An important thing for you to know in this connection is that no two people are alike in this respect. Some think quickly along certain lines; some along other lines. [Sidenote: _The Kind of "Help" You Need_] And the man or woman that you need in any department of your business is that one _whose mind works swiftly in the particular way required for your business_. How rapidly does your mind work? How fast do your thoughts come, compared to the average man in your field of activity? How fast does your stenographer think? Your clerk? Your chauffeur? Are they up to the average of those engaged in similar work? If not, you had best make a change. [Sidenote: _Tests for Different Mental Traits_] A large number of tests and mechanical devices, some of them most complicated, have been scientifically formulated or invented to measure the quickness of different kinds of mental operations in the individual. One very simple test which we give merely to illustrate the principle is called the "Test of Uncontrolled Association." All the materials needed for this test are a stop-watch and a blank form containing numbered spaces for one hundred words. [Sidenote: _Test of Uncontrolled Associations_] Give these instructions to the person you are examining: "When I say 'Now!' I want you to start in with some word, any one you like, and keep on saying words as fast as you can until you have given a hundred different words. You may give any words you like, but they must not be in sentences. I will tell you when to stop." You then start your stop-watch with the command "Now!" and write the words on the blank form as fast as they are spoken. Mere abbreviations or shorthand will suffice. When the hundredth word is reached, stop the watch and note the time. The average time for lists of words written in this fashion is about 308 seconds. [Sidenote: _Test for Quick Thinking_] This is a fair test of the rapidity of the associative processes of the mind. It will reveal many strange and characteristic idiosyncrasies. On the other hand, considering the vast number of words available, it is remarkable to note the degree of community to be found in the words that will be given by a number of persons. Thus, "in fifty lists (5,000 words) only 2,024 words were different, only 1,266 occurred but once, while the one hundred most frequent words made up three-tenths of the whole number." Professor Jastrow, of Wisconsin University, has found also that the "class to which women contribute most largely is that of articles of dress, one word in every eleven belonging to this class. The inference from this, that dress is the predominant category of the feminine (or of the privy feminine) mind, is valid, with proper reservations." [Sidenote: _Measuring Speed of Thought_]