Which Age Is Your Soul From?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
8 min
Which Age Is Your Soul From?
Image: VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm / Digital Vision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Can you imagine your grandfather growing up in today's world? Or Emmanuel Macron trying to make it in 14th-century French politics? People and the times in which they live are not interchangeable. This isn't just because people grow up with a specific set of technology, language, politics, or religious values. There's something deeper about how the weave of the fabric of society changes over time.

When is a soul is born, it is unformed and innocent. Given time, it will take a more specific shape, a form sculpted by the trials and tribulations of its time, the values of its time, and the lessons history teaches those who live through it. Every age saw itself one way and was seen differently through hindsight.

Over the centuries, humanity achieved tremendous advantages, thinking itself the true master of politics, science and art, only to fall, or to be surpassed by a successive civilization. Some periods are defined by the dominance of a specific philosophy or idea, while others are shaped more by religion, technology or changes in the environment. 

Of course, the people thrust into each age determine something of the outcome of their time, and thus we have the turning wheel of history; humanity making small changes over time that add up to huge differences over the decades. What age is your soul from? Sort it out with us by taking this quiz!

Can You Name These Biblical Mothers 2
krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment/Getty Images
How religiously observant are you?
As much as is expected of me
I pray to the gods every time I settle in to engage in my profession.
I'm very devout.
Not at all!

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News Reporter
[ simonkr] / [E+] / Getty Images
What sort of news do you follow most closely?
I follow geopolitical news because the moves of the major "empires" dictate much of what happens to the rest of us.
I follow news about technological innovation. It's amazing how just a few small changes can really reshape society in just a few years.
I follow mostly academic news, which is fairly niche, but fascinating for me. Philosophy didn't stop with the ancient Greeks, after all!
I always read the business section of the paper, cover to cover. Business determines who goes to war because the invisible hand of the market is what determines the values of all things.

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Texting
Rawpixel.com via Pexels
How do you use modern technology?
I use it to accrue money and take pleasure in the world.
Technology is just a tool, whether it's a screwdriver or a supercomputer.
Mostly I love how I can store all my e-books on a single e-reader.
I use it to shave time off every activity I engage in!

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If You Were an RPG Character What Would Your Greatest Skill Be
Lorado / E+ / Getty Images
What sort of personal achievement impresses you the most?
The conquest of lesser cultures
Coming up with something really useful
Learning long passages of literature by rote
Cutting a really good business deal

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Ford Fusion
Mat Maran Motoring via Youtube
Which of these modern conveniences do you value the most?
Social media. With that, everyone can raise their voices together without the permission of the government, publishers or a pollster.
My smartphone. It's shocking how much it has changed the game. Do you remember when your math teacher warned you that you wouldn't always have a calculator on you? Ha!
On-demand printing. It means now the printed word can be owned by anyone!
The car. It's freedom, personified.

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Achievement
The Good Brigade / DigitalVision / GettyImages
How do you rank achievements?
It's all about showmanship.
It's not about the height of the achievement, but the distance between the peak and the starting point.
They rank higher if they do more for the greater good.
It's all about the money you make. No money equals no meaning!

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Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci / Royal Library of Turin / Wiki Commons
People give Michelangelo, da Vinci and Titian a lot of credit, but do they deserve it? How do you feel about the major players of The Renaissance?
They were pretty amazing geniuses.
They certainly did a lot with what they were given.
They're overrated and only remembered because Giorgio Vasari wrote that mostly made-up book about them.
All those "important people" died broke and alone. What does that tell you, huh?

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Learning
Dougal Waters / DigitalVision / Getty Images
How do you prefer to learn new skills?
I prefer to learn through the Socratic method.
I like to learn by being left to my own devices to figure things out.
I like to read about how to do things.
I like to learn the basics from a teacher, and then break all the rules so I can reinvent them.

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Art
South_agency / E+ / Getty Images
To what style of art do you feel most drawn?
Representative art
Crude art
Staid, religious art
Photo-realistic paintings of cool symbolic things

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Apple
Pexels by Bruno Scramgnon
How do you feel when people write off the achievements of ancient engineers as "low hanging fruit"?
They're people who clearly have never done anything.
Those people don't appreciate the advantage of having centuries of learning at their fingertips so they don't have to start at the beginning.
They're right because there was plenty of low hanging fruit.
Ancient engineers were smart people, but they wouldn't cut it today!

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Writing
Pixabay by Free-Photos
Everyone needs to use email these days, but what type of communication do you prefer to use in your personal life?
I use voice dictation for everything.
I like to talk on the phone.
I write letters in longhand.
I type things up like I'm at the office.

