The Squirrel

Portrait of a Squirrel

Squirrels survive by being alert, not by being the fastest animal in the park. When a hawk shows up, they zigzag instead of running in a straight line, which is the clever kind of quick. Your 240-274 millisecond average sits right around the commonly quoted human figure of about a quarter of a second, nudged a little by normal screen and mouse delay.

In other words, you have healthy, well-tuned reflexes and a brain that is clearly paying attention. Fair warning, though: you are alert to everything, including things that do not matter. You checked your phone at least once during this test and you know it.

Strengths

• Solid, typical human reflexes
• Alert and quick to notice movement
• Good at multitasking between small things
• Bounces back quickly after a slow round

Blind spots

• Easily distracted by shiny new tabs
• Speed drops when you are tired or over-caffeinated
• Stores half-finished projects like nuts for winter

Where it shows up

You are fully capable in fast games and sports, and a few sessions of practice would push you up a tier. With friends you are the quick-witted one in the group chat. At work you are great at juggling many small tasks, as long as you close a few of those 34 browser tabs first.

Your neighbors on the speed chart

Vibes

• alert
• nimble
• zigzag energy
• easily distracted
• snack hoarder