IQ Freak

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2013-04-11T16:30:00.000+05:30

Q. Four prisoners escape from a prison.
The prisoners, Mr. East, Mr. West, Mr. South, Mr. North head towards different directions after escaping. The following information of their escape was supplied:

• The escape routes were North Road, South Road, East Road and West Road
• None of the prisoners took the road which was their namesake
• Mr. East did not take the South Road
• Mr.West did not the South Road
• The West Road was not taken by Mr. East

What road did each of the prisoners take to make their escape ?

Answer :

Put all the given information into the table structure as follow:

North Road     South Road      East Road    West Road
Mr. North        No
Mr. South                             No
Mr. East                               No                     No                   No
Mr. West                                No                                             No

Now from table, two things are obvious and they are:

• Mr.North took the South Road
• Mr.East took the North Road

Put this information into the table, Also keep in mind that the prisoners head towards different directions after escaping.

North Road     South Road      East Road    West Road
Mr. North        No                    YES                   No                   No
Mr. South        No                     No
Mr. East         YES                    No                     No                   No
Mr. West          No                     No                                             No

Now from the table:

• Mr.West took the East Road
• Mr.South took the West Road

So the answer is:

• Mr.North took the South Road
• Mr.South took the West Road
• Mr.East took the North Road
• Mr.West took the East Road

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2013-02-14T10:00:00.000+05:30

Q. Two friends, a programmer and a mathematician, get together for drinks after work one day at the programmer’s house. The mathematician asks the programmer how his three children are doing. The programmer replies that one of his three children just had a birthday. The mathematician asks, "How old are your children now?" The programmer replies, "The product of their ages is 36." The mathematician thinks for a moment and says, "That’s not enough information." The programmer says, "OK, the sum of their ages equals my house address." The mathematician steps outside to check the address number,
comes back inside, and says, "That’s still not enough information." The programmer then says, "Well my oldest child has red hair." The mathematician immediately responded, "Oh, now I know the ages." What are the ages of the programmer’s three children?

Solution :

The children are aged 2, 2, and 9 years old. The mathematician’s logic was that since there are three children whose ages multiply to 36, the possible combinations are:

1, 1, 36
1, 2, 18
1, 3, 12
1, 4, 9
1, 6, 6
2, 2, 9
2, 3, 6
3, 3, 4

Initially, any of these could be the correct ages. After the programmer says that the sum of the ages is the same as the house address, the mathematician mentally computed the sum of each possible combination:

1, 1, 36 -> 38
1, 2, 18 -> 21
1, 3, 12 -> 16
1, 4, 9 -> 14
1, 6, 6 -> 13
2, 2, 9 -> 13
2, 3, 6 -> 11
3, 3, 4 -> 10

Notice that all the sums are different except for (1, 6, 6) and (2, 2, 9). If the programmer’s address was anything except for 13, then the mathematician would know the ages, so the three ages must be one of those two combinations. But after the programmer said that the oldest child has red hair, the mathematician knew that there was a single oldest child which eliminates the (1, 6, 6) combination which has oldest twins.

A Tricky IQ Question

2012-09-14T08:30:00.000+05:30

Q. There was a sheriff in a town that caught three outlaws. He said he was going to give them all a chance to go free. All they had to do is figure out what color hat they were wearing. The sheriff had 5 hats, 3 black and 2 white. Each outlaw can see the color of the other outlaw’s hats, but cannot see his own. The first outlaw guessed and was wrong so he was put in jail. The second outlaw also guessed and was also put in jail. Finally the third blind outlaw guessed and he guessed correctly. How did he know?

Solution :

• Let us look at it this way. Here are our possibilities:

• 1) BBB
• 2) BBW
• 3) BWB
• 4) WBB
• 5) WWB
• 6) BWW
• 7) WBW

• Now we can eliminate # 6 because in this case the first outlaw would be sure to know that he had on a black hat. # 7 can be eliminated for the same reason for the second outlaw’s guess.

• In # 2, the first outlaw has to see at least 1 black hat (if he saw two while hats he wouldn't have guessed wrong). From this we know that outlaw 2 or outlaw 3 has a black hat (possibly both). Now outlaw 2 has the same dilemma, but he knows that one or both of outlaw 2 and 3 has a black hat. He can see that outlaw 3 has a white hat so in that case he would guess black and be correct, but he didn't (since we know he guessed wrong). Given this, we can remove option 2 from consideration.

• Options 1,3,4,5 all have outlaw 3 wearing a black hat. Thus, assuming that convicts 1 and 2 are as logical as possible, the only options left all have outlaw 3 wearing a black hat.

Classic Weighing IQ Questions : Simple, Medium and Hard

2012-09-07T09:48:00.000+05:30

Weighing puzzles vary in hardness from simple to extremely mathematical involving either expertise in some fields or extreme ingenuity. Either you know it or you figure out it using extreme intelligence. So here is the chance for some people to burn your grey cells.
There are three puzzles with varying range of hardness. Sometimes you may feel the hardest one is very easy for you have already come across the theory, but I still made it the hardest for the people who will be solving it with out knowing the theory behind it, giving them an option to figure out a small part in evolution of computational history.

There is a shopkeeper who wants to weigh things who has a common balance. He must be in a position to weigh things of all possible integral weighing units from 1 to a given maximum sum. The question will be either about how many weights you will need or how will you weigh.

Problem 1 : Simple - One Side Only

In this version of the problem shopkeeper can only place the weights in one side of the common balance. For example if shopkeeper has weights 1 and 3 then he can measure 1,3 and 4 only. Now the question is how many minimum weights and name the weights you will need to measure all weights from 1 to 1000.

