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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What emotion does the author NOT list as one that is likely to arise when one feels that meditation is not going well?
(a) Frustration.
(b) Self-loathing.
(c) Awareness.
(d) Anger.

2. What experiments are said to have "powerfully demonstrated the capacity of the conscious self to convince itself that it is calling the shots when it is not" (79)?
(a) Dual-self experiments.
(b) Colostrum experiments.
(c) Corpus callosum experiments.
(d) Split-brain experiments.

3. What disorder does the author say makes it difficult for him to meditate?
(a) Asperger's syndrome.
(b) Autism.
(c) Attention deficit disorder.
(d) Clinical depression.

4. What adjective does the author apply to the phenomenon of road rage?
(a) Crazy.
(b) Logical.
(c) False.
(d) Silly.

5. The first time the author attended a week-long meditation retreat, he was allowed to speak how many times?
(a) Three times.
(b) Never.
(c) Once.
(d) Twice.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of the book called What the Buddah Taught?

2. The author states that natural selection does not want people to be happy, but instead wants them to be what?

3. In most people, the left hemisphere of the brain controls what?

4. What happened when the author analyzed closely his feelings before his speech at Poptech?

5. What does the author say is the only thought people have when eyeing a sugar doughnut?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the author's discussion of a wandering mind.

2. To whom does the author recommend a meditation practice?

3. What effect is the author's choice of the word "delusions" intended to have on the reader?

4. What is the author's view of the phenomenon of human feelings?

5. For what purpose does the author begin the entire narrative with a question?

6. Discuss an example or anecdote used by the author to demonstrate the value of mindfulness mediation.

7. Explain the concept of “beneffectance” (82) set forth by the psychologist Anthony Greenwald.

8. Discuss the author's purpose in using the example of Thich Quang Duc’s public self-immolation.

9. What does the author say about ways in which people should NOT "conceive of modules" (86)?

10. What are the differences between concentration meditation and mindfulness meditation?

(see the answer keys)

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