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My Experience with the Miller's Analogies Test

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I recently took the Miller's Analogies Test. After scheduling it and before taking it, there was one question I searched many times; "Can you study for the MAT?"  I had no success in finding an answer, so I intend to answer it here on my blog.

Before you read any further here is what you should know.  I made a 461.  I haven't received my official notification.  That is the preliminary score given to me at the end of the test.  I have no idea whether that is a good or bad score.  I do not know where it ranks on the percentile nor do I know what is required by most grad schools.  I do know that the one of the departments at the school where I took the exam requires a 381, so I was well above that.  But just be warned that you may be taking advice from a moron in analogies. <update> I have received my official score.  It turns out that my 461 is the 99th percentile.  So you are not taking advice from an analogical moron. </ update>

Now…onto the question

Can you study for the Miller’s Analogies Test?

In short, the answer is no.

You cannot study for the exam.  It is pretty much going to test your ability to think analogically.

Even though you cannot study for the test, you can prepare for it, have a strategy, and be familiar with the types of analogies and the categories that appear on the test.  There are a multitude of practice exams on the web, some are good, some are not.  I’ll offer what tips I can.

  1. Even though there are spelling errors, and annoying ads, this is the best set of practice questions I found.  The timed format is very similar to the actual exam.
  2. It is helpful if you are somewhat of a polymath.  There are math, history, science, and literature analogies on the exam.  My version had analogies with simple algebraic formulas, relationships between dictators, chemical symbols, countries and capitals.
  3. There is no substitute for a good vocabulary.  All through seminary I kept a running list of all the words I had to look up. I haven’t mixed them into my vocabulary regularly, but more than a few appeared on the exam.  The difference in reading a word in a book versus reading it in an analogy is context.  You have no contextual cues to tell you what inchoate means; you pretty much need to know it in order to say how it relates to nascent.
  4. You are allowed a piece of scratch paper, use it.  Use it to remember the numbers of the analogies that stumped you, use it to work on math problems.  Use it to restructure the analogies in hopes that they make sense to you.
  5. Do not be freaked out by the time.  You have 60 minutes to complete 120 analogies.  The ones you know will take you way under 30 seconds, you can use the spare time to work-out the ones you don’t.
  6. Don’t be freaked out.  The test is hard.  It’s supposed to be hard. Unless you are a genius you are not going to know them all, so relax.
  7. Use all your time.  Unless you are confident of every answer, (in which case you don’t need to read this) you should use the remaining time to get the ones you are still unsure of
  8. Be alert and limit distractions.  I’m sure everyone reading this already knows this, but I’m going to say it anyway.    The test is nothing to be afraid of, but you should get some exercise the day before so you can sleep well through the night.  Eat breakfast, and go to the bathroom before you take it.  No need for distractions.

Here was my strategy.  I went through the test answering the ones I knew and making a guess at the ones I didn’t.  Usually even if the answer is not clear, some of the options seem obviously wrong.  I made an educated guess in case I didn’t have time to get back to it.  I also wrote down the number of the analogies I didn’t know so I could come back.  (At one point I wrote down 7 analogies in a row.  See #6 above.)  When I finished my initial run-through, I had 23 minutes remaining. I used those 23 minutes to review the many questions I was unsure of.  Some of them clicked for me, some of them I felt confident I was making my best guess, and a few of them I was utterly stumped.  There was one about tennis that I never had a clue about.

That’s it.  That is my best attempt at answering the question “can you study for the MAT?” If you find this helpful, feel free to tell me in the comments how you did.

