k.p.nook

Hello - CBC is casting a team of Atheists for a live, national quiz show called 'Test the Nation'!

Test the Nation is a live two-hour special that surveys six in-studio teams as well as viewers across the country. This year, we are bringing back the popular first season with another IQ test. For more information on the program, please go to www.cbc.ca/testthenation

To start off, let me assure you that the individual IQ scores of participants writing the test will not be revealed - except that of the person with the highest IQ. Otherwise, we reveal only the average scores of general categories such as women vs. men, hair colour, and so on.

There will be six teams of 30 people participating in studio and thousands of Canadians participating online. The idea is to test society’s preconceived notions of intelligence based on occupation or area of interest. In our original Test the Nation: IQ (which aired in 2007) we had an audience of 1.5 million viewers.

In addition to a team of well-known federal and provincial Politicians, we are looking at testing Contact Sports athletes (do multiple concussions affect IQ), the "nerd" stereotype as a fun team (Star Trek fans, comic book fans), twins (do multiples have similar IQs) and whether being religious has any correlation to IQ. (some studies have found that people with higher IQs do not have any religious beliefs). That would make our six teams the following - Politicians, Athletes, Twins, Nerds, Religious Leaders, and Atheists.

It's going to be a great show, and team selection is generating lots of interest. Please let me know whether you would be interested and available to take part on Sunday, January 24 in our Toronto studio.

Best Regards,

Shannon McKinnon
Associate Producer,
Test the Nation: IQ
CBC