Because I promised I would

I like to read books in the shower. Not in the bath at the end of a hard day to relax with candles lit and soothing enya inspired music. No, I read books in the plain old stand up and clean yourself shower. I know, it's weird. I have to hold my arm far away from my body so the spray doesn't destroy the book entirely. Even so the steamy environment warps the covers and crinkles the pages. It isn't the most efficient way to bathe or read and I realize that. And at some point I do actually have to put the book down to rinse my hair.

Though I don't know that anyone knew I was doing it, I've loved this pastime since I was a kid. There's something wildly appealing about doing something that is clearly rather ridiculous. Something that everyone would say I ought not do. I've always had a little bit of a "I'll show 'em" attitude when I think I've got a better perspective. It's a function of my personality. Along with the thinking thing, which sort of ties into the need to constantly observe the world around me and suss out what I feel about it.

According to my mom, my sister and my personality differences were aparent from the word go. Dale was a "cuddle baby," content to be held or stroked or generally nestle in any comfortable position she might find against another person. However, so family legend goes, I would only allow myself to be held if I was in a position to look around. I'd snuggle only so long as I still had a clear view over the shoulder of the snuggler. And I aparently loved to be in that baby back pack thing, so I could make sure to eye anything that might approach mom and me from behind.

For a long time I'd meet a person and automatically get a sense they were unlike myself, that they were probably a snuggle baby as a kid or that they could go with the flow in a way I just didn't comprehend. And everyone at some point meets someone and says to themselves, "Oh my God, they are so THAT kind of person" but has no label to fully explain what THAT means. I got kind of obsessed with this idea and for years I wished there were a way to easily classify people into personality types. A simple system of oh, I don't know, four letters by which someone could extraxt vast amounts of information about you and the way you interact with the world around you. A system that could be answered by taking a test that consisted of a series of yes or no questions.

And then I got to high school and took an AP Psych class. As it turns out, there is such a test. And boy are you in luck. Because not only is there one, but I know everything there is to know about it.

The test operates by gauging one's place on a series of personality attribute spectra. It was originally developed by Jung and had three dimensions and was modified and extended to four by a woman named Myers-Briggs for whom the test tends to bear its name. A person scores in varying degrees towards one end or another of a particular scale and is assigned a letter (with percentage if the test is particularly thorough) for each of the four categories. Thus one falls into one of 16 categories of personality.

The four different dimensions are listed below with a brief explanation. Feel free to see which way you lean:

1) Extraversion (E) vs Introversion (I)

This one is a trickster if only because most people assume it is the easiest to judge. The differences are pretty obvious but beware that it is not a simple question of ones brassiness or willing to be outgoing in public. What the question is really asking is the source and direction of energy expression for a person. An extrovert will regenerate from time in the external world, talking to people etc and vice versa. I for example am an extreme introvert who can be very extroverted under certain conditions. But at the end of the day, crowds tire me and I need lots of alone time to myself.

2) Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N)

Number 2 deals with how one takes in information. A senser is a person who feels the information they receive comes directly from the external world. Intuitors tend to believe their information comes from their own internal or imaginative world. Sensers are very in touch with their environment, react first to a loud noise or sudden event. Intuitors live in their heads and can be almost oblivious to their surroundings. I am of the belief that most people who attend prestigious liberal arts colleges belong in the "N" end of this category.

3) Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F)

Here one classifies how a person processes information once they have it. A thinker would rather logic a problem and feelers tend to go based on emotions and well, feelings. The classic question to figure this one is given an argument with a friend where you are sure they are wrong would you rather prove your point correct or have everyone go home without incident?

4) Judging (J) vs Perceiving (P)

This last one talks about how a person acts on the thoughts they've taken in and processed. Strong scores in the judging end means that a person tends more towards organizing life events and likes living according to predetermined plans. Perceiving means that instead he or she is inclined to improvise and seek alternatives.

This test is a quick way to figure out what you are.

And this one is long but will give you percentages and even offer you a chance to see how well you and a mate will match based on your scores.

I love this test. I can pretty much within a few meetings of a person guess them with great accuracy. I myself am pretty strongly INTJ aka The Mastermind Rational:

Numbers indicate strength of the preferences in %
Introverted: 78 Intuitive: 100 Thinking: 75 Judging: 67

We INTJ's are terribly rare and compose about 1% of the population. We have a hard time operating outside of our own thought bubbles, are fiercely independent and don't always like having to negotiate human emotions, both ours and those of others. We're aggressive about the things we care to be, often offputtingly so. But we're insanely loyal and when we care about someone, even if we have a hard time dealing with or showing it, we do so with great intensity. Newton and Austen were INTJ's though unfortunately Ayn Rand also joins the ranks. And amusingly, if one had to classify fictional characters both J R. R. Tolkein's Gandalf and Hannibal Lecter are said to also share my personality.

I invite you to leave a comment as to how you score yourself. I am most intrigued to hear. If you take the long one do include your score. Then we can see if we got married how things would end up...