Problem 2 : Medium - Both Sides

This is same as the first problem with the condition of placing weights on only side of the common balance being removed. You can place weights on both side and you need to measure all weights between 1 and 1000.For example if you have weights 1 and 3,now you can measure 1,3 and 4 like earlier case, and also you can measure 2,by placing 3 on one side and 1 on the side which contain the substance to be weighed. So question again is how many minimum weights and of what denominations you need to measure all weights from 1kg to 1000kg.

Problem 3: Hard - Incremental

This is an altogether different one in the same scenario. You have to make 125 packets of sugar with first one weighing 1 kg, second 2 kg, third 3 kg etc ...and 125th one weighing 125kg.You can only use one pan of the common balance for measurement for weighing sugar, the other pan had to be used for weights i.e. weights should be used for each weighing. It has come into notice that moving weights into and out of the pan of the balance takes time and this time depends on the number on the number of weights that are moved. For example - If we need to measure 4 kg using weights 1 and 3 only, it will take twice as much time needed to measure 1 kg. Lets say we want to make sugar packets of weights 1,3,4 using weights 1 and 3 only. For this first we measure 1 kg, with 1 unit of time, we place 3 kg along with 1 kg and measure 4kg with again 1 unit of time, and finally we
move 1kg out of pan to measure 3kg in 1 unit of time. So in 3 units of time we could measure 1,3 and 4kg using weights 1 and 3 only.
Now you have to make sugar packets of all weights from 1 to 125 in minimum time, in other words in minimum movement of weights. The question here is to find out the minimum number of weighs needed and the weight of each the weights used and the strategy to be followed for the creation of 125 packets of sugar.

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2012-08-20T13:00:00.000+05:30

Q. You are given two 60 minute long fuse ropes (i.e. the kind that you would find on the end of a bomb) and a lighter. The fuses do not necessarily burn at a fixed rate. For example, given an 8 foot rope, it may take 5 minutes for the first 4 feet of the fuse to burn, while the last 4 feet could take 55 minutes to burn (a much slower rate) (5+55=60 minutes). Using these two fuses and the lighter, how can you determine 45 minutes?

HINT: You can use the lighter any number of times

Solution :

Light the first fuse at both ends and the other fuse at one end simultaneously. When the first fuse is burned out, you know that exactly half an hour has passed. You also know that the second fuse still has exactly half an hour to go before it will be burned completely, but we won't wait for that. Now also light the other end of the second fuse. This means that the second fuse will be burned completely after another quarter of an hour, which adds up to exactly 45 minutes since we started lighting the first fuse.

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2012-07-06T21:51:00.000+05:30

Q. There are three wise men in a room: A, B and C. You decide to give them a challenge. Suspecting that the thing they care about most is money, you give them $100 and tell them they are to divide this money observing the following rule: they are to discuss offers and counter-offers from each other and then take a vote. The majority vote wins. Sounds easy enough... now the question is, assuming each person is motivated to take the largest amount possible, what will the outcome be?

Solution :

• It is unlikely that one wise man would be voted out because counter-offers are allowed.
Consider: A and B decide to leave C out and split halfway. C offers B to leave A out instead, and as incentive offers B $60 as compared to $50 (Note: for C, $40 is better than nothing at all).

• Now A will try to raise that figure, but keep no less than $33 for himself. It would also happen that as B starts to get more and more of the share, A and C would decide to keep B out instead and split amongst each other. This would go on and on until they reach equilibrium with each agreeing to take their rightful share of 33 dollars.

Some Mind Boggling IQ Questions

2012-06-14T11:00:00.000+05:30

Q. You have 5 jars of pills. Each pill weighs 10 grams, except for contaminated pills contained in one jar, where each pill weighs 9 grams. Given a scale, how could you tell which jar had the contaminated pills in just one measurement?

Solution :

• Follow the steps outlined below:
• Step-1: Mark the jars with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
• Step-2: Take 1 pill from jar 1, take 2 pills from jar 2, take 3 pills from jar 3, take 4 pills from jar 4 and take 5 pills from jar 5.
• Step-3: Put all of the jars on the scale at once and take the measurement.
• Step-4: Now, subtract the measurement from 150 (1*10 + 2*10 + 3*10 + 4*10 + 5*10)
• Step-5: The result will give you the jar number which has the contaminated pills.

Q. One train leaves Los Angeles at 15 MPH heading for New York . Another train leaves from New York at 20mph heading for Los Angeles on the same track. If a bird, flying at 25mph, leaves from Los Angeles at the same time as the train and flies back and forth between the two trains until they collide, how far will the bird have traveled?

Solution :
The distance traveled by the bird can be calculated as:

1. Let's say the distance between LA and NY is d miles.
2. The time before which the trains will collide: d / (15+20) hours.
3. The distance traveled by the bird in that time: (d / 35) * 25 = 5*d/7 miles.

Assumptions made: The bird must follow the line of the track, remain at the same altitude, and the speed must be relative to the ground and not air speed.

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2012-05-28T22:30:00.000+05:30

Q. You have someone working for you for seven days and you have one gold bar to pay them. The gold bar is segmented into seven connected pieces. You must give them a piece of gold at the end of every day. If you are only allowed to make two breaks in the gold bar, how do you pay your worker?

