What's Your IQ

EXAMPLE GAME · PLAY TO SEE YOURS

Where you lost the target

Each trace shows how far your pointer was from the centre of the target, second by second. Below the dashed line you were on target. Spikes usually come right after the target changes direction.

TIME ON TARGET65%You held on well while the path was smooth, then lost ground as the swerves arrived. That's the gap between chasing and predicting.

78%best round6.0average error (% of box)

Round 1 · smooth loops78% on target

Round 2 · loops with swerves66% on target

Round 3 · unpredictable swerves51% on target

inside the target ringyour distance from the centre

PREDICTION LAB

Why chasing always leaves you behind

Your eyes and hand need roughly a fifth of a second to react to what they see. If you only chase where the target is, you're always that far behind. Good trackers aim where it's going.

targeta chaser reacting latea predictor aiming ahead

Reaction delay200 msTarget speed1.0×

23.1 pxchaser's average gap4.7 pxpredictor's average gap

Predicting cuts the gap by 80%. The predictor only misses where the path curves, because it assumes the target keeps going straight.

WHAT THIS GAME TRAINS

Following a moving target

Pursuit tracking has been used since the 1930s, when the pursuit rotor tested how well people keep a stylus on a spinning spot. It measures how tightly your eyes and hand work together over time.

corestrongsomelight

coreEye–hand coordinationTurning what your eyes see into matching hand movements.

corePredictionAiming where the target will be, not where it was.

strongSustained attentionKeeping focus for the whole 15 seconds.

strongFine motor controlMaking small, smooth corrections without overshooting.

BEYOND THE SCREEN

Where it matters most day to day

MOST COMMONFilming a moving subjectKeeping a child, pet or player centred in the frame as they run.

Drawing a steady lineTracing round a shape or signing smoothly on a touchscreen.

Following birds or planesKeeping binoculars on something moving across the sky.

INSIDE YOUR BRAIN

The brain areas doing the work

Step through each area, or tap one below. The matching marker grows on the brain; dashed markers sit deep inside.

Side view of the brain with the four lobes shaded in different colours

Based on Gray's Anatomy, fig. 728 (public domain)

AREA 1 OF 4

1Cerebellumbottom, at the back

Fine-tunes movement and timing, correcting errors so actions come out smooth. It's also increasingly linked to thinking speed.

ITS JOB IN THIS GAMESmooths timing and corrects errors on the flyThe cerebellum predicts where the target is heading and smooths out each correction, so your hand doesn't lurch or overshoot.

DID YOU KNOWIt holds over half of the brain's neurons despite being only about a tenth of its volume.

ALL AREAS

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

More eye–hand and focus games

Tracking joins seeing, moving and staying focused. Each of these pulls one of those apart.

All focus games →

DIVIDED ATTENTIONMultiple Object TrackingFollow several moving dots at once.Track with your eyes alone, but several targets at a time.

SPEED + ACCURACYAim TrainerClick targets as fast and accurately as you can.Quick single movements instead of continuous ones.

PROCESSING SPEEDReaction TimeTap the moment the screen changes.Measure the delay the prediction lab is about.

SUSTAINED FOCUSSustained AttentionTap every digit except 3, for five minutes.Hold steady focus for minutes, not seconds.

Stay on target