I’m not sure what compelled me to do this now2, but… I figured out my Myers-Briggs personality type. This is the general description of the difference between each of the 4 choices, with my preference in bold:
- Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).
- Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).
- Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
- Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).
Based on those either/or choices, I’d be an INTP:
Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.
So that sounded about right, but could it be that easy? Don’t people take tests to determine these things? So I found one. And the result was: INTP.
Introvert(67%) iNtuitive(88%) Thinking(50%) Perceiving(11)%
You have distinctive preference of Introversion over Extraversion (67%)
You have strong preference of Intuition over Sensing (88%)
You have moderate preference of Thinking over Feeling (50%)
You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (11%)1
That site also offered this bit of info:
Generally, INTPs build successful careers in areas requiring quite intensive intellectual efforts and calling for creative approach. INTPs are often found in research, development and analytical departments. INTPs often make a very successful career in academia thanks to their strong and versatile way of thinking and originality.
You don’t say! 😉
Of course, me being me, I couldn’t stop there. And also, couldn’t help but question the accuracy of every category (except introvert, obvs.), as well as, you know, whether this was all too much woo-woo to be believed. More after the jump!