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The Inner Observatory · a test by SWB-AI

See how you meet everyday life.

140 short cards and scenes from ordinary days. The Inner Observatory asks what you do, not what you are, and turns your answers into a map: where you stand on a path of seven floors, what is already strong in your answers, and what is still taking shape.

About 16–20 minutes · No timer

Take the test · $7
  • No account, no login
  • No right or wrong answers
  • No AI writes your report

One payment. The test link comes to your email. Why it mattersSee a sample report

“I keep the gate at the top of this path. On the way I will show you moments from your own life. Only what is true for you matters here.”

The Observer

At a glance

140
short cards and scenes
16–20
minutes, with no timer
7
floors, from Reacting on the ground to Whole and returning at the top
1
link for the test and your report
$7
one payment, tax included, nothing renews

Why look at yourself this way

The Inner Observatory is a short, quiet look at how you act in everyday moments. It rests on a few well-studied ideas about how people come to know themselves. The studies behind each idea are named under it and listed under Further reading; they are separate from the 42 studies behind the cards.

  1. A step back from autopilot.Much of what we do each day runs on its own. Psychology calls the act of stepping back to notice it metacognition: thinking about your own thinking. The Inner Observatory is built to give you that step back, one moment at a time.Flavell, 1979
  2. Moments, not labels.People describe themselves more clearly when they recall specific, everyday situations than when they rate broad traits about themselves. So each card is an ordinary moment and asks how often you act this way, not what kind of person you are.Schwarz, 1999; Schwarz & Oyserman, 2001
  3. Many moments, a clearer picture.A single answer says little. Patterns show up across many occasions, which is why the Inner Observatory shows you 140 cards and scenes, moments from home, work and time with other people, and reads your answers together.Epstein, 1979
  4. The view of an observer.Looking at your own experience from a little distance, the way an observer would, helps people think through hard moments with a calmer mind. The Observer who keeps the gate in the Inner Observatory stands for that view.Kross & Ayduk, 2017; Kross et al., 2014
  5. Reflection, not rumination.Looking at yourself with curiosity goes together with insight; going over the same thoughts with self-blame does not. So the Inner Observatory asks with curiosity, not blame: there are no right or wrong answers here, only what is true for you.Trapnell & Campbell, 1999; Grant et al., 2002
  6. A map, not a verdict.Everyone has blind spots about themselves, and what we notice depends on where we look. Your report shows your answers as they are now, as a map you can come back to, not a final word about you.Wilson & Dunn, 2004; Vazire, 2010

How it works

Three steps and one link, from payment to your report.

  1. Pay once, $7, tax included.The test link comes to your email. No account, no login.
  2. 140 short cards and scenes, one at a time.About 16 to 20 minutes, with no timer. You can pause and come back with the same link within 60 days.
  3. Your report opens at the end.Where you stand on a path of seven floors, what is already strong in your answers, and what is still taking shape. The link in your email opens it again later.

Inside the test

The test has a quiet world of its own, The Inner Observatory. An observatory is a place for looking closely and calmly; here, what you look at is your own everyday life. The spiral path is the same seven floors your report reads. This is the way through it, with the words you will meet there.

  1. Entry

    The Inner Observatory

    The test opens under a dark sky, at the foot of a spiral path. The Observer keeps the gate at the top.

  2. Before you begin
    • 140 short cards about you and your everyday life.
    • Each card waits a moment for you to read it. You can go back one card.
    • About 16–20 minutes, no timer. Every answer is received the same way.
    • You can pause and come back with the same link.
    • Your answers are used to build your report.
  3. Practice · not counted

    “When I am thirsty, I drink some water.”

    One card to try the diamonds before anything counts.

  4. 37 / 140

    One moment at a time

    Cards and scenes from home, work and time with other people. A quiet counter shows how many you have answered, and nothing else.

  5. The end

    The gate is open

    “Thank you. You have answered every card. Your report is ready to open.”

    The Observer

    Everyone who answers every card reaches the gate. Your place on the seven floors comes from your answers, and you read it in your report.

