What do get when you mix Mensa, Ferrari and Kaspersky Lab and more importantly – why would you want to?!
When this press release landed on my desk I was most confused. Why on earth would Mensa (you know the society for clever people to prove to everyone else how clever they are), Kaspersky Lab (one of the world’s largest technology security firms) and Ferrari (if you are reading this blog you know who they are) get together and produce an online brain training website; globalthinktest.com?
I was stumped too. Oddly there is no information on the actual website to say why it’s there, what these companies get out of it and why you would want to engage with it. I suppose that is why there are journalists like me out there so here you are.
Kaspersky & Mensa
The best information is buried on the Kaspersky Lab corporate website. Their research shows that a normally sensible person becomes a complete numpty when sat in front of a PC. All the observation and analytical skills we use in everyday life to assess risks and identify dangers seems to be put on hold. This means we easily fall prey to some fairly obvious online scams. Even the IT savvy among us are at risk from increasingly sophisticated scams and fake websites. So they wanted to raise awareness in users about the need to pay more attention and be analytical when online. In their own words;
“The brain games which were developed together with Mensa are designed to make us aware of the fact that we are often not paying enough attention to detail. In today’s online world it is getting more and more important to develop a kind of digital risk literacy. Part of this is to be alert and recognize threats when we encounter them. Training this in a playful way is one of the aims of this Global Think Test Challenge, because developing these skills is as important for staying safe as installing security software.”
Ahh I see – that sounds sensible enough and now explains why Mensa and Kaspersky got together but how on earth did Ferraris get added to the mix?
Ferrari
Ferrari has sponsored a series of car and Ferrari related tests to help get the public interested in the website. They have also sponsored a series of prizes (including a Scuderia Ferrari Experience in Abu Dhabi and Signed Racing Gloves) to introduce a competitive edge to the proceedings and get all you fellas interested no doubt. The Ferrari games include an F1 jigsaw, match the engine noise to the Ferrari (my personal favourite) and identify bits of an F1 car from photos.
Think Test Day
All this is building up to the 6th of September which is the Brain Training websites global Think Test Day. Anyone can sign up and take part in a series of tests – you get a score so you can have a competition with your mates and you might win a prize including the $25,000 first prize! So sign up and have a go.
