The journal _New Scientist_ has an on-line promotion of something or other. Win prizes, yada, yada. It caught my attention with what looks like a cute on-line quiz to determine how long you have to live.
I took the quiz under two conditions: first, truthfully, then maximizing everything that I thought would shorten my life. Under the happier condition, it told me I have 19 years to go; under the worst case scenario, only 9 (and I'm wasting part of it by writing this note). Cute, as I said, and since it was _New Scientist_ I expected that it had some modest scientific validity. But then I noticed the disclaimer, deviously hidden in small print and a colour that made it blend into the background: "This quiz is intended for fun only.No scientific research has been used to estimate the effects of the above factors on health and results have no bearing on actual life expectancy". In other words, forget it. If anyone is still interested (could be useful for a class exercise perhaps, with appropriate warning), it's at: http://www.newscientist.com/competition/quiz.jsp But it's the small print that gets me. -Stephen ______________________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips _________________________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
