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On Extroverted Programmers

gregerwikstrand.com

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Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#21

Post by simondlr »

jwingy wrote: post #2

...and the rise of the brogrammer? https://www.facebook.com/getwiththebrogram

Jokes aside, I really like the 'brogramming' ethos. I feel it really embodies 'balance' in life.

As the slogan puts it: "Rage at the codebase, rage at the gym, rage at the club". Programming is very much a logical and intellectual endeavour. One has to be creative, yet logically inclined. So on thise side, your mental capabilities are constantly being challenged.

Staying healthy is also an important, hence 'rage at the gym'.

And then finally 'rage at the club' to me implies you have to loosen up, enjoy life and do things the body wants, not the brain. In other words, not be stuck in programming mode all day.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#23

Post by nvarsj »

alinajaf wrote: post #8

At university I spent the vast majority of my time getting drunk, doing drugs and chasing girls. I then took the show on the road and did more or less the same thing in Japan for s few years. There was absolutely nothing introverted about those five years. I made a ton of friends, got into lots of excellent adventures and generally had a good time. Fast forward a few years and I'm a mid to senior level developer. I'm…

Regarding MBTI, in my experience the majority of people tend to have strong dispositions and repeatedly test into the same type. I've talked with a few coaches from the Center for Creative Leadership (who do MTBIs across hundreds of people), and their experience is the same.

MTBI is about natural inclinations. For example, testing as an introvert doesn't mean one cannot be an extrovert in certain situations. Many successful introverts learn to be extroverted when they need to. Same for the other attributes.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#24

Post by nvarsj »

espeed wrote: post #9

I was thinking about this the other day because I realized that I had shifted from an extrovert to an introvert in less than six months, and that I have gone through periods of my life in one state or the other. Right now I'm working intensely on a project, and I'm basically living inside my head, totally consumed with what I'm working on. But last year I took the year off and socialized, basically gearing up for wha…

Guess what, you're probably an extrovert. :-) Introverts recognize they are introverts and that being extroverted is draining no matter how much they do it.

I've known very-obvious extroverts who would talk about "being an introvert" at some time in their life - when it was really them either suffering from shyness or being extremely preoccupied with something. Extroverts seem to have a tough time understanding introverts.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#26

Post by namank »

MBTI is a measure of you preference. E/I, S/N, F/T, J/P are all preferences. Of course you can switch to the other side. What happens when introverts need to speak publicly? Or when extroverts need that moment of silence to think things through? This test is essentially a filter for your natural inclinations.

Not being relaxed or in a stable state of mind may affect the test's outcome. If you are stressed about a project or super pumped from your trip to Europe, your test will give different results.

Then there is the pop culture influence. Some people may not answer a question correctly because the answer isn't socially sound or in sync with their impression of themselves.

Though online tests are OK to start with; the results should be verified by talking to an MBTI practitioner.

I personally find this MBTI system very helpful in studying myself and people around me. But its true, you need to read up on it before you can start making comments about the test and the theory behind it. It has a lot more intricacies than meet the eye.

It would be very interesting to see the makeup of HNers. Go take the test at http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp then read up the description on http://www.personalitypage.com/html/portraits.html. See if it matches with your impressions of self. If not, try to switch one of the letters and read up that description.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#27

Post by jeffreymcmanus »

People: Stop using Myers-Briggs to measure anything. It is an unscientific test, developed by someone with no formal training in psychology. Its results are not replicable (the same person is likely to get different results if you take the same test on different days). It is the same kind of pseudo-science as astrology.

Worse, employers have been sued for giving this to their employees and sharing the results among their co-workers. This is bad juju, seriously.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#28

Post by jeffreymcmanus »

acangiano wrote: post #12
alinajaf wrote: post #8

At university I spent the vast majority of my time getting drunk, doing drugs and chasing girls. I then took the show on the road and did more or less the same thing in Japan for s few years. There was absolutely nothing introverted about those five years. I made a ton of friends, got into lots of excellent adventures and generally had a good time. Fast forward a few years and I'm a mid to senior level developer. I'm…

> not least because I took the test once every month for three months and got different results! That's interesting, I had the opposite experience. I must have taken the test 5 times over the years, and I got ENTP every time. I didn't expect it to be the case, but I was surprised by its precision.

Just because you took the same test five times and got the same results doesn't mean the methodology isn't pseudo-scientific.

Actual psychologists have studied Myers Briggs and found that the likelihood of getting a different result on the exam after taking it more than once is about fifty-fifty, which is pretty much the definition of pseudo-science.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#29

Post by SkyMarshal »

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #27

People: Stop using Myers-Briggs to measure anything. It is an unscientific test, developed by someone with no formal training in psychology. Its results are not replicable (the same person is likely to get different results if you take the same test on different days). It is the same kind of pseudo-science as astrology. Worse, employers have been sued for giving this to their employees and sharing the results among t…

the same person is likely to get different results if you take the same test on different days

Heck, I get different results from one minute to the next, almost every time I take it. I'm borderline on at least two of the criteria.

Re: On Extroverted Programmers

#30

Post by gruseom »

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #27

People: Stop using Myers-Briggs to measure anything. It is an unscientific test, developed by someone with no formal training in psychology. Its results are not replicable (the same person is likely to get different results if you take the same test on different days). It is the same kind of pseudo-science as astrology. Worse, employers have been sued for giving this to their employees and sharing the results among t…

Hey, I'm fond of Myers-Briggs. It's useful, fun, and meaningful. It helps resolve interpersonal difficulties. It stimulates conversation. As for measuring, I'm always interested to see survey data on it. Way more than that other boring test I can't ever remember the name of and which I'm told is much more empirical.

Just because something isn't a law of nature is no reason to suppress it. Lots of things we care about are unscientific. Besides, what's considered "scientific" changes over time. (Remember when brain cells "couldn't" regenerate? "Junk" DNA, anyone?)

Let a thousand flowers bloom!

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