What is your name? What is today's date? Who is the President?
I passed the test: I answered all three questions correctly, as much as it pained me to utter Donald Trump's name in response to the third.
So who administered that exam? A doctor in Westchester Medical Center, after the worst crash I've suffered in half a century (!) of cycling. My mishap, which "totaled" Arielle, my first Mercian bike, also included a face-plant. So that doctor was testing my cognition as a first step to determining whether I'd suffered any brain damage.
I thought about that after hearing that President Joe Biden fell off his bike while speding the weekend at his family's retreat in Delaware. According to reports, the President when he came to a stop, his foot got caught in a toe clip, which caused him to tumble.
President Biden, after falling off his bike. Photo by Sarah Silbiger, for the New York Times.
He didn't appear to suffer any injuries or require medical attention. Instead of doctors and nurses, reporters surrounded him as he picked himself up. So, their "test" was a bit different from the one I "passed." Before continuing his ride, he answered questions about--are you ready for this?--tariffs on Chinese goods and gun control legislation.
Hmm...If my doctor had asked those questions, I wonder how he would've assessed my condition.
