[fatboySlimfast]

12/24......im out

[Teaboy]

We have the worst quality of life in western europe, with a horribly corrupt political system being a major cause. One study showed social mobility is no better than in medieval times. I'm proud to not be British.

How are you defining western europe, quality of life and horribly corrupt? You might enjoy your annual climbing trip to Rodellar but if you lived there it wouldn't be a lifetime of solid rock, cheap wine and spring sunshine.

I'd be interested to see the study on social mobility you cite as well. No scrub that, I wouldn't, it's obviously bollocks considering the lower orders were mostly serfs until their numbers were decimated by the plague (no statutory sick pay then either).

[Jim]

6/24 - 25%
rejected

[lagerstarfish]

it should come as no surprise that hard working industrious types who could score 75% on such a test are exactly the same people who don't waste their time dicking about on interweb forums complaining about their country (cause they are probably getting on with doing their best to change it)

16/24 and heavily dependent on the NHS

[Nibile]

13/24, 54%
 
no questions about climbing though.

[Muenchener]

12/24 rejected
Government guidelines require a score of 75% or above to pass.
You are not eligible for UK citizenship.

Just as well I already kicked myself out then.

Not bad for random guessing, I thought. I only actually knew about three of them.

[SA Chris]

13. Wild stabs. Will they pay for plane ticket to leave?

[Oldmanmatt]

13/24, 54%
 
no questions about climbing though.

Yes Lore, but you are Italian...
I got the same score and I'm well educated and have lived here all my life, as has my family since around 1066AD.....
What does that tell you about the test?

[rich d]

I got the same score and I'm well educated and have lived here all my life, as has my family since around 1066AD.....

Bloody Norman invaders. 

[mark s]

42% for me 

[Oldmanmatt]

Actually, my ancestor was an Italian (Genovese) mercenary...
(Well, one of a long list of ancestors, that for odd reasons, I actually know about (family bible from 1070)). But then, I'm almost certainly related to you Rich
and the Queen
and everyone else on the forum
and probably a large chunk of northern Europe
etc etc etc.

[rich d]

I've never really traced my ancestors much - got a bit of Scottish and Welsh from a few generations ago - when I found out about the Scottish I decided I'd found out too much already

[fuzzface93]

5 of your british points... 21% Do i at least get a trophy for 'taking part'?

I'd settle for a spoon of the wooden persuasion.

 

[lagerstarfish]

family bible from 1070

we have a toilet roll in the bathroom that I started at 08:34

[rich d]

I may only be 50% British, but I'm 0% Bradford. Now that's a relief.

[Oldmanmatt]

family bible from 1070

we have a toilet roll in the bathroom that I started at 08:34

Remember to hang on to it... Might be an important family heirloom one day...

[moose]

I may only be 50% British, but I'm 0% Bradford. Now that's a relief.

I live in Ilkley which "Make Bradford British" programme described as "exclusively white" in a manner that made it sound like some gated community where ethnic incoming minorities are met by Daily Mail readers waving pitchforks!  Re the citizenship test, I'd have thought the Government's concerns would be met by two simple questions: "parlimentary democracy: good or bad"; and "will you try to get a job?" .

[BB]

11/24 but I don't give a fuck cause I've already left and I'm never going back!

[psychomansam]

We have the worst quality of life in western europe, with a horribly corrupt political system being a major cause. One study showed social mobility is no better than in medieval times. I'm proud to not be British.

How are you defining western europe, quality of life and horribly corrupt? You might enjoy your annual climbing trip to Rodellar but if you lived there it wouldn't be a lifetime of solid rock, cheap wine and spring sunshine.

I'd be interested to see the study on social mobility you cite as well. No scrub that, I wouldn't, it's obviously bollocks considering the lower orders were mostly serfs until their numbers were decimated by the plague (no statutory sick pay then either).

I was quoting yet another study re quality of life. I don't know who the study defined as Western Europe. There are some countries I guess are borderline. Quality of life was measured using various factors. Working wage, working hours, holidays, length of working life; availability, cost and quality of education, healthcare etc and a bunch of other factors including climate. Obviously the devil is in the detail and you could quite easily argue about how to weight each factor. Obviously, some things are difficult to quantiify, like the fact that france should win due to having both font and the alps. Don't worry, it did anyway, although I think they might have just ignored the nordic countries so as not to get jealous.

I think in your point about serfs you're trying to say that there were more people at the bottom of society and perhaps that their situation was worse. I'm not arguing that point. The study wasn't saying quality of life hasn't improved, or that their hasn't been social mobility since then. It just said that at present, social mobility is no better than then.

I really do think the study on social mobility is interesting. They had very low perception of social mobility, but it did happen a little. We have very high perception of social mobility, but it still only happens a little.* A common definition and form of self esteem(a factor in happiness) is stated by the equation "Achievement / Aims". According to this equation, a society like ours which claims to give social mobility, but fails to deliver, will make us more self-effacing and more depressed than the medieval society.

*If anyone is stupid enough to cite their own experience or that of their uncle bob, I will punter you.

[tomtom]

My Uncle Bob came from a....

More seriously, AFAIK, one of the things that hampers these types of comparisons between social mobility/standards of living/poverty at different time slices is how they are defined. Poverty, for example, is often defined as a lower percentile of the population rather than an absolute amount. So the bottom 20% (for example) of todays UK's population may in real terms be much better off than the bottom 20% 80 years ago, but both would be 'beneath the breadline' or in a state of poverty...

Social mobility is even more wanky to categorise, as you first have to stratify society into classes or groups from which you can move up or down... you then have to determine how easy it is (or isnt) to do that...

All of the above generally involve a lot of arm waving and qualitative judgements - as its pretty hard to develop strong quantative arguments about human behaviour and the above. IMHO etc..

[Plattsy]

I rocked in with 7/24. Mostly guesses.

I think I put the same effort into answering the test as the person(s) who created the test.

[Wipey Why]

13/24

In your faces!!

I guessed most of them 

he only got so many cos he only took the test to enter the country recently

Shut it, you'll have immigration on me!

[Jaspersharpe]

I got 9. What nonsense.

From what I've heard it's yet another scam as you can take the test numerous times but have to pay a hefty fee each time. There are also companies that specialise in training you to pass the test (for an even heftier fee).

What any of this is supposed to prove is beyond me. 

[ianv]

What any of this is supposed to prove is beyond me. 

That you are an unsuitable person to live in this green and pleasant land and you should piss off back to your foreign hell hole 

FWIW I will be going with you, as will my son who managed an 8 (but then he is French so can get over his disappointment with a pout and a Gallic shrug). 

[psychomansam]

All of the above generally involve a lot of arm waving and qualitative judgements

That's about how most science work, right? Less humorously, I'm sure you're right, but this study by some university academic type wankers was presumably not written on toilet paper in their own shit and must have some vague type of, well we can't do any fucking better unless we stop drinking, credibility, even if it might be a weeny bit subjective. Which makes it slightly scary, and very interesting as a criticism of the current sociopolitical system. Unless you're a socialist, in which case it's findings are fairly boringly predictable