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Sunset Couple
pxhere.com
In what environment do you feel the most recharged?
Walking a well-manicured farm
Far away from the light pollution of civilization
In a library
The heart of a busy city

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Working in the field
anucha sirivisansuwan / Moment / Getty Images
How do you feel about the initial brutality industry always seems to enact towards working people, when there are significant industrial changes?
The world is brutal and always has been.
I feel uncomfortable about people being treated like donkeys.
At least life is short ...
There's nothing wrong with that. That's life.

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Family
Betsie Van der Meer/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Which of these statements best describes the nature of your upbringing?
My extended family raised me until I was old enough to go to school, and then I was deemed an adult for all intents and purposes.
I was raised by my extended family until I was an adult, and even then, I always had them around.
My family exposed me to learning like I was just expected to understand it from a young age, and I rose to the occasion.
I started working a job from the time I was old enough to understand the basics, and have earned my own living ever since.

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How Much Do You Know About These Supreme Court Cases
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What are your thoughts on the expression "cultural imperialism?"
It sounds great to me, but why stop with just culture?
I don't like the sound of that at all.
It doesn't have to be a bad thing.
It's just the way of things. Every culture has its day.

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Athletics carrying a crew canoe over head
Clerkenwell / Digital Vision / Getty Images
What do you feel is the foundation of a stable society?
A common culture or religion
Everyone knowing everyone else
The protection of wisdom and the wise
The free flow of capital

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Actuarial Mathematics
Rawpixel/Pixabay
How do you organize your finances?
I invest in long term assets.
All of my money is in property and objects.
I invest in my own knowledge and development, so I can be more useful and make more money.
I invest in businesses I think will work hard to succeed, so my money works for me, not the other way around.

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Passion
Dragan Todorovic / Moment / GettyImages
What is your great passion?
Setting up a strong legacy
Breaking new ground in my field
Having eureka moments
Winning the game of commerce

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Catholic
PeopleImages/E+/Getty Images
What are your thoughts on the existence and nature of God?
I don't know if the gods are real, but if they're good, they won't mind that one doesn't pray, and if they aren't good, they don't deserve to be worshiped.
God's face is in every blade of grass and every passing cloud.
I have a pretty traditional, western, religious view of God.
If there's a God or gods, it or they stay out of my business.

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6 app
JESHOOTS-COM/Pixabay
Apps have taken the place of many tools people used to carry around. What's your favorite type of smartphone app?
Maps
Built-in ruler
E-reader apps
Banking apps

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books
LubosHouska/ Pixabay
Time has a way of making one value things specific to one's generation. What kinds of books do you prefer to read?
Histories of major leaders
Books about nature
Deep dives into complex ideas
Books about political or economic philosophy

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Small Business Owner
Caiaimage/Robert Daly/Caiaimage/Getty Images
If you were in charge of a business, what kind of boss would you be?
I'd be a real slave driver.
I'd let people get on with their stuff on their own.
I'd create a wide, but rigid structure and delegate.
I'd be unsentimental about hiring and firing, especially firing.

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Teaching
Rawpixel.com via Pexels
What's your teaching style?
I talk about how to do things and field questions.
I demonstrate how to do things and critique others' attempts.
I lecture and hope for the best.
I lecture and demand demonstrations, which I then grade.

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What's Your Fashion Faux Pas - hero
Andriy Onufriyenko / Moment / Getty Images
What do you deem the worst social faux pas?
Being a poor host
Not bringing food or drink
Not preparing appropriate lodgings
Show up early as a guest

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Golf Ball
PhotoTalk / E+ / Getty Images
What physical endeavor do you think is the most interesting to observe as a third party?
Track and field
Hunting
Horsemanship
Golf

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Shopping retail goods
Pixabay by stevepb
What is the most important aspect of any product you buy and or use?
Its effectiveness is all that matters to me, price be damned.
The quality of the craftsmanship of the object determines everything for me.
Its value is the most important thing.
Its low cost is obviously the most important thing.

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Leader
Nora Carol Photography / Moment / Getty Images
Who do you see as the highest authority?
The head of state
The head of my family
The head of my religion
The lawyers

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Argument
[Rowan Jordan] / [E+] / Getty Images
Why would you turn your back on a friend?
I'd do it if they were an embarrassment.
I'd do it if they became a danger.
I'd do it if they did something truly immoral.
I'd do it if they crossed me.

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Travel
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Different times meant people traveled differently and covered different distances. How much travel would you like to do?
I will travel as far as the limits of human technology will take me.
I won't travel far from my home for most of my life.
I will likely only travel a few hundred miles from my home in my lifetime.
I will go on a grand tour at some point in my life, but that will account for most of my travel.

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Police riot shield
MonoRenal/Pixabay
How agitated do you get when history takes a turn for the worst?
That depends on what end of the stick I'm holding.
I batten the hatches and hunker down.
I pray for divine aid.
I become ruthless about keeping what's mine.

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