Solution :

• As 7 = 1 + 2 + 4, this implies there are only 2 divisions (cuts).
• Day 1: Give [1] and you have [2+4]
• Day 2: Give [2] and take back [1]. You have [1+4]
• Day 3: Give [1+2] and you have [4]
• Day 4: Give [4] and take back [1+2]. You have [1+2].
• Day 5: Give [1+4] and you have [2]
• Day 6: Give [2+4] and take back [1]. You have [1]
• Day 7: Give [1+2+4] and you have nothing!
• The same trick can be applied to:
• 15 Days = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8
• 31 Days = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16
• And so on.
• The main point of division is:
• 1 = 2^0
• 2 = 2^1
• 4 = 2^2
• 8 = 2^3
• 16= 2^4
• And so on...

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2012-05-03T15:53:00.000+05:30

Q. There are four people who need to cross a bridge at night. The bridge is only wide enough for two people to cross at once. There is only one flashlight for the entire group. When two people cross, they must cross at the slower member's speed. All four people must cross the bridge in 17 minutes, since the bridge will collapse in exactly that amount of time. Here are the times each member takes to cross the bridge:

• Person A: 1 minute
• Person B: 2 minutes
• Person C: 5 minutes
• Person D: 10 minutes

If Person A and C crossed the bridge initially, 5 minutes would elapse, because Person C takes 5 minutes to cross. Then Person A would have to come back to the other side of the bridge, taking another minute, or six minutes total. Now, if Person A and D crossed the bridge next, it would take them 10 minutes, totaling to 16 minutes. If A came back, it would take yet another minute, totally 17. The bridge would collapse with A and B on the wrong side. How can all four people get across the bridge within 17 minutes? Note: there is no trick- answer to this problem. You cannot do tricky stuff like throwing the flashlight etc.

Solution :

• 1. A and B cross together. Total Time: 2 Minutes
• 2. B comes back. Total Time: 4 Minutes
• 3. C and D cross together. Total Time: 14 Minutes
• 4. A comes back. Total Time: 15 Minutes
• 5. A and B cross together. Total Time: 17 Minutes

Mind Boggling IQ Questions with Answers

2012-04-10T18:56:00.000+05:30

1. If you look at a clock and the time is 3:15, what is the angle between the hour and the minute hands?

Ans:The answer is 7.5 degrees and not zero. Since, in one minute hour and travels 1 degree so after 15 minutes hour hand will be 7.5 degrees away from 3 where the minute hand is present.

2. There are 2 candles of equal size each of which can burn 1 hour. We have to measure 90 minutes using these candles. There is no scale or clock but a lighter is present ?

Ans: First of all light up both the ends of the 1st candle. When it burns out completely it means 30 minutes has passed. Now,light one end of the 2nd candle. When it burns completely, it means an hour (60 minutes) has passed. Thus, we can measure 90 minutes , that is, 30 + 60 = 90 minutes.

3. Solve the above problem to measure 45 minutes ?

Ans: First of all light up both the ends of the 1st candle and simultaneously light the one end of the 2nd candle.When the 1st candle burns out completely, then light up the both the ends of the 2nd candle.Thus, in first phase we measured 30 minutes and in second phase we measured 15 minutes as the 2nd candle was half its size at the start of second phase which gives us 15 + 30 = 45 minutes.

4. How it is possible to place 4 points that are equidistant from each other?
Or,
Consider yourself as a landscape designer and your boss asked you to design a landscape such that you should place 4 trees at equal distance from each other ?

Ans: In a 2D plane, only 3 points can be equidistant from each other in form of an equilateral triangle . But in a 3D plane, one can place 4 points at equal distance in the form of a tetrahedron.

5. How do you cut a rectangular cake into two equal pieces when someone has already taken a rectangular piece from it? The removed piece can be any size or at any place in the cake. You are only allowed one straight cut.

Ans: Slice the cake horizontally from half the height of the cake.

Mind Boggling Questions & their Answers

2011-07-30T01:34:00.000+05:30

Q.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?

A.Concrete floors are very hard to crack!

Q.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall,how long would it take four men to build it?

A. No time at all it is already built.

Q.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?

A. Very large hands.

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?

A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand.

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?

A. No Probs , He sleeps at night.

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?

A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that.

Q. What looks like half apple ?

A : The other half.

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast ?

A : Dinner.

Q. What happened when wheel was invented ?

A : It caused a revolution.

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?

A : Liquid

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2011-07-29T23:40:00.000+05:30

On the first day of a school , the Principal announced a strange opening ceremony. There were 1000 students and 1000 lockers in the school. The principal asked the first student to open all lockers. He then asks the second student to close all lockers which are multiples of 2 . Then the third student to, close all lockers if it is open and open if it is closed, which are multiples of 3 and so on till the 1000 th student.
How many lockers would remain open after the 1000 th student has finished the job ?

Answer :

Solution : 31

Success Plan :: Charge your Grey cells

2011-07-29T23:30:00.000+05:30

Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled thinker and increase your ability to focus. But if you never use your brain, or abuse it with harmful chemicals, your ability to think and learn will deteriorate.

Here are 5 simple ways anyone can squeeze a bit more productivity out of the old grey matter.

1. Minimize Television Watching – This is a hard sell. People love vegetating in front of the television, myself included more often than I’d like. The problem is watching television doesn’t use your mental capacity OR allow it to recharge. It’s like having the energy sapped out of a muscle without the health benefits of exercise.

Don’t you feel drained after a couple hours of TV? Your eyes are sore and tired from being focused on the light box for so long. You don’t even have the energy to read a book.

When you feel like relaxing, try reading a book instead. If you’re too tired, listen to some music. When you’re with your friends or family, leave the tube off and have a conversation. All of these things use your mind more than television and allow you to relax.