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Best Web Junk (June 25)

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Lawyers...It's a good thing they are earning their high salaries.  Otherwise the makers of unicorn meat would be out of control.  We can't just let them go about all willy-nilly infringing upon the slogan for pork. If I saw this in my local supermarket I'd be inclined to think it was the best grocery ever [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCUJrn68uSM]

If the question is, "how may Mario themed videos can you have in your best web junk?"  The answer would be I don't know, but here's one more[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjcFQquHipE]

Review: HTC Evo

For quite some time I have wanted a smart phone, but I am fundamentally not an Apple fan.  (I truly hate iTunes, and I generally want to have options regarding how I deal with my media.)   So, for a host of reasons, I knew that the iPhone was not the choice for me. I have been wanting an Android phone, and when I heard about the Evo I knew it was the choice for me.  So I admit to a bit of bias before I begin this review.

The Evo is a smart phone built on Android and on the Sprint network, so I will review the hardware first, then my experience with Android, then Sprint.

Hardware

Size – I know this is the first thing anyone notices about the Evo.  It is about twice as big as the phone I have been carrying for the last 3 years.  So it initially felt large in my hands.  But now that I am used to it, I don’t think about it.  If it were much bigger I would have issues.  But I am a grown man, there’s plenty of room for it in my pocket and I think the large screen helps me hit the right keys when typing.

Speed – It is quick.  I only notice lag in a couple of applications, they all open up quickly though.  I blame the applications rather than the phone.

The screen – is pretty much beautiful.  Admittedly, I haven’t seen the iPhone 4 yet, but the Evo has the prettiest screen I’ve ever seen on a phone.  When I showed it to my Granny the first thing she said was, “One thing about the phone, you can see it.”

The Camera – It has an 8 mp camera.  In good light it takes pictures at least as good as my Fuji finepix.  Also the shutter lag is almost non-existent after the camera is focused.  It has a good flash and is by far the best phone camera I’ve ever used.

Battery life – I did not expect much from the battery life on this phone, but it is so much worse than I expected.  I would describe it as abysmal.  With wi-fi and GPS turned on it won’t make it through a shift a work. (And I only work 6 hour shifts.)  I love the phone, but a charger is needed at work, in the car, and by the bed.  This phone is an addict for electricity.

Android

Apps – I know the talking point that there are 200,000 apps in the Apple app store and only 20,000 android apps, but I’m satisfied.  I have not paid for any apps yet and there is a wide variety of free ones.  The Facebook app is not great, but I really like seismic for Twitter.  The only thing I can think of that I haven’t found is a tilt-shift app so I can make neat pics. Also as far as I know there is no IMDB app, and their site is not very friendly to super small browsers.

Integration – I love how android integrates with the social networks, and with my gmail contacts.  I did not have to import any settings from my old phone.  No need to move any numbers, because everyone from my Google contact list is available. (as is Facebook.)  Google voice integrates perfectly with android as well.  It’s like a dream how well that works.

Intuitiveness – I am not a n00b with computers. I am sure I am more advanced than the majority of the people who have this phone.  But there are a few things I have not figured out yet.  There are 6 home screens, I don’t know if it is possible to move them around or to delete one.  I would very much like to.  One of the home screens has bookmarks.  I have not figured out how to change any of those.  Otherwise, I find everything easy to do.

Sprint

Customer service – The only cell phone company I have ever dealt with is AT&T/Cingular.  On a customer service level, Sprint is great compared to them.

Coverage – I know that coverage is unique to your area so I will just say that I am satisfied with the coverage.  It is not good at my house, but they are sending me a femtocell for free, so that should soon be remedied.

Speed – At home I have DSL (1.5 mb/s) Over the 3G network I can’t notice any diference while surfing the web, updating seismic, etc.  There is maybe a bit more latency, but the speed is adequate.  I haven’t used tethering or made any downloads but it seems acceptable.  I watched an episode of prizefight comparing the Evo with the Incredible streaming over 3G and it was perfectly acceptable.

Overall – I love my new phone.  I hope that was a thorough and not too technical review.

Book Review: 131 Christians Everyone Should Know

131 Christians Everyone Should Know is a compilation of biographies from the editors of Christian History Magazine, with a brief foreword by JI Packer. I sometimes have the opportunity to teach history.  I try to tell stories whenever possible, rather than to simply relate facts.  This is a lesson I learned from the best lecturer I have ever had for a class, Dr. David Hogg.  History is much more than simply events, but consists of the people that participate in those events.  That is the concept of this book.  It contains, interestingly enough, 131 brief biographies (most about 3 pages long) of Christians divided into categories based on why they are historically significant.

