Interestingly, INFP came out on top in a similar poll on StackOverflow. I wonder why? http://stackoverflow.com/questions/102702/are-people-with-ce...
HN Poll: What is your personality type?
21–30 of 80 posts
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#22INTJ
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#23I couldn't let this pass without bringing up the Forer Effect [1]: basically, that people will believe just about any vague generalization as long as they think it's been tailored to them.
For all of the "science" that goes into building the models for these tests (not just MBTI), any that rely completely on self-evaluation (especially multiple choice questions), should be taken with a huge grain of salt. They're fine for entertainment, but for anything practical they should be regarded as one step above astrology or haruspicy.
Just to provide an example of the worst case, I've seen companies hold personality test workshops, only to have that bind their thinking and give them reason to quash dissent ("Of course... that's what a XXXX would say" or "I really need a YYYY on this project"). Too many times these things turn into a substitute for actually getting to know your employees' strengths and weaknesses.
I don't want to be seen as overreacting to a simple harmless poll, but I do want to make sure people aren't giving too much credence to their (or others') results.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#24Every time I tried the test, I got ENTP.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#25You've forgotten to include COOL.
He didn't. It's right there. ENFP.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#26I was ISTP, but in previous tests I've been INTP and INTJ. Does that mean I'm less judgmental and more sensitive? Oh that can't be right.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#27I'm going to predict that most of the votes will be for INTJ (including mine) or INTP. That said, how valid are the results of the MBTI? I just read the criticism section on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator#Cri... ) and the bit on statistical structure was interesting - for 'types' you'd expect to see a bimodal distribution, but, in reality, you see something more like a normal dis…
I'm an ENTJ/INTJ depending on mood, but yes, this -- serious problems with the nonsense of the Myers-Briggs. Not a very good test, and grounded in nothing really sensible beyond an unhealthy adoration of Carl Jung.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#28I'm going to predict that most of the votes will be for INTJ (including mine) or INTP. That said, how valid are the results of the MBTI? I just read the criticism section on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator#Cri... ) and the bit on statistical structure was interesting - for 'types' you'd expect to see a bimodal distribution, but, in reality, you see something more like a normal dis…
I've tested as 9 of the 16 possible types on the MBTI (every variant with a T, plus INFJ once.) Being near the center of most of the bell curves means it takes very little "noise" to shift me to the other side. A slight change in wording, scoring, question order, or my current level of attentiveness can put me into another type.
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#29On behalf of an ex-girlfriend, I feel obliged to point out that the Big Five personality test is a lot more well grounded than Briggs Meyer, and is the one that's used in actual scientific research these days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits
Another one that may be of interest is the VIA Character Strengths Survey (no, nothing to do with DnD or WOW):
Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?
#30I couldn't let this pass without bringing up the Forer Effect [1]: basically, that people will believe just about any vague generalization as long as they think it's been tailored to them. For all of the "science" that goes into building the models for these tests (not just MBTI), any that rely completely on self-evaluation (especially multiple choice questions), should be taken with a huge grain of salt. They're fin…
This kind of discussion is definitely welcome. Every one of these tests is incredibly subjective, and the results could be misused. To your point about companies, though: How would you build a team without knowing their personalities? Assuming you couldn't hire them as a contract-to-hire?