2. Exercise – I used to think that I’d learn more by not exercising and using the time to read a book instead. But I realized that time spent exercising always leads to greater learning because it improves productivity during the time afterwards. Using your body clears your head and creates a wave of energy. Afterwards, you feel invigorated and can concentrate more easily.

3. Read Challenging Books – Many people like to read popular suspense fiction, but generally these books aren’t mentally stimulating. If you want to improve your thinking and writing ability you should read books that make you focus. Reading a classic novel can change your view of the world and will make you think in more precise, elegant English. Don’t be afraid to look up a word if you don’t know it, and don’t be afraid of dense passages. Take your time, re-read when necessary, and you’ll soon grow accustomed to the author’s style.

Once you get used to reading challenging books, I think you’ll find that you aren’t tempted to go back to page-turners. The challenge of learning new ideas is far more exciting than any tacky suspense-thriller.

4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise – Nothing makes it harder to concentrate than sleep deprivation. You’ll be most rejuvenated if you go to bed early and don’t sleep more than 8 hours. If you stay up late and compensate by sleeping late, you’ll wake up lethargic and have trouble focusing. In my experience the early morning hours are the most tranquil and productive. Waking up early gives you more productive hours and maximizes your mental acuity all day.

If you have the opportunity, take 10-20 minute naps when you are hit with a wave of drowsiness. Anything longer will make you lethargic, but a short nap will refresh you.

5. Take Time to Reflect – Often our lives get so hectic that we become overwhelmed without even realizing it. It becomes difficult to concentrate because nagging thoughts keep interrupting. Spending some time alone in reflection gives you a chance organize your thoughts and prioritize your responsibilities. Afterwards, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s important and what isn’t. The unimportant stuff won’t bother you anymore and your mind will feel less encumbered.

I’m not saying you need to sit on the floor cross-legged and chant ‘ommm’. Anything that allows a bit of prolonged solitude will do. One of my personal favorites is taking a solitary walk. Someone famous said, “All the best ideas occur while walking.” I think he was on to something. Experiment to find the activity that works best for you.

Conclusion – I hope you aren’t disappointed that none of the techniques I’ve proposed are revolutionary. But simple, unexciting answers are often the most valid. The challenge is having the will to adhere to them. If you succeed in following these 5 tips, you’ll be rewarded with increased mental acuity and retention of knowledge.

Memory Booster

2011-05-12T00:50:00.000+05:30

Confidence and enthusiam are two joint partners in sales producing , if you have once made firm determination and sticked to the point “ i can do it “ that means “ Yes i can do it “ then never turn back or retrieve your footsteps , just DO IT !!

when exams are on head improve your memory with fast and easy , fool proof steps:-
Enhancement techniques of memory is certainly a hot pursuit for students who are appearing in competitive exams. Speed not only saves time and comprehension power. It utlizes your time brain more, process in larger stream of information.

It takes little time to transform the material, that you are trying to memorize. It’s very effectively when you organize your studies , you can memorize b y creating diagrams, graphs, notes, illustrationsand maintaining tables. Visualization helps to memory to memorize, try to focus on visual things more like diagrams as campare texts.

Pick up the place where it’s little distracted , somewhere peace resides. It gives proper mindset and tone to approach your studies. Reading material loud enhances the power of retention. It will surely boost your confidence as exam time is on head.

Try to avoid the use of calculater during the practice , because, more you avoid, you are able to judge the speed and accuracy to solve the problem as you are not allowed to use any electronic device. Practice more mock test papers, by setting alarm clock.

Adpot these tips surely it is memory booster and help you alott in doing well in exam

ALL THE BEST !

Increasing Concentration

2010-10-23T00:46:00.000+05:30

"I can't concentrate." "My mind wanders when I try to study."
Lack of concentration is one of the most frequent complaints heard on a college campus.

Concentration: the ability to direct one's thinking in whatever direction one would intend.
We all have the ability to concentrate -- sometimes. Think of the times when you were engrossed in a super novel. While playing your guitar or piano. In an especially good game of cards. At a spellbinder of a movie. Total concentration.
But at other times your thoughts are scattered, and your mind races from one thing to another. It's for those times that you need to learn and practice concentration strategies. They involve (1) learning mental selfregulation and (2) arranging factors that you can immediately control.

Training Your Wandering Mind :
Learning Mental Self-Regulation for Improved Concentration

Improving concentration is learning a skill.
Learning a skill takes practice... whether it is shooting baskets, dancing, typing, writing, or concentrating. Do not confuse these strategies with medicine. When you take a medicine, it acts on the body without your having to help it.

Concentration strategies require practice. You probably will begin to notice some change within a few days. You'll notice considerable improvement within four to six weeks of training your mind with some of the skills that follow. And that's a short period of time considering how many years you've spent not concentrating as well as you'd like.

Begin by practicing these techniques:

Be Here Now,
The Spider Technique, and
Worry Time.

Then try any of the Other Mental Strategies that sound promising to you. Give them an honest try -- use them for at least three days. If you notice a little change, that suggests that the skill will be valuable and, with continued practice, will greatly improve your concentration. There are also Other Factors You Can Change now in your environment that may be helpful.

Be Here Now

This deceptively simple strategy is probably the most effective. When you notice your thoughts wandering astray, say to yourself

"Be here now"

and gently bring your attention back to where you want it.

