
If it was timed it would be harder.

[seoa]

8. but i didn't try too hard, coz i got bored :)

[ssrprotege]

got up to 10.

[Terian]

I got through 15. My last one (without looking) was 4 2 2 3 5 7 9 1 3 1 1 7 9 9 8. I don't have any real tricks for this- I sort of feel my way around the sequence. I do split the sequence up where there are duplicates sometimes, but mostly it's just good short-term memory.

[welshlass]

There is a book I used to have called, "How to develop a superpower memory".

I've lost it and need to order it again.

It used mnemonics to remember things. Specifically, there was a section on remembering numbers, and I got up to the point where I could remember numbers up to 30 digits using their techniques.

The basic technique involved associating sounds to numbers. All numbers 1-100 had a simple word associated with them then you linked those words in your mind thru another technique to remember large numbers and events.

If memory serves, the number '1' was associated with the letter 'T', and zero was 'S' or 'Z', so the number 10 would have been represented by the word 'toes', for example. Only consonants had meaning - vowels did not.

The mnemonic thing does work. Very well. But it's been 20 yrs since i used it last. I got 12, didnt attempt 13 as i was tired. For the bigger rows i memorised the digits in chunks of 2s or 3s & used parts of phone numbers, birthdays, dates etc.

[enWTFp]

15. What's wrong with using "tricks"? Memory is all about patterns and connections. The more wires you find to link it in, the better it is remembered.

For example, on the last one I got: 6 7 0 4 8 5 8 3 4 7 0 5 0 0 6
Immediately imagined it this way:
670 48583 470 5006 - two similar and two near-palindromes.

And typed first 670 470, then 5006, then 48583 between the first triple pair. There are many patterns in any random sequence and should be used if you want to memorize.

Anyway, this only measures short-term memory, which is not that useful. Moreover, memory at all is not as useful as creativity.

[Zee]

lvl 11

[Scorne]

13.