Day 10

The dawn block has been quite interesting (if frustrating) thus far. I got into a debate with a drunk person. Never a good idea, especially, methinks, when you're a debater like me. I tend to take it a bit more seriously than is warranted, even when it's not a formal debate. I really should have learned not to by now, especially considering that this isn't the first time I've had drunken (on his part) debates with this particular person. He too easily gets under my skin; lack of logical coherency will do that.

It actually began as a question of the effects of alcoholic intoxication versus sleep deprivation, which I feel somewhat justifies my blogging about it (also, it might provide some entertainment). See, he argued that my current level of sleep deprivation impaired my mental faculties to the degree that alcohol would. I disagreed, of course, and volunteered to take a (surprise!) short term memory test with him, and he assented.
I brought him to the same website I've been using throughout the experiment (I happened to click on the letters one.). I thought thusly: I did not want to comb Google looking for a reliable one when I already had a perfectly good one. He, upon seeing the page, rather reasonably asked if it wouldn't be unfair, because I had taken it before. So far so good. I assured him that it was randomized, that I had taken the same test for over a week with no appreciable increase in score. He begins the test. I immediately regret not logging out; he was going to tank my score for today! He made his first mistake at six! Having been victim to many careless errors myself, I allow him two more mistakes (He bottoms out at ten letters with a score of 7.25). Then, things get hairy.
"It's not a fair test," he says. "You probably just have a better memory than me."
Umm... (First sign that this will not end well.) My rebuttal shapes up thusly: a) It's a completely objective test; it's as fair as it gets. If I did in fact have an inherently better memory, it is no reflection on the quality of the test itself.
b) You agreed to a memory test in the first place. To renege upon the agreement with "but you're better than me" is unfair and distasteful. If you're afraid of losing, don't play.
He says, "I didn't know it was testing English letters! You're probably just better at English letters! That's why you picked it!"
My rebuttal: a) You have the nerve to question my honor (perhaps a little less eloquently, but I got the point across). Dear readers, if you know anything about me, know that there is little I value more than my honor. Given that my fuse seems to be a bit shorter with sleep deprivation, I think it was a good thing he was drunk when he said it; I don't generally make drunk people answer for their words, especially considering their severe disadvantage. But I digress. Just know that I wasn't beginning this debate in the best frame of mind; I don't take kindly to this sort of challenge.
b) Questions of honor aside, if you thought I would take unfair advantage, you need not have agreed to the test in the first place.
c) Would you prefer a test of Arabic numerals?
He says, "I didn't know it was going to be letters! And you're probably better at those too!"
Rebuttal: a) It's a flipping memory test -- what the hell did you think it would involve, if not letters or numbers?
b) If you think that my memory is superior in the majority of testable areas, then why did you agree in the first place? Recall that the specific purpose of this exercise was to test sleep deprivation versus inebriation -- this comes with the tacit assumption that our memories are somewhat comparable in a sober, rested state.
He says, "Well, what about shapes or something? How was I supposed to know that you would pick English letters [implication: when you're better at those]? You never asked me! What if I picked Gujarati [his ethnic background]?"
Rebuttal: a) Shapes would be valid; unfortunately, this website does not offer the option. (I have my reservations about testing "shapes" at a college level of mathematical skill, but that is a different kettle of fish, which I did not bring up.)
b) (This one is so obvious, I can picture you rolling your eyes.) If you had chosen Gujarati, that would have been entirely unfair, seeing as I don't speak the language. That is not an analogous situation, because we both speak English.
c) I never asked you what type of memory test you prefer, but I have the decency (perhaps unlike yourself) to select one in a field with which I assume we're both familiar.
Things rapidly spiral down the drain. He smugly latches onto the word "assume" as if it were the Achilles' heel of my case. "Oh, you assume," he says patronizingly, leaning in. Keep in mind that he is two feet away from me, breath reeking of alcohol -- I am not inclined to be charitable.
"Yes. It is a valid assumption that we both speak English, considering the language in which we are debating." Annoyed with his (drunkard's) tactics, I add, "Raising your voice and talking over me do not help your case." I really should just learn to walk away from this sort of thing. Several minutes later, speaking in a stage whisper, he accuses me of being loud. I kid you not.
Now, the debate goes on for a while, and it doesn't get any better. He raises the amusingly irrelevant example of "What if you picked Chinese?" (I wouldn't.) He said, less irrelevantly, that if two people have inherently unequal memories, then the comparison no longer works. (True, but you seemed to think the comparison was fine until you saw your results.) He seems to think that repetition will make his comparison of Gujarati to English somehow more valid, and argues that my talking in a normal tone of voice while he whispers clearly indicates that I am deranged. He accuses me of cheating because I'm looking at the screen while he takes the test (as if I would let a drunk person use my computer unsupervised). Finally, thank goodness, my roommate has the good sense to declare that she needs her sleep, and he leaves.

I suppose the (only) good thing to come out of this is that it kept me awake and alert the entire block.

Short term memory tests
Numbers: 12
Letters: 11.04 (skewed results; just think about how long it took me to get it up from 7.25!)
Words: 28