FOR EXAMPLE:
You're in class and your attention strays from the lecture to all the homework you have, to a date, to the fact that you're hungry. As you say to yourself

"Be here now"

you focus back on the lecture and maintain your attention there as long as possible.
When it wanders again, repeat

"Be here now"

and gently bring your attention back.
You may notice that your mind often wanders (as often as several times a minute at times). Each time just say

"Be here now"

and refocus. Do not try to keep particular thoughts out of your mind. For example, as you sit there, close your eyes and think about anything you want to for the next three minutes except cookies. Try not to think about cookies...When you try not to think about something, it keeps coming back. ("I'm not going to think about cookies. I'm not going to think about cookies.")

When you find your thoughts wandering, gently let go of that thought and, with your "Be here now," return to the present.
You might do this hundreds of times a week, if you're normal. But, you'll find that the period of time between your straying thoughts gets a little longer every few days. So be patient and keep at it. You'll see some improvement!

The Spider Technique

This is another strategy that sounds deceptively simple. But it is the basis for concentration because it helps you to maintain your concentration and not give in to distractions.
Hold a vibrating tuning fork next to a spider web. The spider will react and come looking for what is vibrating the web. Do it several times and the spider "wises up" and knows there's no bug and doesn't come looking.
You can learn that. Train yourself not to give in to distractions. When someone enters the room, or when a door slams, do not allow yourself to participate. Rather, keep your concentration on what's in front of you.

Use the "Be here now" technique to help you regain concentration when you do become distracted momentarily.

Practice this in a variety of settings, such as:
In lecture classes practice letting people move or cough without having to look at them - just let them "be out there" while you form a tunnel between you and the lecturer.
When talking with someone keep your attention on that person, look at his face, and note what is being said. Let the rest of the world just be "out there."

Worry or Think Time

Set aside a specific time each day to think about the things that keep entering your mind and interfering with your concentration. For example, set 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. as your worry/think time. When your mind is side-tracked into worrying during the day, remind yourself that you have a special time for worrying. Then, let the thought go for the present, and return your focus to your immediate activity.

There's research on this, believe it or not! Persons who use a worry time find themselves worrying 35 percent less of the time within four weeks. That's a big change!
The important steps are:

(1) set a specific time each day for your time,

(2) when you become aware of a distracting thought, remind yourself that you have a special time to think about them,

(3) let the thought go, perhaps with "Be here now," and

(4) be sure to keep that appointment with yourself at that special time to think on the distracting thoughts of the day.

Other Mental Strategies :

Tallying your mental wanderings. Have a 3 x 5 inch card handy. Draw two lines dividing the card into three sections. Label them "morning," "afternoon," and "evening."
Each time your mind wanders, make a tally in the appropriate section. Keep a card for each day. As your skills build, you'll see the number of tallies decrease. And that's exciting!

Rest/Stretch Time . Remember to take short breaks. Lectures are usually 50 minutes long, and that's about the length of time most people can direct their attention to one task. But, that's just an average. Your concentration time-span might be less (20-35 minutes) or longer (perhaps 90 minutes).

When you take a break, oxygenate (get more oxygen to your brain)! Get up and walk around the room for a couple of minutes. When we sit for long periods, blood tends to pool in our lower body and legs (because of gravity). Our calves serve as pumps for our blood when we walk, getting blood flowing more evenly throughout the body. As a result, more oxygen is carried to the brain and you are more alert.

Change Topics. Many students aid their concentration by changing the subject they are studying every one to two hours. You pay more attention to something that's different. And you can give yourself that variety by changing the subject you study regularly.

Incentives and Rewards. Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task. The task might be small, such as stay with a difficult assignment until you've finished. An appropriate reward might be a walk around the block, a glass of water, or reading the day's cartoon in the newspaper..
For those special projects such as term papers, design projects, or long book reviews, set up a special incentive. Upon completion, plan to give yourself a special pizza, movie, or an evening of TV.
Incentives and rewards can be overdone. Use them for the especially difficult assignment or longer projects. When you do use them, make the rewards something you ordinarily would not give yourself.

Increasing Your Activity Level. Your concentration wanders more easily if you just read an assignment straight through. Instead, take the heading for each section and turn it into a question. For this section, that would be, "How can I increase my activity level while studying?" Then study that section to answer that question. Do this routinely. The questions give us a focus for each section and increase our involvement.

Also, as you study an assignment, make a list of questions you can bring to class. Listen to the lecture for answers to those questions.
Shift position in your seat every so often. Don't sit there frozen in one position. The move will help keep the blood circulating, sending more oxygen to your brain and helping you remain alert.
Skydivers, rock climbers, tightrope walkers, and lion tamers don't have trouble concentrating! You probably haven't done any of those. But, think back to some time in your life when you had that calm, total concentration. Close your eyes and recreate that time. Visualize it, if you can. Feel how you felt at that time. Now, when you begin studying tonight, recapture that focused attention and see how long you can hold it. Does it feel as if that might work? If so, begin all your study sessions with the feeling and see how long you can maintain it. With practice, your concentration will get better and better.

FACTORS YOU CAN CONTROL NOW !

Chart your energy levels. When is your energy level at its highest? When are your low energy times? Study your most difficult courses at your high energy times. Sharpest early in the evening? Study your most difficult course then. Later in the evening? Work on your easier courses or the ones you enjoy the most.
Now that's not what most students do. Instead, they put off the tough courses until later in the evening when they are more fatigued. It's more difficult to concentrate when you're tired. Reverse that. Hard courses at peak energy times. Easier ones later. This alone can help to improve your concentration.

Light. Make sure you have adequate light. It's essential to keeping your attention focused on what you are studying. So your eyes don't tire, use indirect lights (to avoid glare) and ones that don't flicker.

Chair and Table. Sit on a not overly comfortable chair at a table, not sprawled out on your bed. Your bed is where you sleep and dream.

