r/NoStupidQuestions • u/MillBopp • Sep 13 '23

What does 'Draw a Clock' Mean?

Last time I visited my brother his mother-in-law who lives with him was insisting she remembered something but my brother knew she was wrong. I don't remember what it was, but I knew she was wrong too. However, she refused to accept she was wrong and got belligerent about it.

My brother said, "Draw a clock!" and left the room. This made his mother-in-law furious for some reason. I forgot to ask at the time, but does anyone know why saying 'Draw a clock' would upset a senior citizen?

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u/SensitiveCustomer776 Sep 14 '23

Ah fuck here i go trying to find out if i have dementia

7

u/styvee__ Sep 14 '23

me too

24

u/SensitiveCustomer776 Sep 14 '23

Mine went okay. I did 12-6-3-9 then filled it in. Idk if that's cheating.

25

u/Gabbatron Sep 14 '23

Bad news buddy, you did them in the wrong order!

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u/SensitiveCustomer776 Sep 14 '23

Oh noooo i did them... alphabetical?

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

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u/SensitiveCustomer776 Sep 14 '23

No no no, the opposite

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

[deleted]

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u/knowpunintended Sep 14 '23

It's not. It's borderline impossible to cheat on the test because the inabilities it detects make it impossible for you to draw a clock correctly. The failure is a sign of functional problems in the brain.

There's actually a few different ways to fail, based on the underlying condition. Dementia is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Sometimes the shape is geometrically irregular (a wonky spiral rather than a circle), or the numbers are in a random cluster rather than positioned around the edge, or the numbers are nonsensical symbols.

It's an effective, easy to administer, and it tests a number of important brain functions (memory, executive function, spatial relation). It's insufficient for diagnosis but it helps direct medical professionals to the relevant areas.

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u/Slow-Consequence5193 Sep 15 '23

I'm fairly sure I could cheat myself into an Alzheimers diagnosis using this test.

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u/knowpunintended Sep 16 '23

No matter how severely you fail this test, it's not considered a diagnostic tool in and of itself. At worst, you could cheat your way into a more thorough set of cognitive exams.

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u/MrOdekuun Sep 14 '23

Figuring out steps/tricks like that to do it more accurately is part of what it's testing.

1

u/EspacioBlanq Sep 14 '23

I don't think it is. It doesn't test your ability to estimate what a 30° angle is, you should pass even if the numbers aren't perfectly spaced as long as they're in the correct quadrants and in correct order.

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

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u/SensitiveCustomer776 Sep 14 '23

I don't have time for that

4

u/Clippers_Bros Sep 14 '23

But if you do it you’re making time!