How to read a card

Each card is one ordinary moment and one question.

Try the card here: choose a diamond.

Practice · not counted

When I am thirsty, I drink some water.

How often?

  • Rarely
  • Sometimes
  • Often
  • Almost always

Each card waits a moment for you to read it. Press and hold a diamond to see its name. You can go back one card.

‹ Back

  1. Practice · not countedThe first card is practice and is not counted.
  2. How often?For each card, choose how often you act this way when this kind of situation comes up.
  3. Never · About half the time · AlwaysSeven diamonds, from Never on the left to Always on the right; the one in the middle is About half the time. On a phone, press and hold a diamond to see its name; on a computer, point at it. Your first tap is your answer, and the next card comes.
  4. ‹ BackIf you tapped the wrong diamond, ‹ Back takes you to the card before, once.

If you have never been in it, choose how you would act. There are no right or wrong answers. One or two cards only check that you are reading.

How to read a scene

Some moments come as scenes: one moment, and two common ways to respond.

A moment

  • A bit more like the first
  • A bit more like the second

The layout of a scene. The words of each scene appear in the test.
  1. A momentEach scene shows a moment and two ways people respond. Both are common, and each has a fair reason.
  2. How close?Choose how close each one is to what you do. You make one choice, on a line of four steps between the two ways. There is no middle step.

If it has not happened to you, choose what you would do.

Seven floors

The Inner Observatory reads your answers on a path of seven floors, from the ground up to the gate at the top. Each floor is read mainly from its own cards and scenes.

Your report shows where you stand on this path, which floors already hold in your answers, and the step you are on now. Each floor is shown as held, on the edge of holding, or ahead.

A floor counts as held when your answers on its cards and scenes reach a set line. That line is the same for everyone, so your answers are read against the floor, not against other people.

The path is a spiral because it turns back over itself as it rises. In the report's own words: “Old habits meet you again on higher floors.”

Choose a floor to read what it means, in the report's own words.

Floor 1 of 7ReactingThis is the floor everyone starts on. Here an urge or a hurt turns into action before there is room to choose.

Your report

When you finish, your answers become a map: a sky of seven floors, read from the ground up, the same seven floors you saw above. In the report, the path you climbed is drawn as a sky: the seven floors from the ground up, and stars you can tap or click to read.

A sample report's sky: seven floors from the ground up, each with its state, and five direction rings along the top.
A sample report, not yours. Yours is drawn from your own answers. See it larger (opens in a new tab)
  1. Where you standThe warm light marks where you stand now, on the step into the floor that is taking shape in your answers.
  2. Seven floorsFrom the ground up, each floor shows its state in your answers: held, on the edge of holding, or ahead.
  3. Five direction ringsInside you, with others, in action, in how you see, and in what you carry: the sides of daily life the report reads.
  4. The keyWhat each mark on the map means.
  • It reads only the cards and scenes you answered.
  • It is a map of your answers, not a verdict about you. Your answers can change as your days change.
  • The link to your report stays the same, so you can come back to it.
  • Every source it rests on is listed on our sources page.

What you will read

Every part opens with a short note on why it is there.

  1. Where you standHow far your floor has come, and what the floors above it mean. “There is nothing to win here.”
  2. What already shows in your answersThe floors under yours, and what already shows on each: some of their sides, each with what it looks like when it shows.
  3. Your stepsThe step into your floor, read from your cards and from the scenes on that step.
  4. Old habits, from loud to soft“Old habits meet you again on higher floors.” Which of their forms have gone quiet, and which still speak.
  5. What shows only when read together“Some answers can look like a strength without being one. This part checks for that.”
  6. Your five directionsYour sky read by column instead of by floor: inside you, with others, in action, in how you see, and in what you carry.
  7. Your sky in full“Here the whole reading comes back together in one place.” Tap or click any star to read it.

Take the testOne payment, $7, tax included. The link comes to your email.

How the Inner Observatory was made

Slow work, many rounds of reading, and published research behind every card.