Posture. Sit up straight to aid concentration rather than sprawled out in a similar-to-sleep position.

Clear away distractions. Don't have pictures where you'll notice them when looking up from your studies. Also, put out of sight any material for other courses. Seeing it can panic you a little about all you have to do. So put it out of sight.

Signs. Don't hesitate to put signs on your door. "I need the grades. Please let me study." "Please do not disturb." "Concentrating is tough. Help me by staying away." Some inconsiderate person will interrupt. Ask them to come back later. If they don't leave, practice ignoring them (See the Spider Technique above).

Take your phone off the hook. Yes, you might miss a call. But developing your concentration skills is important. It will be useful for the remainder of your life.

Where you study can make a difference. Think about where you concentrate best. Often it's difficult to study where you live, so look for a corner in the library that's quiet and facing a wall (not a door with people coming and going or a window with a distracting view). Some students study better where they live. Find the place or places you find most conducive to concentration.

Background music? Research on productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive. If you think you need music, choose some with no lyrics and with relatively monotonous melodies. Baroque music is the best example. Something with words, a definite beat, a catchy melody, or one of your favorite pieces can easily divert your attention, often without your being aware of it at first.
Perhaps you might try "white noise" -- it masks out environmental noises and helps minimize distractions. Your radio can be an inexpensive source of white noise. Switch to FM and team to the high end of your dial. You should get a steady static or form of white noise, unless your radio is an especially good one. Or keep a fan running.

Enough time for everything? Ever find your study of one subject interrupted by worries about getting assignments in another course done? Or waste time trying to decide what to study? Take an hour or so and do a little planning.
First, estimate for each course the number of hours you'll need to study each week. Then work up a flexible time schedule. Include all your obligations (classes, meetings, meals, laundry, etc.). Then allocate specific time periods for studying particular subjects. When studying one course you won't worry so much about others because you'll know that you have time for them.

Be flexible in your schedule. If you need an extra hour on a subject, continue with it and then do a little juggling to make up the study time you encroached on. You'll probably need to modify your schedule from time to time.
If you would rather schedule smaller chunks of time, each Sunday plan the following week and change from week to week. Check to be sure you're getting study time in on all your courses.

Rewards for Concentrating. In summary, the rewards for improving your concentration can be priceless. You'll be delighted at your ability to recall information given in lectures. You'll find yourself accomplishing more in the same period of time. It can even affect your social life. Your special friend will appreciate your undivided attention and, in return, will give you undivided attention. So will other friends. Best of all, concentration skills help your self confidence because you will realize how much more is possible when you can give your total attention.

2010-10-21T20:02:00.000+05:30

Lateral Thinking Puzzles are great fun and a good way to stimulate a group of children or students and can help to boost your intellect but they are also used by innovators and inventors to create new ideas and products for companies.

Lateral Thinking Puzzles, unlike most puzzles, are inexact. In a sense, they are a hybrid between puzzles and storytelling. In each puzzle, some clues to a scenario are given, but the clues don't tell the full story. Your job is to fill in the details and complete the story. Obviously, there is usually more than one answer to any given puzzle, but, in general, only one solution is truly satisfying.

The Best IQ Question

2010-08-27T21:40:00.000+05:30

This Question was developed and used in Japan for job and university IQ tests. Mainly used in the IT sector. This test is solved in around 15mins . Let's see can you get every one on the other side?

The Question is :

There are some people at one shore of the river and a boat. They have to cross the river. The people consists of a Mother with 2 daughters, a Father with 2 sons , a Thief and a Police officer.
The Rules are :
1. Only two people can travel at once through the boat.
2. Only the Police officer and the parents can drive the boat across the river . The children and the thief can't drive the boat.
3. Daddy can not stay with the girls without the presence of the mother, otherwise he will kill them.
4. Mum cant stay with the boys without the presence of the father, otherwise she will kill them.
5. The arrested Thief cannot stay with any of the family members without the Police officer, otherwise he will kill anyone of them.
6. These rules apply on both the shores of the river.
7. The Police officer can only prevent the thief from killing anyone (if they are on same shore) , he can't prevent the family members from killing if above conditions is violated even when he is on the same shore.

Now , By what method and order will you make everyone cross the river safely so that no one kills anyone and no one dies ?

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2010-08-27T21:09:00.000+05:30

There were 5 persons standing at one side of a bridge on a pitch dark night. All of Them have to cross the bridge. The speeds of all persons are different and they take 1 sec , 3 sec , 6 sec, 8 sec , 12 sec respectively to cross the bridge. Only 2 persons at most can cross the bridge at a time, that only using the Lamp to see in the dark, without it no one can cross it. This means if 2 persons go with the lamp for the first time then one of them has to return back to handover the lamp. The Lamp will glow for a total of 30 sec, which means all of them has to cross the bridge in 30s . Also when 2 persons are crossing the bridge both the persons will walk at the speed of slower one, which means if 6 sec person is travelling with 12 sec person then it will take 12 sec for both to reach the other end. Also the time during handing over will also be counted as the lamp will glow at that time also which means if 6s and 12s goes , and 6s returns then total time will be 24s. Now, tell in what order and pairs will all of them cross the bridge and in what time ?

A Mathematical Puzzle

2010-08-27T20:46:00.000+05:30

Once in a marriage party people from three castes arrived namely The Brahmans , The Rajputs and The Muslims. The food arrangement at the party consisted 100 plates for 100 people . The Brahmans said that each one of them will eat 4 plates. The Rajputs said that each one of them will eat 2 plates. The Muslims then said that 4 of them can eat from 1 plate. The Number of plates and people cannot be changed then find the number of Brahmans , Rajputs and Muslims that were at the party so that all of them ate the food as per conditions.

