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co-ordination puzzle
While sitting down (or standing if you have good balance), lift your
right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it. At the same
time, repeatedly draw the number 6 in the air with your right hand.
Your foot will change direction and without an awful lot of practice,
there’s nothing you can do to prevent it.

This effect seems to be because drawing the number 6 is effectively a counter-clockwise
movement which the brain can’t reconcile easily with a clockwise one (a bit like pat-
ting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time). If you draw the six from
the middle and end with the up-stroke instead, it doesn’t conflict with the clockwise
foot motion, because the 6 is now a clockwise motion too. What’s strange is how we’ve
evolved to enable same direction movements with different limbs, and to resist oppo-
site ones - There doesn’t seem to be a survival benefit from this, unless it’s a bi-product
of an overall more co-ordinated (and therefore more efficient, quicker, athletic) move-
ment capability, which would of course have been a survival aid.

1. During a board of directors meeting, one director suggested that the company needs to purchase new units
of machineries to increase efficiency and reduce the cost of production. You are explaining to them that it is
not necessary to purchase new equipment because the current set of equipment is still in good condition.
Moreover, the cost that will be incurred in buying the new units will not outweigh its benefits.

Sample answer:
I think that’s a bad idea. I don’t agree that we have to purchase new units of machineries. Our current set of equipment is still in good condition
so it will be impractical for us to buy new machineries. The cost of the equipment will not outweigh its benefits.

2. You are the human resource department head of the company. There is a vacancy for the marketing assistant
position. You are searching for somebody who is qualified for the said position. You believe that applicant X is
the best among the candidates and you’ve decided to hire him. However, one of the employees approached
you and asked whether you could employ her kin to fill the position instead. You are explaining to her the
following:

a. There are recruitment guidelines that have to be followed
b. Reexamine the Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the applicants

Sample answer:
Here’s what I can do for you. Why don’t you ask her to submit her CV to my office and then I will assess if she is really qualified for the said
position. I don’t want to let you down but I hope you understand that there are recruitment guidelines that have to be followed.

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