  1. Seven floors, drawn from many maps.We read long-standing maps of the inner life from many cultures, and kept only the steps they share. They became the seven floors in your report.
  2. Every card rests on research.Each card describes one everyday way of acting, and each one is tied to published studies in psychology. The Inner Observatory as a whole has not yet been tested in a published study.
  3. Read again and again.Every card and every sentence of the report went through many rounds of reading by AI readers, each new to the text, and was rewritten until it read clearly.
  4. The same answers, the same report.Your report is drawn by fixed rules from your answers alone. No one writes it by hand, and no AI writes it.

Some of the 42 studies the cards rest on

See all 42 sources

Further reading: knowing yourself

Further reading: knowing yourself

Good to know

Another question? Write to us at contact@swb-ai.com.

Before you buy

Is this a diagnosis?

No. It is a map of your answers, not a verdict about you. It is not medical or psychological advice, and it does not replace care from a professional. If you are going through a very hard time, please reach out to a professional you trust, or in an emergency, to your local emergency number.

Who is it for?

Adults who want a calm look at how they act in everyday moments: at home, at work and with other people. It is not meant for children.

Is it a personality test?

No. It is not a personality test, and it is not a self-improvement program. It is a journey of noticing your inner world: the cards bring up dozens of everyday moments where you may not be sure how you act, so that you can watch your thoughts and actions more consciously. It does not sort you into a type. It asks how often you act in ordinary moments, and reads those answers on a path of seven floors.

Who writes my report?

No one writes it by hand, and no AI writes it. It is drawn by fixed rules from your answers alone, so the same answers always give the same report.

What do I need?

A phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date browser, and 16 to 20 quiet minutes. The test has its own calm world in 3D. There is sound, and you can turn it on or off.

Is it a subscription?

No. It is one payment for one test and its report. Nothing renews.

Who handles my payment?

Our payment provider, Lemon Squeezy, takes the payment as merchant of record. Your card details go to them, not to us.

Can I get a refund if I change my mind?

A change of mind after your report has been made is not refunded, unless the law in your country says otherwise. If you buy from the EU, the EEA or the UK, you tick a box before paying to ask for access right away, and you lose the usual 14-day right to withdraw once your access begins. Technical failures and double charges are still refunded. Read the refund rules on our Terms page.

What language is it in?

English, in plain everyday words. Every card was read again and again until it read clearly.

During the test

Can I stop and come back?

Yes. There is no timer, and you can pause and come back with the same link. You have 60 days from your purchase to finish the test. Once you finish, the same link keeps opening your report.

What are the check cards?

The 140 are 120 cards, 18 scenes and 2 cards that only check that you are reading. If a check card is not answered as it asks, your report says so in one sentence. It does not change any part of your reading.

Who is the Observer?

The Observer keeps the gate at the top of the path in the Inner Observatory. It stands for looking at your own life from a little distance, the way an observer would.

After

What if my report puts me on a low floor?

Everyone starts on the ground floor, Reacting. In the report’s own words, “There is nothing to win here,” and “Old habits meet you again on higher floors.” Your floor shows where your answers stand now, and your answers can change as your days change.

Can I take it again?

Each purchase opens one test and one report. If you take it again later with a new purchase, your first report stays at its own link. The 140 cards are the same each time, only their order changes, so you can read the two reports side by side.

What happens to my answers?

We keep your answers and your report so that your report link keeps working. We do not sell your data. You can ask us to delete them at any time. Only if you tick a box before the test, we also use your answers, without your name or email, to improve the Inner Observatory; the box is empty unless you tick it. There is no account, so your link is your key: anyone who has it can open your test and your report. Keep it to yourself, or share it only with people you choose. Read more on our Privacy page.

What if something goes wrong?

Write to us within 14 days of purchase at contact@swb-ai.com with the email you used to buy. Technical failures and double charges are refunded. The full refund rules are on our Terms page.

The gate is open.

140 short cards and scenes, one at a time. At the end, your report opens.

Take the test · $7

“Only what is true for you matters here.”

The Observer

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