SUCCESS PLAN ::::: BETTER REVISION

2010-06-24T00:31:00.000+05:30

We remember only 18% of what we have learnt initially, after 24 hours and we tend to forget rest of 82%. This is a very important fact for you to remember. We will discuss below how can prevent this loss by using the technique of Systematic Revision which is a programmed pattern of review.

The human brain has 1500 crore neurons or brain cells. Each single brain cell makes connection with 5000 to 10,000 other brain cells. The brain can be imagined to be a huge telephone network. When we learn something, new connections are created in the brain. Repetition strengthens that network.

Famous author Tony Buzan recommends Systematic Revision like this. The first review should take place 10 minutes after a one hour learning period and should itself take 10 minutes. This will keep the recall high for approximately one day, when the next review should take place, this time for a period of 2 to 4 minutes. After this, recall will probably be retained for approximately a week, when another 2 minute review can be completed followed by a further review after about one month.

Systematic Revision is an extremely powerful scientific technique for transferring information from the short-term memory to long-tern memory. This technique Improves your learning, thinking and remembering.

SUCCESS PLAN ::::: REMEMBER IN A BETTER WAY

2010-06-24T00:26:00.000+05:30

In order to reduce or remove the causes of forgetting and so be able to remember better we have to

1. Get a strong impression by paying careful attention.

We must obtain a deep Impression Of the mind of what we wish to remember. The attention must be concentrated on only one thing at a time to the exclusion of everything else.
If you want to concentrate on something, you must feel that It matters to you. You must be interested in it. It must evoke your enthusiasm. The deeper and more permanent the interest the more sustained the attention.

2. Repeat under conditions in which repetition is effective.

Psychologists have discovered a number of conditions under which repeating what we wish to remember helps us to remember it. Those conditions are

(a) You remember better if you understand what you repeat (better comprehension).

b) You remember better if you study a little but often (spaced learning-have frequent breaks while studying)

Do not study more than half an hour continuously without any break. Give a break for every half an hour. A five minute break is good enough. Actually, we remember better at the beginning and at the end of a learning period. We remember less during the middle of learning period. It shows that if you have four learning of each 30 minutes in approximately in a 2 hours session, then there are 4 beginnings and 4 ends which correspond to high learning and high memory.

In the 5 minute break period, you may get up and walk or you may close your eyes and relax. You must remember two important aspects of break :
(1) you must relax
(ii) you must continue study after about 5 minutes.

Relaxation results in increased blood flow to your brain, and that means you function at higher intelligence.

SUCCESS PLAN ::::: EFFECTIVE LEARNING

2010-06-24T00:10:00.000+05:30

I. Always make an effort to understand the study material / lessons,
the principles which underlie it.

II. Instead of reading and rereading, read and then try to recall. The most popular way of doing a thing is not always the best way. For instance, People may expect to remember a piece of material after reading it once - or after reading it and then re-reading it.

Both methods are inadequate, the first because it is an uneconomical use of time. Research has shown that a second reading brings only 7 per cent more comprehension, while a third one adds only another 1 percent. The time spent on rereading is out of proportion to the gain that can be expected from it. A best method for super learning is P-V formula.

This P-V formula is your key to more effective study. Established by experimental research on learning methods.

(i) P stands for Preview : Browse through the study material / lessons to get a general idea of what it is about. Close the book and think about what you have gathered from your preview.

(ii) Q stands for Question : Ask yourself a few questions which you want your reading to answer. Some authors suggest such questions at the beginning of a chapter. If your author doesn’t, think of your own.

(iii) R stands for Read : Read the material and make sure that you understand it. Underline key words and phrases. Think about what you have read. Assess the relative importance of its various features.

(iv) S stands for Summarize : Make notes on what you read (create a Mind Map)

(v) T stands for Test : Test yourself on what you have read by using the information to answer the questions you asked under Q(above)- Answer the questions and problems set by your teacher Or by your text book author. Answer questions set In earlier exam papers. Discuss the subject with your classmates.

(vi) U stands for Use : Try to put material to some practical use In everyday affairs.

(vii) V stands for Visualize : Picture the ideas in your mind’S eye or visualize the actual pages of the textbook Or notebook.

Logical Reasoning

2010-05-07T23:09:00.000+05:30

ANALYTICAL ABILTIY

Directions (Q. 1-5): Below the letters and their numeric codes are given and that of some conditions are
to be followed while codifying the given letter groups in each question. Study them and find out
the correct numeric coded form of the given letter group in each question. If none of the coded
forms is correct, your answer will be (d) i .e. ‘none of these’.
Letters :   M Q I N E Y U G R
Numeric Codes   :    2 5 3 7 1 8 4 6 9

Conditions:
(i)   If the first and last letters are vowels both are to be coded as $.
(ii) If the second letter is a vowel and the third is a consonant a single code is to be used and both
are to be coded jointly as %
(iii) If the first letter is a conson ant and the last letter is a vowel both are to be code as?