This label, “Christian,” is pretty broadly given by evangelical standards, but all of these people would call themselves Christians and all are historically significant.  The biographies are well-written and many will spur you on to a desire to read more about the subject.

I am giving this book my highest recommendation.  It is well-written, educational, and interesting.  It is perfect to have around for when you only have a few minutes to read.  Go get it.

Recapping the SBC 2010

I was not able to attend the SBC in Orlando this year.  But I was off from work on Tuesday and Wednesday so I was able to watch the vast majority of the proceedings.  Watching it streaming is not at all like being there and having conversations.  But a combination of watching the live stream, twitterfall, and being on the phone with people who were there or who were also watching the stream made for a fulfilling experience. Here are my thoughts

This convention was as close to a single issue convention as I have seen.  Nothing seemed to pop up and get people’s attention.  Everything revolved around the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Report, and for good reason.  It represents some restructuring and hopefully streamlining that should be the proper first step towards a convention that puts more emphasis towards the great commission.

It also seems obvious from the floor debate that the convention was predominantly concerned about recommendation #3 from the committee.  This was the recommendation that I was most concerned about. I am glad the president and parliamentarian took the time to clear everything up.  The lady at the mic was right when she said it felt like we were railroaded.  I appreciate her stepping up and I appreciate the leadership for clearing things up.  There was genuine confusion and I was sitting at my house thinking that it did not seem proper.

The final language that, “designated giving to special causes is to be given as a supplement to the Cooperative Program and not as a substitute for Cooperative Program giving,” is definitely suitable to me.

One thing I know for certain is that the Great commission will have to be emphasized in our churches if we are to slow the decline of our convention.  But I believe the GCR recommendations are a step in the right direction for the convention as a whole.

There was another debate about closing the recordings from the task force for 15 years.  I would have voted with the majority, to close them.

Also, although I missed it, some guy rapped his motion

In other commentary, there was a run-off for president.  I knew I was not attending, so I didn’t study up beforehand on the nominees.  So I can’t make any judgment whatsoever about the new president, Bryant Wright.  I will simply say that I agreed with him mostly in his first press conference.

Finally I will say that Johnny Hunt was a great president, and I believe that he was uniquely qualified to do what was done with the passage of the GCR.  Because of Southern Baptists’ love and respect for Johnny, we trusted him and believed his motivations were pure as he brought together the task force.

I hope to be there in Phoenix next year.

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Best Web Junk (June 11)

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This is probably the best news I read this week.  Even though it'll probably only destroy the memories from my childhood As far as I know no human has ever completed a game of Monopoly.  But it turns out that it is theoretically possible in under a minute

This video is great for 57 seconds.  Don't waste your time after that

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM]

This is why I don't ever want a job doing computer customer service

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3FhJocDLKg]

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BP & Me

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Last week on this blog I asked a question.  Are you willing to buy gas at a BP station?  If you didn’t vote, now’s your chance.  If you did, you can click to see the results.[polldaddy poll=3300204] For me to decide whether or not to buy BP branded gas means asking a question. Is BP evil? My answer in short is - Probably not. I think it is fair to say they are negligent, because they did not take precautions that could have avoided the massive spill which followed the explosion. Negligence is a major problem, and they are [mostly] responsible for the disaster, but negligence is not willful and it is not evil.

For me the main reason why I’m not boycotting BP is that it hurts the local gas station more than it hurts BP. I won’t go out of my way to purchase BP gas. I simply won’t avoid it. Why? Because by avoiding BP gas I do great damage to the person who owns or works at my local station and have almost no affect whatsoever on BP corporate.

