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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author describe parts of the brain?

2. How do hallways challenge May when he regains his sight?

3. What does each human brain cell contain in its entirety?

4. How much of the activity of our brain does the conscious mind represent?

5. To what does Eagleman compare consciousness?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ways can our vision be fooled?

2. Why does Eagleman say it is not correct to change lanes by turning the wheel right and then straightening it out?

3. Summarize the experiment Eagleman writes about concerning photographs of women and how men responded.

4. What is the point of the experiment that Eagleman suggests the reader try?

5. What does Eagleman describe in the opening chapter?

6. What is seeing and what is the most important aspect of seeing?

7. What is one way to measure how our unconscious minds affect our conscious thinking without our even knowing it?

8. What is the simple experiment Eagleman asks the reader to perform?

9. What does Eagleman say about how vision works?

10. Explain the example of the chicken sexers that Eagleman discusses.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Wilson has cited a number of people in this book. Discuss he following:

1. Choose three people whom Eagleman mentions positively and give a brief idea of his opinions about those three people (or stereotypes). Use examples from Incognito to support your answer.

2. Choose three people whom Eagleman mentions negatively and give a brief idea of his opinions about those three people (or stereotypes). Use examples from Incognito to support your answer.

3. Judging what Eagleman says about different people in his text, how would you characterize him as a friend? As a colleague? Use examples from Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

This kind of social hard-wiring affects our thinking in some interesting ways, Eagleman claims. He gives an example of a difficult logic puzzle involving colors and numbers and asks the reader to solve it. He then presents a different puzzle that has the same underlying logical solution but has been rephrased to make it about people and their ages. He claims that most people find the second puzzle easier to solve than the first, even though they are essentially the same puzzle. The reason, he argues, is that we can more easily process information if we can frame it in a social context.

1. Give an example of a problem that can be put into a social context and easily solved. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. What you think the fact that social context is more real to most humans means to us as animals? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Discuss the idea that humans are hard wired to be social and that is why married people tend to live longer than single people. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

There are a number of interesting questions raised by Incognito. Questions that Eagleman most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Eagleman's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Wilson's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Eagleman and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

(see the answer keys)

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