Life on the Edge: The Wonderlic Explained

Most of you know Edge as the roving correspondent for our OTP Muncie bureau. He brings delight and joy to the masses with his Rock & Roll Report Cards after Ball State games which he decides to rock out at in person. In an effort to ensure your Awesome Quotient, or AQ as we like to call it, increases on a weekly basis, Edge offers insight into the Cards' upcoming opponent or random goings on in college football. This week's edition? The Wonderlic Explained.

Life on the Edge:

The Wonderlic Explained

Most of you that read OTP will understand about the Wonderlic. But I've been hearing questions about this test from some casual OTP readers (we'll call them the fairweather fans). As the resident, somewhat scholarly rocker, I think it's my duty to explain some things about this test. Here goes:

50 questions, 12 minutes. Go.

That's pretty much it, my fellow Einsteins. But what questions are on this test... Well, here's a few brain busters (Note: these can be found on the Internet. They are not confirmed as being on this year's test, but they are confirmed as the types of questions asked):

• "What number month is September?"
• "When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for sixty cents?"
• "A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?"

Your brain hurt yet? Well, before you think you'd be the next Stephen Hawking, the test does get progressively harder. Such as:

• "A physical education class has three times as many girls as boys. During a class basketball game, the girls average 18 points each, and the class as a whole averages 17 points per person. How many points does each boy score on average?"
• "A box of staples has a length of 6 cm, a width of 7 cm, and a volume of 378 cm cubed. What is the height of the box?"
• "What is the average of all of the integers from 13 to 37?"

Granted, I'll bet most college-educated people could figure these out relatively easily. But, keep in mind: 50 questions, 12 minutes. See how things can get a bit difficult? It's no wonder that the averages tend to be in the mid-twenties for most test-takers. Scoring a 50 would probably get you drafted in the first round of the MENSA draft. Scoring a 6? Well, I guess you could be a mentally unstable quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.

Take a second and check out this year's scores. I'll wait while you review...

So, how about that 11, Nate?

So close... Derp.

Let's be honest here: that's pretty bad. "Learning disability" or not, it's just... not good. "Ah, but numbers can be deceiving, can't they Edge?" Well, I suppose an 11 out of 30 wouldn't be too bad, right?

But that's not what happened here... when you answer 45 questions and only get 11 right? Ouch dude. That's a 0.244 batting average. To put this into a little more perspective, the second-worst correct answers on the test for a quarterback was 16. Also not good. Until you take into account he only got through 21 questions. That's a 0.762 batting average. Game over, get your free Coke at the concession stand.

Now, I know that most teams aren't looking to draft financial advisers and chemists, but when a team sees a guy that's... slow?... you have to believe that they'll have some doubts. In my quick scan of scores (2nd test), I see only four who scored a worse batting average than Davis (and Johnny Knox of Abilene Christian, also a 0.244 hitter).

Valedictorian of Dumbshit U. - Emmanuel Cook of South Carolina scored an 11 of 49; a 0.224 batting average
Salutatorian of Dumbshit U. - David Richmond of San Jose State scored a 10 of 43; a 0.233 batting average
Ummm.. Co-Thirdatorians of Dumbshit U. - Taurus Johnson of South Florida and Sen'Derrick Marks of Auburn both scored a 12 of 50; a 0.240 batting average

Now, there were plenty of 11s, 12s, even a 9. But I tend to glance at the number to the right which indicates the number of questions answered. Even if a player only answers 30, but gets 20 correct, that indicates intelligence on some level. It may mean he takes too long reading or that he's too meticulous, or he knows he's dumb, so he only answers the ones he's sure are right - thus an intelligent move. But he still got 2/3 of the questions correct. Certainly better than under 1/4, right my fellow mathmeticians?

Bottom line? The Wonderlic sacked Davis. It gang-sacked him. And his approach was borderline idiotic. Here's the deal... too late now of course: if you don't know the answer, SKIP IT! At least you can feign intelligence this way. Like him or not, "learning disability" or not, his stock has not increased, and he's going to be hard-pressed to get the contract he thought he'd get before the MAC championship. And note to self: if I ever take a test next to Nate Davis, don't copy off of him.