A few years back, I was surfing the web on the topic of Everest (before I even knew I was going). I stumbled upon this information and I wanted to share it here.

Credit: The following information comes from The NOVA web site.

Test Your Brain
By Gail Rosenbaum

Ever since people began trying to summit Mount Everest, climbers have become aware of subtle changes in their mental state as they ascend the mountain -- and their brains gradually receive less oxygen. Over the past years, experiments have been done on mountain climbers to measure changes in their mental abilities as they climb to ever-higher altitudes.

Here are a few brain tests you can try.

(1) The Stroop test

John Ridley Stroop first reviewed this phenomenon in a Ph.D. thesis published in 1935, and over 700 articles have been written about it since.

It turns out that we can read words faster, and more automatically, than we can name colors. If a word is written in a color different from the color it actually names; for example, if the word "red" is written in green we will say the word "red" more readily than we can name the color in which it is written, which in this case is "green."

To get an idea for how the Stroop test works, say out loud the color each word below is written in, not the color it says. For example, when you get to the first word in the third line, you should say "red."

(2) Verbal Puzzle
Created by Gail Rosenbaum

“You would typically need two people to perform the following tests”

	Question		Correct Answer	Answered Correctly?	Seconds
1.	If on Wednesday Miami is warmer than Phoenix, which place is cooler?		Phoenix	[   ]	[   ]
2.	Which house is smaller if Jim's house is half again as big as Brian's?		Brian's	[   ]	[   ]
3.	Because he was working late, Jack left a dinner in his microwave for Jim to heat up when he got home.
	a. who was the dinner for?		jim	[   ]	[   ]
	b. who did the microwave belong to?		Jack	[   ]	[   ]
4.	If Jane runs 6 miles in 54 minutes, how long does it take her to run one mile?		9 minutes	[   ]	[   ]
5.	If you see a picture with a diamond, a rectangle and a circle, and the circle is to the right of the rectangle and directly above the diamond, is the rectangle:
	a. right of the diamond?		No	[   ]	[   ]
	b. above the circle?		No	[   ]	[   ]
	c. left of the circle?		Yes	[   ]	[   ]

(3) Verbal Puzzle

	Question		Correct Answer	Answered Correctly?	Seconds
1.	If I say that Alice is smarter than Fred, who is the more intelligent?		Alice	[   ]	[   ]
2.	Eric is one and a half times as big as Allen. Who is smaller?		Allen	[   ]	[   ]
3.	In the backyard of Joe's house, Alice and Frank's dog played Frisbee.
	a. who did the dog belong to?		Frank	[   ]	[   ]
	b. where were they playing?		Joe's Backyard	[   ]	[   ]
4.	If one pair of jeans cost $21.00, how much will four pairs cost?		84 dollars	[   ]	[   ]
5.	If you see a picture with a circle and the cross is to the left of it and a rectangle is directly above the cross, is the cross:
	a. below the rectangle?		Yes	[   ]	[   ]
	b. left of the rectangle?		No	[   ]	[   ]
	c. right of the circle?		No	[   ]	[   ]

(4) Remembering Sentences
Created by Gail Rosenbaum

I am going to read some sentences to you. After I complete each one, I want you to repeat it, using as close to the same words as possible. If you don't recall the sentence exactly, tell me everything you remember.

	Sentence		Time elapsed before response	Time taken to repeat sentence	Errors?
1.	The wild flowers bloomed in profusion in the high meadows in August.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
2.	Because he ripped his shirt on the nail, Sam had to mend the pocket.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
3.	The video camera captured the bank robber's daring daylight robbery of the First Avenue Bank.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
4.	If you have occasion to visit the tropics try to go when ocean breezes make sailing fun.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
5.	The boat developed engine problems as it left port, leaving passengers wondering how long they would be delayed.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]

(5) Remembering Sentence

	Sentence		Time elapsed before response	Time taken to repeat sentence	Errors?
1.	The weather in March is snowy and cold in many parts of Canada.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
2.	Old houses are more difficult to maintain, but worth the extra time and effort.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
3.	The shorter the chapter, the easier it is for students to complete the difficult exercises.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
4.	Mike walked around the block three times before he had the nerve to knock on Carol's door.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]
5.	The driver was stopped for driving 67 miles per hour in a 20 mile per hour zone.		[   ]	[   ]	[   ]

For a more detailed description of these test and topics, please click here: NOVA On-line