1. UNGRE
(a) $769$      (b) 4769$
(c) 47691      (d) none of these

2. EINUM
(a) 1%72      (b) 0%42
(c) 1374?      (d) none of these

3. GENIR
(a) ?173?      (b) 6%39
(c) 6%79      (d) none of these

4. ENIMY
(a) 1%28      (b) ?732?
(c) 17328      (d) none of these

5. QUERI
(a) 5%93      (b) ?413?
(c) ?419?      (d) none of these

6. Vinita bought a watch with 24% discount on the selling price. If the watch cost her Rs. 779. What
is the original selling price of the watch?
(a) Rs. 1,000      (b) Rs. 950
(c) Rs. 1,040      (d) none of these

7. Samantha, Jessica and Roseline begin to Jog around a circular stadium, they complete their
revolutions in 84 s, 56 s and 63 s respectively. After how many seconds will they be together at
the starting point?
(a) 336      (b) 504
(c) 252      (d) cannot be determined

8. A sum of money is to be divided amongst A, B and C in the respective ratio of
3 : 4 : 5 and another sum of money is to be divided between E and F equally. If F got Rs. 1,050
less than A, how much amount did B receive?
(a) Rs. 750      (b) Rs. 2,000
(c) Rs. 1,500      (d) cannot be determined

9. 16 men can complete a piece of work in 8 days. In how many days can 12 men complete the same
piece of work?
(a) 10      (b) 28/3

(c) 32/3      (d) 34/3

10. If the numerator of a fraction is increased by 200% and the denominator is increased by 160%, the
resultant fraction is 7/13 . What is the original fraction?
(a) 7/15      (b) 2/15

(c) 8/15      (d) 5/7

ANALYTICAL ABILITY
1. (a) 2. (d) 3. (b)   4. (c) 5. (c)
6. (d) 7. (b)   8. (d) 9. (c) 10. (a)

Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart ?

2010-02-08T23:03:00.000+05:30

IS GEORGE W. BUSH stupid? It's a question that occupied a good many minds of all political persuasions during his turbulent eight-year presidency. The strict answer is no. Bush's IQ score is estimated to be above 120, which suggests an intelligence in the top 10 per cent of the population. But this, surely, does not tell the whole story. Even those sympathetic to the former president have acknowledged that as a thinker and decision-maker he is not all there. Even his loyal speechwriter David Frum called him glib, incurious and "as a result ill-informed". The political pundit and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough accused him of lacking intellectual depth, claiming that compared with other US presidents whose intellect had been questioned, Bush junior was "in a league by himself". Bush himself has described his thinking style as "not very analytical".

How can someone with a high IQ have these kinds of intellectual deficiencies? Put another way, how can a "smart" person act foolishly? Keith Stanovich, professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada, has grappled with this apparent incongruity for 15 years. He says it applies to more people than you might think. To Stanovich, however, there is nothing incongruous about it. IQ tests are very good at measuring certain mental faculties, he says, including logic, abstract reasoning, learning ability and working-memory capacity - how much information you can hold in mind.

But the tests fall down when it comes to measuring those abilities crucial to making good judgements in real-life situations. That's because they are unable to assess things such as a person's ability to critically weigh up information, or whether an individual can override the intuitive cognitive biases that can lead us astray.

This is the kind of rational thinking we are compelled to do every day, whether deciding which foods to eat, where to invest money, or how to deal with a difficult client at work. We need to be good at rational thinking to navigate our way around an increasingly complex world. And yet, says Stanovich, IQ tests - still the predominant measure of people's cognitive abilities - do not effectively tap into it. "IQ tests measure an important domain of cognitive functioning and they are moderately good at predicting academic and work success. But they are incomplete. They fall short of the full panoply of skills that would come under the rubric of 'good thinking'."
IQ isn't everything

"A high IQ is like height in a basketball player," says David Perkins, who studies thinking and reasoning skills at Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "It is very important, all other things being equal. But all other things aren't equal. There's a lot more to being a good basketball player than being tall, and there's a lot more to being a good thinker than having a high IQ."

IQ tests and their proxies, which are designed to measure a factor known as general intelligence, are used by many businesses and colleges to help select the "best" candidates, and also play a role in schools and universities, in the form of SAT tests in the US and CATs in the UK. "IQ tests determine, to an important degree, the academic and professional careers of millions of people in the US," Stanovich says in his book, What Intelligence Tests Miss (Yale University Press, 2008). He challenges the "lavish attention" society bestows on such tests, which he claims measure only a limited part of cognitive functioning. "IQ tests are overvalued, and I think most psychologists would agree with that," says Jonathan Evans, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Plymouth, UK.

Indeed, IQ scores have long been criticised as poor indicators of an individual's all-round intelligence, as well as for their inability to predict how good a person will be in a particular profession. The palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould claimed in The Mismeasure of Man in 1981 that general intelligence was simply a mathematical artefact and that its use was unscientific and culturally and socially discriminatory. Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has been arguing - controversially - for more than 25 years that cognitive capacity is best understood in terms of multiple intelligences, covering mathematical, verbal, visual-spatial, physiological, naturalistic, self-reflective, social and musical aptitudes.

Yet unlike many critics of IQ testing, Stanovich and other researchers into rational thinking are not trying to redefine intelligence, which they are happy to characterise as those mental abilities that can be measured by IQ tests. Rather, they are trying to focus attention on cognitive faculties that go beyond intelligence - what they describe as the essential tools of rational thinking. These, they claim, are just as important as intelligence to judgement and decision-making. "IQ is only part of what it means to be smart," says Evans.

A Mind Boggling IQ Question

2010-01-06T23:30:00.000+05:30

Facts:

There are 5 houses in 5 different colours
In each house lives a person with a different nationality..
These 5 owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar and keep a certain pet.
No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same drink.

The Brit lives in a red house.
The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
The Dane drinks tea.
The green house is on the left of the white house.
The green house owner drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
The man living in the house right in the centre drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.
The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
The German smokes Prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
The man who smokes Blend has a neighbour who drinks water.

The question for the test is ... WHO KEEPS THE FISH?