I completely understand why people would feel the need to boycott BP. People are angry, and rightfully so. To go with the anger there is the fact that we are all helpless to do anything. Unless somebody figures out a way to sell or refine tar balls, many, many people in resort jobs and locations will face disastrous financial situations. Even though this is horrible, the fact is that there is nobody in America who actually knows how to fix the problem. If we are all helpless what do we do? Boycott.

There are probably more effective forms of protest. You can maybe design a funny t-shirt, and give the proceeds to help scrub the beaches. Better yet, maybe go to Grand Isle, support their economy and while you are there, clean up a pelican.

If you can think about the oil leak and not be angry at someone, maybe you should watch this possible projection of where the oil will go.

[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ImaiKuGuw]

John Wooden

I know I'm from Kentucky and I'm supposed to hate John Wooden.  But I guess because the massive wrong he perpetrated on Wildcat nation was 2 months before I was born I don't have the proper animosity.  I do have the proper animosity for UCLA.  It would be fine with me if they never won another game, but I always had respect for Coach Wooden. He seemed honorable to me.  Here he is at 90 years old giving a Ted talk.  I promise it is worth your 17 minutes.  I hope I am as quick-witted at 90.  (even though I'm not now.)

[ted id=498]

Thoughts on the GCR from a Southern Baptist Nobody

I have written before about how I am, in many ways, an average Southern Baptist in my 30s.  This year I will not be able to attend the convention and cast my vote.  Being average and not even a messenger - that makes me an SBC nobody.  So I thought I would make my thoughts toward the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force’s recommendations known here on my blog.  (Although honestly, I probably would have done that even if I was going to the convention) Before you read this article you can, and probably should, read the excellent summary of the issues and the debate by Trevin Wax. It is succinct, accurate and clear.

If I were able to attend the SBC in Orlando I would vote for the GCR and I would gladly do so in the current form.

I do not like the concept of “Great Commission giving” as a recognized category.  In fact I have a strong dislike for that category.  It seems to me that Great Commission giving if officially recognized, begins to promote a society model of giving.  (I wrote much more about this in this post)  Nevertheless, I would vote for the GCR recommendation.

It is probably unfair to quote Jerry Vines out of context on what was an excellent post, (so go read it yourself) but allow me to clip just one portion that describes my feelings:

If you want to be a part of the leadership, setting the course of the SBC, you should lead in financial commitment. A man in your local church probably won’t get placed on the finance committee if he designates $50,000 a year to the music ministry (maybe led by his son!), but only gives $500 annually to the church’s unified budget. He’s free to give his money that way. But, I doubt you would give him the opportunity to make decisions affecting how the bulk of the church’s money is used.

So why would I vote for the recommendation even though I don't like the category of GC Giving?  because other than that, I support the recommendation.  I generally think the restructuring is a good thing.  I believe that the  restructuring is designed to put the priority of the denomination in the right place - on missions and seeing the nations come to Christ

Those are my thoughts on the recommendation.  As far as an actual Great Commission resurgence goes, there is but one way to see that happen.  Churches must do the will of God.  We are a convention of churches and if we are to see the nations come to Christ we need to see our neighbors come to Christ.

I’m not going to be there, but I will once again reiterate my suggestion.  Somebody should make the following motion-

Nobody can speak about the GCR (on the platform or from the floor) unless they share the gospel with three people between now and the time of the meeting in Orlando.  That way we’ll emphasize evangelism in spite of ourselves.

How do we keep speakers accountable?  We give em Dr. Reid style witnessing reports which they have to turn- in to the page at the microphone before speaking.

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Best Web Junk (May 28)

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Most important link this week -> Go Here and vote for Danny so one of my former students can win tickets to some country music thing that is apparently a pretty big deal These buildings are teh awesome

I am ashamed to even live in a country where this hat is a possibility. (Warning, it has a swear)

On the same week as the Lost finale there's really no more appropriate video to share than this one

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iggE4ImYwyc]

But if that video doesn't do it for you, enjoy Iron Baby which is awesome

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyoA4LXQco4]