Just out of curiosity, what was the old test task?
Quoted from the email sent to earlier applicants:
If you'd like to be considered for paid remote research work, please do a literature review on the question below and write up your own summary of the most important things you find, including citations, quotes from key paragraphs, and criticism of studies that were poorly designed or showed other problems.
The research question: "What is known about habit change, that should potentially affect the character of our rationality teaching (since we are trying to train people to have different thinking habits)?"
Update: As of December 2012, we are still accepting applications!
A while ago, I announced that the Singularity Institute is hiring remote researchers. I've hired a few people, but I still need more remote researchers. I think I screened off too many otherwise capable people because the 'test task' I asked applicants to perform was too time-consuming.
So even if you've already applied and been rejected, please apply via the new application form. The test task this time will not be quite so time consuming.
Pay is hourly and starts at $14/hr but that will rise if the product is good. You must be available to work at least 20 hours/week to be considered.
Perks:
If you're interested, apply here.
Why post this job ad on LessWrong? We need people with some measure of genuine curiosity.
Also see Scholarship: How to Do It Efficiently.